Plottr vs The Novel Factory

Plottr

• Novelists and screenwriters who outline visually before drafting
• Series authors who need one place for characters, places and continuity
• Writers who draft in Word or Scrivener and want a separate planning tool
• Writers who want a planning tool with no generative AI

The Novel Factory

• First-time novelists who want a guided, step-by-step process
• Writers who plan characters, locations and plot before drafting
• Authors who want writing software with no AI in it

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.

The Novel Factory

• There is no free plan: after the 30-day trial it needs a subscription or the $649 lifetime license.
• Basic is limited to one novel and leaves out dark mode and importing characters and locations between novels.
• The lifetime license covers Version 3 only, for as long as that version lasts.
• Offline work needs the desktop app on a PC or Mac. The browser version, which phones and tablets use, requires a stable internet connection.

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.

The Novel Factory

Novel Writing Roadmap

A built-in guide of fifteen steps takes a novel from first idea to final manuscript, with a practical task at each step that can be checked off in the software.

Plot Manager and plot templates

Scenes sit on drag-and-drop index cards that give an overview of the story's structure, and genre-specific plot templates set out the beats to hit.

Characters, locations and items

Dedicated sections hold character profiles built from development prompts, locations with sensory details and images, and items. Characters and locations can be linked to scenes.

Manuscript with related notes

A sidebar beside the text shows the scene synopsis, the linked characters and locations, and the plot points that happen in that scene.

Writing statistics and goals

A Statistics tab tracks word counts and writing rates against custom goals, with progress graphs and a weekly average word count.

Version history and Word export

Turn Back Time restores earlier versions of the work. The manuscript and its supporting data export to Word, and a Word manuscript can be imported.

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.

The Novel Factory

• Basic$82.50

  per year, or $8.25 per month billed monthly

  One novel with the core features: Plot Manager, characters, items and locations, the manuscript section and writing statistics.

• Standard$220

  per year, or $22 per month billed monthly

  Unlimited novels, plus dark mode, importing characters and locations between novels and additional formatting features.

• Lifetime$649

  one-time payment

  Access to Version 3.0 for as long as that version lasts, with unlimited novels and all features. Equivalent to Standard.

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.

The Novel Factory

• Annual discount

  Two months free with annual billing

  Annual plans cost ten times the monthly price: $82.50 against $8.25 a month for Basic and $220 against $22 a month for Standard.

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime license to Version 3 for $649

  A one-off payment gives Standard-level access to The Novel Factory Version 3 for the life of that version, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

• Other savings

  Hardship licenses and discounts

  The company says it offers hardship licenses and discounts for people with low incomes or disabilities. No amounts are published.

• Other savings

  Credit for original Windows Desktop licenses

  Owners of the original Windows desktop version can ask for a discount on a subscription equal to what they paid for that license.