Dabble vs Plottr

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

Plottr

• Novelists and screenwriters who outline visually before drafting
• Series authors who need one place for characters, places and continuity
• Writers who draft in Word or Scrivener and want a separate planning tool
• Writers who want a planning tool with no generative AI

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.

Plottr

• Plottr is an outlining tool, not a manuscript editor: its docs recommend doing the bulk of the writing in another program.
• The web app, cloud sync and collaboration need Plottr Pro, which the docs say requires an internet connection. Each collaborator needs their own Pro subscription.
• The mobile app was removed from the app stores for a rebuild, and the docs say the Pro web app has no phone view. Native Linux builds are unsupported beta software.
• No refunds are given after purchase, and a Pro plan that lapses loses access to its projects until it is renewed.

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.

Plottr

Visual timeline

Scene cards are dragged along a timeline with separate rows for the main plot, subplots and character arcs. The view can be flipped, zoomed and filtered, and plotlines color-coded.

Plot and scene templates

Starter templates based on structures such as the Hero's Journey, Romancing the Beat, Story Circle and Three Act Structure. Users can also create and save their own.

Characters, places and notes

Character sheets, places and notes take custom attributes, tags, categories and images, with character templates and sorting and filtering across all of them.

Series bible

One project holds every book in a series with its characters, places and notes, and a Series View gives a timeline of the whole series alongside each book's own.

Outline and export

Generates an outline from the timeline that can be viewed, edited and exported to Microsoft Word or Scrivener. Projects can be imported from Scrivener and Snowflake Pro.

Plottr Pro cloud features

A web app that runs on Chromebooks, tablets and Linux devices, cloud storage and backups, automatic syncing between devices and live collaboration on a shared project.

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.

Plottr

• Plottr$60

  per year, or $150 one-time for lifetime; no monthly plan

  Windows and Mac desktop app on unlimited household devices, with files and backups kept on the device. Shown against crossed-out prices of $80 and $199.

• Plottr Pro$99

  per year; or $9.99 per month, or $599 one-time for lifetime

  Adds the browser app, cloud sync and backups, and real-time collaboration. Monthly and lifetime are shown against crossed-out prices of $15 and $699.

• Plottr Pro + Community$129

  per year; or $14.99 per month, or $649 one-time for lifetime

  Pro plus a private community, the Education Vault and networking. Shown against crossed-out prices of $160 a year, $19 a month and $799 lifetime.

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.

Plottr

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime licenses from $150

  Each tier can be bought once instead of by subscription: $150 for Plottr, $599 for Plottr Pro and $649 for Pro + Community. Lifetime plans never expire and include updates.

• Annual discount

  Annual billing costs less than monthly on Pro

  Plottr Pro is $99 a year against $9.99 a month, and Pro + Community is $129 a year against $14.99 a month.

• Education

  Educational rates and bulk licenses on request

  The pricing page invites schools and buyers of bulk licenses to contact Plottr for special pricing. No rates are published.