Novelcrafter vs NovelPad (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Novelcrafter if

• Fits if you write a series and want one story bible shared across every book
• Works for writers who'd pick their own AI model and pay the provider directly

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a free plan, as there's only the 21-day trial, and a lapsed account can be viewed but not edited
• Pricey if you want to invite a co-writer, since that needs Specialist at $20 a month and each user needs their own subscription
• Not for you if you want a desktop or phone app, because it only runs in the browser
• Watch out: AI starts on Hobbyist at $8 and model usage is paid to your AI provider on top, unless you run local models
• Watch out: Workshop Chat needs Artisan at $14, and the advanced review tools listed there are still marked as planned

Pick NovelPad if

• Fits if you plan a novel scene by scene
• Works for writers who'd rather buy the desktop app than subscribe

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you take Desktop at $89, because it has no sync, web app or sharing
• Pricey if you pay monthly, at $15 against $150 a year
• Watch out: a major new version costs $39 to upgrade
• Watch out: Cloud on Lifetime is included two years and then costs $9 a month
• Skip it if you want AI drafting or phone apps, as neither exists

Novelcrafter

• There is no free plan. Without an active subscription, data stays viewable and exportable but cannot be added to or edited.
• AI starts at the Hobbyist plan and is bring-your-own-key, so model usage is paid separately to the AI provider unless local models are used.
• Workshop Chat needs Artisan, and inviting collaborators or creating teams needs Specialist. Each user needs a subscription of their own.
• It runs in the browser with nothing to install, and is described as mobile compatible; no desktop or mobile app is listed.

NovelPad

• The $89 Desktop Only plan has no cloud sync, web app or sharing, and a major new version costs $39 to upgrade.
• Cloud on the Lifetime plan is included for two years, then costs $9 a month or $79 a year.
• There are no iOS or Android apps listed; phones and tablets would use the web app.
• The vendor says the app has no AI features, so it will not draft or rewrite text for you.

Novelcrafter

The Codex

A wiki for characters, locations and lore with aliases, relations, tags and progressions over time. It finds mentions across scenes and can be shared by every book in a series.

Planning views

The Grid reorders acts, chapters and scenes by drag and drop, the Matrix shows the whole story as a spreadsheet-like table, and the Outline is a single-page summary.

Manuscript editor

A rich text editor with focus mode, highlighter markers, sections for alternative ideas, revision history, and import from Word, Markdown or HTML files.

Bring-your-own-key AI

From Hobbyist up, connects to services such as OpenAI, Anthropic and OpenRouter or to local models through LM Studio and Ollama, with custom prompts and a prompt preview.

Workshop Chat

On Artisan and above, a chat for feedback and brainstorming that can take the outline, a scene or the full novel as context and extract scene beats or Codex entries from the reply.

Collaboration and teams

Any account can be invited as a viewer, and editing needs a paid plan. Inviting others to a novel or series, and creating teams, needs the Specialist plan.

NovelPad

Scene cards and boards

Every scene is a card; boards lay out the novel by chapter, subplot, character, location or timeline.

Character tracking

Character sheets with custom fields, plus views of which scenes each character appears in and how that changes across chapters.

Scene revisions and snapshots

Saves as you write, keeps earlier versions, and lets you compare drafts or restore a chapter.

Goals and streaks

Daily word goals, writing streaks, sprints, and word counts for each scene and chapter.

Beta-reader sharing

On the Cloud plan, share a manuscript with readers who can view, comment or edit.

Import and export

Existing drafts can be uploaded, and novels can be exported to .docx at any time.

Novelcrafter

• Scribe$4

  per month, or $40 billed annually

  Unlimited books, the Codex, series and basic review tools. No AI features.

• Hobbyist$8

  per month, or $80 billed annually

  Adds AI with your own API key or local models: scene summarization, character extraction and generating prose from scene beats, plus live chat support.

• Artisan$14

  per month, or $140 billed annually

  Adds Workshop Chat for feedback and brainstorming on scenes. Advanced review tools are listed for this tier but marked as planned.

• Specialist$20

  per month, or $200 billed annually

  Adds inviting other users to novels and series, creating and managing teams, and priority support.

NovelPad

• Pro Cloud$15

  per month, billed monthly ($150 billed annually)

  Desktop and web apps, cloud sync across devices, and sharing with beta readers as viewers, commenters or editors.

• Desktop Only$89

  one-time

  The desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, fully offline with no sync; major-version upgrades are $39.

• Lifetime$349

  one-time

  Desktop app with every future update and two years of Cloud; Cloud afterward is $9 a month or $79 a year.

Novelcrafter

• Annual discount

  2 months off with annual billing

  Annual billing costs ten times the monthly price: $40 for Scribe, $80 for Hobbyist, $140 for Artisan and $200 for Specialist, against $4, $8, $14 and $20 a month.

NovelPad

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime license for $349

  A single payment covers the desktop app and every future update, with two years of Cloud included.

• Annual discount

  Annual Pro Cloud for $150 a year

  The pricing page shows an annual price of $150 against $15 a month, and says a year of annual billing earns loyalty credit toward Lifetime.