Final Draft vs WriterDuet

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

WriterDuet

• Writing partners and writers' rooms working on one script at the same time
• Screenwriters who move between a browser, a desktop app and a phone
• Students and teachers, who can get half off a subscription

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.

WriterDuet

• The Free plan is limited to three projects of one document each, and free users can add only read-only collaborators.
• The desktop app and offline writing with auto-sync are listed from the Plus plan up.
• Revision tracking and production tools start at Pro, and full line and document history is Premium-only.
• Cards cannot be edited or rearranged in the mobile app or in phone and tablet browsers; WriterDuet recommends a computer for them.

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.

WriterDuet

Real-time co-writing

Paid subscribers can invite any number of WriterDuet users, free or paid, to edit a script live, with comments, mentions and text and video chat.

Script formats and templates

Keyboard-driven formatting follows industry conventions for screenplays, stage plays, sitcoms and A/V scripts. Pro adds custom margins, line types and title pages.

Cards, outlining and mind map

Each scene can be viewed as a card and dragged into a new order, and a mind map view lets cards be placed freely and linked.

Revisions and production tools

Pro tracks revisions with accept and reject, shows deleted text, and adds colored revisions, locked pages and scene omission for scripts in production.

Saving, history and backups

Work saves to the cloud as it is typed, with automatic backups to a computer, email, Dropbox, Google Drive or iCloud. Premium can rewind a document or a line to any earlier point.

Import, export and narration

Imports and exports PDF, Final Draft, Fountain, Celtx, docx and other formats. Premium's ReadAloud voices each character, and AutoTranslate covers more than 80 languages.

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.

WriterDuet

• Free$0

  Three projects, industry-standard templates, writing from computer and mobile, and Google Drive and Dropbox backups.

• Plus$7.49

  per month, billed annually ($89.88); $9.99 billed monthly

  Unlimited projects, real-time collaboration, the desktop app and offline writing with auto-sync.

• Pro$8.99

  per month, billed annually ($107.88); $11.99 billed monthly

  Custom formatting, dialogue and character filters, document statistics, a format checker, revision tracking and production tools.

• Premium$10.49

  per month, billed annually ($125.88); $13.99 billed monthly

  Full line and document history, ReadAloud narration with distinct voices, AutoTranslate and MultiColumn tools.

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.

WriterDuet

• Annual discount

  About 25% less with yearly billing

  Yearly plans cost $89.88 (Plus), $107.88 (Pro) and $125.88 (Premium), against $119.88, $143.88 and $167.88 for twelve monthly payments.

• Education

  50% off for students and educators

  Individual students and teachers get 50% off any monthly or yearly subscription, or the Premium Lifetime license, after verifying by email. Bundled class licenses are priced separately.