Celtx vs Final Draft

Celtx

• Filmmakers who want the script and pre-production planning in one tool
• Film and media classes, which get seat-based education plans
• Production teams of 3 to 15 people sharing scripts and schedules

Final Draft

• Screenwriters who need scripts in industry-standard format
• Productions that rely on tracked revisions and production reports
• Writers who would rather buy a desktop license once than subscribe

Celtx

• The Free plan allows 1 project, with read-only script history and no commenting or collaboration.
• Production planning tools cost extra on Writer and Writer Pro and are only included from the Team plan.
• Team is priced for a group of 3 to 15 members rather than as a single seat.
• The download page links the mobile Celtx Screenplay app on Google Play and the Microsoft Store only, with no iOS App Store link.

Final Draft

• The one-time Final Draft 13 license does not include Final Draft Cloud, which comes only with the Suite subscription.
• Final Draft 13 needs macOS 12 or later or Windows 11 or later, and is not available on Chromebook.
• The iPhone and iPad app, Final Draft Go, is a separate subscription at $3.99 a month or $19.99 a year.
• A license can be signed in on two computers at once; a third sign-in requires signing out of another.

Celtx

Script editors

Auto-formatting editors for film and TV screenplays, stage plays and two-column A/V scripts are included on every plan, including Free.

Story development tools

A Beat Sheet, a Storyboard, shot lists and talent sides help plan a script. They are included from Writer Pro and sold as an add-on to Writer.

Production planning

Script breakdown, catalog, scheduling, cast and crew, budget, call sheets and production reports are included on Team and are an add-on for the writer plans.

Collaboration and approvals

Comments are anchored to script text with @mentions, presence awareness shows co-writers' cursors and edits in real time, and scripts can be sent for review and approval.

Script history, drafts and read-through

Restore earlier saves from a dated history, keep editable draft copies of a script, and play lines back with text-to-speech voices.

Revision Mode and episodic projects

Revision Mode locks a script for production so scene numbers are preserved through changes. Episodic projects link scripts across the installments of a series.

Final Draft

Automatic script formatting

Paginates and formats a script to entertainment-industry standards for film, TV, theater and other media, so layout does not have to be set by hand.

Story planning tools

The Beat Board, Outline Editor and Structure Lines are used to brainstorm and outline a story inside the script file, alone or with writing partners in real time.

Revisions and production reports

Tracked revisions, built-in commenting and automatic version saving support rewrites, and production reports can be run from the script.

Final Draft Cloud

Part of the Suite: an online editor called Final Draft Writer, a Vault for storing and sharing files, ScriptNotes comments and asynchronous collaboration.

Reader Mode

People invited to a script in Final Draft Cloud can view and comment on it free of charge, with no credit card, but cannot edit it.

Writing goals and focus modes

Final Draft 13 includes Writing Goals and Productivity Stats along with Midnight and Typewriter modes.

Celtx

• Free$0

  1 project with the three script editors, script goals and read-through; read-only script history and limited script settings.

• Writer$11.24

  per month, billed yearly ($134.88); $14.99 billed monthly

  Up to 3 projects, unlimited comments and collaboration, script drafts and custom headers and footers. Story and production tools are optional add-ons.

• Writer Pro$18.74

  per month, billed yearly ($224.88); $24.99 billed monthly

  Unlimited projects, episodic scripts, Revision Mode, watermarking, review and approval, the story development tools and the Adobe Premiere Pro plugin.

• Team$44.99

  per month for 3 members, billed yearly; $59.99 billed monthly

  For 3 to 15 members: everything in Writer Pro plus production planning tools, episodic planning, advanced sharing controls and live chat support.

• Education$600

  per year for 10 seats ($60 a seat), billed yearly

  Classroom plan for 10 to 700 seats with educator admin controls and recyclable student seats; the price per seat falls as seats are added.

• Student$79.99

  per year, billed yearly

  Writer Pro features plus the production planning tools for one student, with a student email required and 3 years of discounted pricing.

Final Draft

• Final Draft Go$3.99

  per month, or $19.99 per year, in the App Store

  A separate subscription app for writing, editing and reading Final Draft scripts on iPhone and iPad.

• Final Draft Suite$99.99

  per year, or $16.99 per month

  Final Draft 13 for desktop plus Final Draft Cloud, the online workspace with cloud storage, sharing and collaboration.

• Final Draft 13 Educational$129.99

  one-time purchase

  All the features of Final Draft 13 for students and teachers. Verification is required to buy.

• Final Draft 13 Upgrade$129.99

  one-time purchase

  For owners of any previous desktop version, who must give a registered customer number or email.

• Final Draft 13$249.99

  one-time purchase

  The desktop app for Mac and Windows, with activation on two computers. Does not include Final Draft Cloud.

• Volume licensingCustom

  Multi-user licenses for studios, production companies, schools and nonprofits, arranged with the sales team.

Celtx

• Annual discount

  Save 25% with yearly billing

  The pricing page advertises 25% off for yearly billing: Writer is $134.88 a year against $14.99 a month, and Writer Pro is $224.88 a year against $24.99 a month.

• Education

  Student plan for $79.99 a year

  Students with a school email get Writer Pro features plus the production planning tools for $79.99 a year, described by Celtx as over 75% off, for up to 3 years.

Final Draft

• Other savings

  Sale price of $199.99 on Final Draft 13

  The US store listed Final Draft 13 at $199.99 against its regular $249.99 when the page was captured on 2026-09-29.

• Annual discount

  Annual Suite plan costs about half of monthly

  Final Draft Suite is $99.99 a year, against $203.88 for twelve payments on the $16.99 monthly plan.

• Education

  Educational edition for students and teachers

  Final Draft 13 Educational has a regular price of $129.99, against $249.99 for the standard license, and was on sale at $99.99 on 2026-08-30. Verification is required.

• Other savings

  Military and first responder price of $129.99

  Members of the military, veterans and first responders can buy Final Draft 13 for $129.99 instead of the regular $249.99.

• Other savings

  Upgrade pricing for existing owners

  Owners of any earlier desktop version can move to Final Draft 13 for a regular price of $129.99; the upgrade was on sale at $99.99 on 2026-09-22.