Plot Factory vs Plottr (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Plottr grades higher than Plot Factory: 2.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Plottr grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Plot Factory
Online story planner and manuscript editor with audio narration
Plottr
Visual book outlining and series bible software
Which one is for you
Pick Plot Factory if
- Fits if you like to proofread by listening to your story read aloud
- Works for writers who want several linked stories inside one universe in a browser
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you want more than 1 story on the free plan; stories after the third cannot be edited if you cancel a paid plan
- Pricey if you want the plot organizer or unlimited narration, which start at $14 a month
- Skip it if you need ePub export, drafts or versioning, which need the $19 Novelist plan
- Watch out: the site banner points to Plot Factory Studios, so plans and prices may change
- Not for you if you need offline writing or collaboration, as there is no offline mode and collaboration is coming soon
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
| 2.0GPAPlot FactoryFair | 2.2GPAPlottrFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPaid plans run $9, $14 and $19 a month, or $90, $140 and $190 a year, which sits around the middle of a category whose middle is $9.75. The plot organizer needs the $14 plan and ePub export the $19 one. | 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 | CBasic is free but holds 1 story and 1 universe and 250 narrated words a day. A 14-day trial covers the paid plans. | 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 | CPlanning, a manuscript editor, goals and narration cover the basics. The listing's gaps keep it at C: no offline mode, collaboration is only coming soon, and drafts and ePub export need the top plan. | 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 universes, chapters and character sheets yourself, so there is setup before you write. | 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. It is optimized for mobile browsers but has no desktop or phone app, no offline mode and no integrations listed. | 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 | planning and proofreading by ear | 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: Plot Factory and Plottr. How we grade
Price against what you get
Plot Factory starts at $7.50 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 Plottr starts $2.50 a month lower. Of the other writing tools on the chart, 31 score higher than Plot Factory 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.
- Plot Factory also covers goals, long-form writing and text to speech.
At a glance
| Plot Factory | Plottr | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $9 per month, or $90 per year | $60 per year (Plottr); Plottr Pro is $9.99 per month or $99 per year |
| Free plan | Basic: 1 story, 1 universe, dark mode, automated backups, goal tracking, thesaurus and 250 narrated words a day. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial for premium plans | Free for 30 days. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Made by | Plot Factory | Fictional Devices |
| Price read from | plotfactory.com | plottr.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Plot Factory
- The free plan allows 1 story; the FAQ says stories after the third cannot be edited if you cancel a paid plan.
- There is no offline mode, and collaboration is described as coming soon.
- Plot organizer, ePub export and drafts need the $14 or $19 plans.
- The site banner points to a new version, Plot Factory Studios; plans and prices may change.
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
Plot Factory
- Planner and manuscript editor
- Chapters, scenes, characters and notes live together in one project, with a manuscript editor for the draft itself.
- Audio narration
- Reads a story aloud to catch run-on sentences; the daily word allowance grows by plan, and English accents with female voices are supported.
- Character sheets
- Built-in character sheets or your own custom sheet; available from the Hobbyist plan upward.
- Writing stats and goals
- Tracks daily, weekly and monthly word counts against a goal you set, on every plan.
- Exports
- Export to ePub for self-publishing and to docx for querying; the vendor lists ePub export on the Novelist plan.
- Phone-friendly editing
- The site is optimized for mobile browsers so you can write away from a computer.
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
Plot Factory
Basic$0
1 story and 1 universe with backups, goal tracking, thesaurus lookup and 250 narrated words a day.
Hobbyist$9
per month, or $90 per year
Unlimited stories and universes, no ads, character sheets and 1,000 narrated words a day.
Enthusiast$14
per month, or $140 per year
Adds a plot organizer, story questionnaires, a sidebar quick viewer and unlimited narration.
Novelist$19
per month, or $190 per year
Adds ePub export, story drafts and versioning, word analysis, beats mode, mp3 export and beta narrations.
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
Plot Factory
- Annual discount
Yearly pricing for each plan
Plans list a yearly price beside the monthly one: $90, $140 and $190 a year against $9, $14 and $19 a month.
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, Plot Factory or Plottr?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Plottr is cheaper to start with: $5 a month when paid by the year, against $7.50 a month when paid by the year for Plot Factory. Plot Factory starts at $9 per month, or $90 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, Plot Factory or Plottr?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Plot Factory has a free plan. Plottr does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Plot Factory 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.