Novelcrafter vs Storyist (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 Storyist if

• Fits if you write on a Mac and would rather buy once than subscribe
• Works for novelists and screenwriters who plan on index cards

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you use Windows or Android, as neither is supported
• Not for you if you want one purchase for all devices, because Mac and iOS are bought separately
• Too light for iOS-only writers who need the book editor, which is described only for the Mac
• Watch out: the trial length isn't stated

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.

Storyist

• There is no Windows, Android or web version.
• The Mac and iOS apps are bought separately.
• Orders from the vendor's store are processed by Paddle, the merchant of record.
• The iOS app lists a narrower set of formats and tools than the Mac app, and the book editor is described only for the Mac.

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.

Storyist

Story sheets

Editable forms for plot, character, setting and section, which can be customized to hold the details you track.

Index cards and corkboard

Scenes appear as color-coded index cards that can be arranged, and shown beside the manuscript while you write.

Manuscript and screenplay formatting

Stylesheets and templates for manuscripts and screenplays, with quick keys for changing screenplay elements.

Book editor and ebook export

On the Mac, builds print-ready PDFs with trim size, margins and bleed set, and creates ePub and Kindle editions.

Import and export formats

Handles Word, RTF, OpenDocument, Scrivener, Final Draft (.fdx) and Fountain files.

Outliner and word-count goals

An outliner gives a high-level view of a manuscript, and daily and project word-count goals are tracked.

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.

Storyist

• Storyist 4 for iOS$19

  one-time

  iPhone and iPad version with index cards, outline and screenplay template; needs iOS 17 or later.

• Storyist 4 for macOS$59

  one-time

  Mac version with story sheets, outliner, book editor and ePub and Kindle export; also sold on the Mac App Store.

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.

Storyist

No public discounts listed.