Atticus vs Dabble

Atticus

• Self-publishing authors who format their own ebooks and print books
• Writers on Windows, Linux or Chromebook who need book formatting software
• Buyers who prefer a one-time payment with future updates included

Dabble

• Novelists who want plotting, notes and the manuscript in one place
• Writers who move between a computer, a tablet and a phone
• Co-authors working on the same manuscript
• Writers who want a tool without generative AI

Atticus

• There is no free trial or free version; the vendor offers a 30-day money-back guarantee instead, and says it has no discounts.
• The installable app is a Progressive Web App set up through Chrome, and the help center advises against using the Edge browser.
• Editors, co-writers and beta readers each need their own purchased Atticus account to collaborate inside the app.
• Export covers EPUB, PDF and DOCX, and the vendor's own comparison table lists version control as coming soon.

Dabble

• There is no free plan. Without a subscription, projects stay viewable and exportable but become read-only.
• Comments, track changes, sticky notes, advanced grammar checks and Read-to-Me need the Author plan at $29 a month or higher.
• On phones and tablets Dabble is a web app added to the home screen from the browser; it is not in the App Store or Google Play.
• The pricing page lists monthly prices only and says annual billing saves 20%, without showing the annual amounts.

Atticus

Writing editor

A manuscript editor organized by chapter, with writing goals, outlining, footnotes and endnotes, so a book can be drafted in the same app that formats it.

Themes and custom theme builder

17 formatting templates that the vendor says combine into more than 1,200 looks, a builder for custom chapter themes, and a library of over 1,500 fonts.

Device previewer

Shows how the book will look on devices such as an iPhone, iPad, Galaxy phone, Fire tablet and Kindle Paperwhite before it is exported.

Import and export

Imports an existing manuscript as a DOCX file and exports EPUB for ebooks, PDF for print and DOCX for sharing with an editor.

Offline writing with cloud backup

Saves automatically and backs books up to the cloud. Writing continues offline and syncs once the device is back online; importing and exporting need a connection.

Collaboration roles

Books can be shared with collaborators assigned as Author, Editor, Co-writer or Beta Reader, with comments in the editor.

Dabble

Plot Grid

Lays out plot lines and plot points against scenes so a story's structure can be planned as fully or as loosely as wanted, with the editor open alongside the plan.

Story notes and characters

Keeps character profiles, worldbuilding details and research beside the manuscript, and can share characters, locations and lore across the books in a series.

Manuscript editor and goals

Scenes and chapters are numbered and formatted automatically and reordered by drag and drop, with focus mode, daily word-count goals, stats and a writing timer.

Editing tools

Comments, sticky notes, highlighting, track changes and Read-to-Me, plus grammar and style checks powered by ProWritingAid. These start on the Author plan.

Co-authoring

Invited co-authors work on the same manuscript in real time. Writer allows 5 collaborators per project; Author, Bestseller and lifetime plans allow 100.

Offline-first sync

Every edit saves to the device first and syncs to the account once a connection is available, so writing continues offline on any installed copy.

Atticus

• Atticus$147

  one-time payment

  Access to the full app for ebook and print formatting with ongoing updates at no extra cost, covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Dabble

• Writer$19

  per month, billed monthly (20% less when paid annually)

  Unlimited manuscripts, cloud backup and sync, Plot Grid, story notes and character profiles, goals and stats, co-authoring and versioning.

• Author$29

  per month, billed monthly (20% less when paid annually)

  Adds comments, track changes, sticky notes, text highlighting, advanced grammar and style checks, Read-to-Me, and priority support by chat and email.

• Bestseller$49

  per month, billed monthly (20% less when paid annually)

  Everything in Author plus DabbleU Academy: live monthly workshops, a library of courses and more than 70 hours of workshop recordings.

• Lifetime Author Access$699

  one-time payment

  All Author features permanently, including future Author updates and features. No additional discounts apply.

Atticus

No public discounts listed.

Dabble

• Annual discount

  Save 20% with annual billing

  Dabble's pricing page says paying annually saves 20% compared with the monthly prices of $19, $29 and $49.

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime Author Access for $699

  A one-time payment of $699 gives every Author feature permanently, which Dabble describes as about the price of two years of Author. No other discounts apply.

• Education

  30% off for teachers and students

  Teachers and students with an academic email address can save 30% by applying through Dabble's partner, Student App Centre.