Atticus vs Scrivener

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

Scrivener

• Novelists and academics managing book-length projects
• Writers who restructure a draft by moving scenes and chapters around
• People who want to pay once instead of subscribing

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.

Scrivener

• Each platform needs its own license: the macOS, Windows and iOS versions are bought separately.
• The store sells versions for macOS, Windows and iOS only; no Android, Linux or web version is listed.
• Sync between the iOS app and the desktop versions runs through Dropbox and needs a Dropbox account.
• A license does not cover major version updates; moving from Scrivener 3 to a future Scrivener 4 means buying a discounted upgrade.

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.

Scrivener

Binder

Keeps manuscript sections, notes and reference material in one sidebar, so a long text is written and navigated in small pieces.

Corkboard and outliner

Every section has an index card with a synopsis. Moving cards on the corkboard or rows in the outliner reorders the manuscript itself.

Compile

Exports the assembled manuscript to formats including Microsoft Word, RTF, PDF, Final Draft and ePub, with formatting applied at export.

Snapshots

Saves a copy of a section before a rewrite, so the earlier version can be compared with the new one or restored.

Research alongside the draft

Imports PDFs, images, web pages, and sound and movie files into the project and shows them next to the text being written.

Targets and scriptwriting

Word or character targets with live counters and a writing history, plus a scriptwriting mode that handles screenplay and stage-play formatting.

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.

Scrivener

• Scrivener for iOS & iPadOS$23.99

  one-time purchase

  The iPhone and iPad app. There is no trial, and a Dropbox account is required for sync.

• Educational Licence$50.99

  one-time purchase, per platform

  The macOS or Windows version for students and academics. Requires an institutional affiliation.

• Standard Licence$59.99

  one-time purchase, per platform

  The full macOS or Windows version, licensed for every computer in a household that runs that platform.

• macOS + Windows bundle$95.98

  one-time purchase

  A separate license for each of macOS and Windows, sold together at a lower combined price.

Atticus

No public discounts listed.

Scrivener

• Education

  Educational Licence for students and academics

  The macOS and Windows versions are sold to students and academics with an institutional affiliation for $50.99, against $59.99 for a Standard Licence.

• Other savings

  macOS and Windows bundle

  Buying Scrivener for macOS and Windows together costs $95.98, against $119.98 for two separate Standard Licences.

• Other savings

  Discounted upgrades from older versions

  Owners of an earlier major version can buy an upgrade license at a discount instead of paying the full price for the new version.