Ellipsus vs Lex

Ellipsus

• Co-authors, editors and beta readers working on fiction together
• Fan fiction writers who publish to AO3
• Writers who want a tool with no generative AI
• People who would sooner own a license than rent one

Lex

• Writers who want AI feedback on a draft instead of generated text
• People looking for a simpler shared-document editor with AI built in
• Trying several AI models on the same piece without separate subscriptions

Ellipsus

• Browser-based only: there is no mobile or desktop app yet, though the help center suggests setting it up as a PWA.
• Offline access and tables are listed as still to come.
• On the free plan, version history covers 30 days and image uploads are capped at 512 KB.
• Collaborator chat is moving to Plus and becomes read-only for free users.

Lex

• Free accounts get 30 Ask Lex messages a day, 5 saved-prompt runs a month and a small daily AI budget; premium models need Lex Pro.
• Lex Pro's AI use is metered: the plan includes $30 of AI credits a month, and heavier use can be covered by overage credits sold at cost.
• Lex runs in a desktop or mobile browser. An iOS app is offered to Pro subscribers as early access, and no desktop app is listed.
• Track changes is marked as coming soon on the homepage.

Ellipsus

Linked drafts

A document can branch into as many drafts as needed for trying ideas or working with editors. Drafts stay linked to their document, so there are no separate files to manage.

Compare and merge

Drafts can be viewed side by side to check what changed, and the writer chooses which edits are merged into the main document.

Collaboration and feedback

Unlimited collaborators can write in the same draft, comment and react. Collaborator roles and share links control what each person can do.

Version history

Past versions of a piece can be viewed and restored: 30 days of history on the free plan, unlimited on Plus.

Publishing and export

Posts new works and chapters to AO3, exports PDF, HTML, Markdown and rich text, and creates reader links that can be opened without an account.

Emboss and writing insights

Plus adds shareable authorship badges, public version history and writing insights such as sentence length, passive voice and word frequency, computed on the device without AI.

Lex

Ask Lex

A chat panel for feedback, rewrites and brainstorming on the open document. Highlighting text, or tagging @Lex in a comment, asks about one passage. The AI model can be switched.

Checks

Runs line edits for brevity, grammar, readability and more, shown as highlights in the document. Clicking one shows the suggested edit and the reason for it.

Custom prompts and context

Saved prompts can be reused in Ask Lex and Checks and shared with others. Style guides and knowledge bases give the AI a voice to follow and background to draw on.

Versions and Rewind

Versions are named save points for trying another approach. Rewind is a timeline at the top of a document for scrubbing through past changes and restoring an earlier state.

Live collaboration and comments

A shared link gives edit or view-only access, with co-editing in real time and comment threads. Lex Teams is a paid add-on for unlimited group use of shared folders.

Export and API

Documents export to Word, PDF, Markdown, HTML and LaTeX, and an API can create, list and update documents with a key generated in settings.

Ellipsus

• Free$0

  Unlimited docs, drafts and collaborators, with 30-day version history, 512 KB image uploads and 37 themes.

• Plus, monthly$6

  per month for 24 months ($144 in total)

  Subscribe-to-own: after 24 monthly payments the Plus license is owned outright. Adds custom themes, writing insights, unlimited version history and 5 MB images.

• Plus, annual$60

  per year for 2 years ($120 in total)

  Two annual payments buy the Plus license outright, which the page describes as 4 months free compared with paying monthly.

• Plus, one-time$99

  one-time payment

  The Plus license bought upfront and owned immediately, including future Plus features, updates and maintenance.

Lex

• Free$0

  Documents, sharing and live collaboration with 30 Ask Lex messages a day, 5 saved-prompt runs a month and a small daily AI budget.

• Lex Pro$14.99

  per month, billed yearly ($179.88); $24.99 billed monthly

  Premium AI models, $30 of included AI credits a month, much higher usage limits, priority support, early access to new features and a money-back guarantee.

Ellipsus

• Lifetime license

  Own Plus outright for $99

  A single $99 payment buys the Plus license for good, including future Plus features and updates. It is the lowest total of the three ways to pay.

• Annual discount

  Annual plan totals $120 instead of $144

  Paying annually takes two payments of $60, $120 in all, against $144 over 24 monthly payments. The pricing page calls this 4 months free.

Lex

• Annual discount

  40% less with yearly billing

  Lex Pro billed yearly is $179.88, which works out to $14.99 a month against $24.99 when billed monthly.

• Education

  Discounted pricing for students and academics

  Lex says it offers discounted pricing for students and academics, arranged by emailing the company. The size of the discount is not published.

• Nonprofit

  Discounted pricing for nonprofits

  Lex says it offers discounted pricing for nonprofit organizations, arranged by emailing the company. The size of the discount is not published.