Manuskript vs Scrivener

Manuskript

• Novelists who outline and plan before drafting
• Writers who want a free planning and drafting tool on Linux or Windows
• People who want their manuscript kept in plain-text files

Scrivener

• Novelists and academics managing book-length projects
• Writers who restructure a draft by moving scenes and chapters around
• People who want to pay once instead of subscribing

Manuskript

• The download page says Manuskript is still in the early development stages and recommends frequent backups.
• Release 0.17.0 is packaged for Linux and Windows only; on macOS it has to be run from the Python source code.
• Import and export of ePub, OpenDocument and DocX need Pandoc installed separately.
• No web or mobile version is offered.

Scrivener

• Each platform needs its own license: the macOS, Windows and iOS versions are bought separately.
• The store sells versions for macOS, Windows and iOS only; no Android, Linux or web version is listed.
• Sync between the iOS app and the desktop versions runs through Dropbox and needs a Dropbox account.
• A license does not cover major version updates; moving from Scrivener 3 to a future Scrivener 4 means buying a discounted upgrade.

Manuskript

Outliner

Arranges chapters, scenes and notes in a hierarchy that can be reordered at any time, showing which parts are written and which characters appear in each scene.

Index cards

Shows notes, scenes and chapters as index cards, as a second way to arrange and review the structure of a book.

Snowflake-method novel assistant

Guides a premise from one sentence to a paragraph and then a full summary, asking questions along the way to develop characters and plots.

Characters, plots and world

Keeps notes on every character, plot, event and place, links plots to characters, and offers a story-line view of the strands running through the text.

Distraction-free mode

A full-screen editor with editable themes, including themes imported from FocusWriter. It can lock the writer in until a word-count or time goal is reached.

Plain-text projects and export

Projects are saved automatically as plain-text files in a folder or a zip. With Pandoc installed, it imports and exports formats such as ePub, OpenDocument and DocX.

Scrivener

Binder

Keeps manuscript sections, notes and reference material in one sidebar, so a long text is written and navigated in small pieces.

Corkboard and outliner

Every section has an index card with a synopsis. Moving cards on the corkboard or rows in the outliner reorders the manuscript itself.

Compile

Exports the assembled manuscript to formats including Microsoft Word, RTF, PDF, Final Draft and ePub, with formatting applied at export.

Snapshots

Saves a copy of a section before a rewrite, so the earlier version can be compared with the new one or restored.

Research alongside the draft

Imports PDFs, images, web pages, and sound and movie files into the project and shows them next to the text being written.

Targets and scriptwriting

Word or character targets with live counters and a writing history, plus a scriptwriting mode that handles screenplay and stage-play formatting.

Manuskript

• Free$0

  The complete program: .deb and .rpm packages, Flatpak and Snap for Linux, a zip for Windows, and source code for other systems.

Scrivener

• Scrivener for iOS & iPadOS$23.99

  one-time purchase

  The iPhone and iPad app. There is no trial, and a Dropbox account is required for sync.

• Educational Licence$50.99

  one-time purchase, per platform

  The macOS or Windows version for students and academics. Requires an institutional affiliation.

• Standard Licence$59.99

  one-time purchase, per platform

  The full macOS or Windows version, licensed for every computer in a household that runs that platform.

• macOS + Windows bundle$95.98

  one-time purchase

  A separate license for each of macOS and Windows, sold together at a lower combined price.

Manuskript

No public discounts listed.

Scrivener

• Education

  Educational Licence for students and academics

  The macOS and Windows versions are sold to students and academics with an institutional affiliation for $50.99, against $59.99 for a Standard Licence.

• Other savings

  macOS and Windows bundle

  Buying Scrivener for macOS and Windows together costs $95.98, against $119.98 for two separate Standard Licences.

• Other savings

  Discounted upgrades from older versions

  Owners of an earlier major version can buy an upgrade license at a discount instead of paying the full price for the new version.