Hiveword vs Plottr (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hiveword grades higher than Plottr: 2.6 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hiveword grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hiveword
Web-based novel organizer for scenes, characters and plotlines
Plottr
Visual book outlining and series bible software
Which one is for you
Pick Hiveword if
- Fits if you plot with index cards or the Snowflake method and track many characters
- Works for writers who want a free organizer now and might add coaching later
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to draft and format the manuscript in the same place, as export is novel export only
- Not for you if you need an app on your phone or desktop, because it is web only
- Watch out: custom types and fields, images, notes, journal and search all need Plus at $25 a year
- Pricey if you want the coaching prompts, since Knockout Novel is a separate $49 on top of any plan
Pick Plottr if
- Fits if you like to see a whole book laid out before you draft it
- Works for series writers who draft in Word or Scrivener and want a separate planning tool
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to write the book in the same app, as it's an outlining tool and not a manuscript editor
- Not for you if you plan on your phone, because the mobile app was removed and the web app has no phone view
- Pricey if you want sync or a co-writer, since that's Pro at $99 a year and each collaborator needs their own
- Watch out: no refunds are given after purchase, and a lapsed Pro plan loses access to its projects until renewed
- Watch out: Linux builds are unsupported beta software, and Pro needs an internet connection
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAHivewordGood | 2.2GPAPlottrFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | APlus is $25 a year, about $2.08 a month, well under 60% of the $5.75 the category's cheaper quarter starts at. Knockout Novel coaching is a separate $49 one-time charge. | B$60 a year for the Windows and Mac app is $5 a month, inside the cheapest quarter for writing tools, or $150 once for life with no monthly plan. The web app, cloud sync and collaboration need Pro at $99 a year or $9.99 a month, and no refunds are given. |
| Free plan and trial | BBasic is free for good, with unlimited stories, scenes, characters, settings and plotlines. Plus has a 14-day trial, but custom types, images, notes, search and dark mode need it. | CNo free plan. You can try it free for 30 days, though the listing doesn't say whether that needs a card. No refunds are given after purchase, so make the trial count. |
| Features | CScenes, casts and plotlines are covered. The listing's own gaps keep it at C: export is novel export only, not manuscript formatting, and custom fields, notes and search sit on Plus. | CIt does the outlining job fully, and that's a smaller job than most of this category: cards on a drag-and-drop timeline with rows for plots and arcs, Hero's Journey and Three Act templates, a Series View across every book, outlines out to Word or Scrivener. Its own docs say draft elsewhere. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You build your own scenes, characters and plotlines, so there is setup before it pays off. | CNo store rating on record, and the work here is building the thing itself: a timeline to fill, character sheets and custom attributes to set up. The starter templates mean you're not staring at an empty screen, but there's a planner's worth of learning in it. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with no desktop or mobile app listed and no integrations on record. | CWindows and Mac, and that's the whole standalone product. The browser app, cloud sync and collaboration need Pro, the mobile app was pulled from the stores for a rebuild, the Pro web app has no phone view, and Linux builds are unsupported beta. |
| Best for | tracking big casts and plotlines | outlining a novel or series on a timeline |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Hiveword and Plottr. How we grade
Price against what you get
Hiveword starts at $2.08 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Plottr starts at $5 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Hiveword starts $2.92 a month lower. Of the other writing tools on the chart, 9 score higher than Hiveword for less, and 19 score higher than Plottr for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Plottr can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Hiveword also covers notes, daily notes, long-form writing and bookmarks.
At a glance
| Hiveword | Plottr | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $25 per year | $60 per year (Plottr); Plottr Pro is $9.99 per month or $99 per year |
| Free plan | Hiveword Basic: unlimited stories, scenes, characters, settings, items and plotlines, with scene filtering, plotline view, backups and novel export. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Hiveword Plus | Free for 30 days. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Made by | Zecura, LLC | Fictional Devices |
| Price read from | hiveword.com | plottr.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Hiveword
- It organizes a novel but is not a manuscript-formatting tool; export is listed as novel export only.
- Custom types, fields, images, notes and the journal need the paid Plus plan.
- Knockout Novel is a separate $49 charge on top of any plan.
- It is web-only, with no desktop or mobile app listed.
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.
Key features
Hiveword
- Scene filtering
- Filter scenes by point-of-view character, location or tag to see where a character appears, and sort the filtered list.
- Plotline visualization
- A visual view of how the main plot and subplots run through the scenes.
- Custom types and fields
- Plus lets you track items like spells or clans with your own fields and add extra fields to standard types.
- Images, notes and journal
- Plus attaches images and notes to story elements and keeps a tagged writer's journal with multiple entries per day.
- Searchable bookmarks
- Plus saves links to web pages with tags and notes, and its search also looks through the saved page text.
- Knockout Novel coaching
- Prompts based on author James Scott Bell's methodology, built into the organizer; sold separately.
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.
Plans
Hiveword
Hiveword Basic$0
Unlimited stories, scenes, characters, settings and plotlines, plus name generators, backups and novel export.
Hiveword Plus$25
per year
Adds custom types and fields, images, notes, bookmarks, journal, search and dark mode; yearly subscription.
Knockout Novel$49
one-time charge
Add-on with self-paced coaching prompts, a sample plot breakdown and coaching response export; needs a free account.
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.
Ways to pay less
Hiveword
No public discounts listed.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hiveword or Plottr?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hiveword is cheaper to start with: $2.08 a month when paid by the year, against $5 a month when paid by the year for Plottr. Hiveword starts at $25 per year, and Plottr starts at $60 per year (Plottr); Plottr Pro is $9.99 per month or $99 per year.
Which has a free plan, Hiveword or Plottr?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Hiveword has a free plan. Plottr does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Hiveword and Plottr run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Plottr lists macOS and Windows apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.