# Dabble

> Novel writing app with plotting, story notes and sync

Dabble is a novel writing app for fiction authors. A project holds the manuscript, a Plot Grid for mapping plot lines against scenes, and story notes for characters and worldbuilding, with daily word-count goals to track progress. Work saves to the device first and syncs across the web app and desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux. It is sold by subscription or as a one-time lifetime purchase, and the vendor says it deliberately includes no generative AI.

- **Category:** Writing Tools
- **Made by:** Dabble Writer, Inc.
- **Website:** https://www.dabblewriter.com
- **Runs on:** Web, macOS, Windows, Linux
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 5, 2026

## Pricing

Dabble is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $19 per month, billed monthly (Writer).

- **Pricing model:** Free trial
- **Free plan:** None.
- **Free trial:** 14-day free trial, no credit card required.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Writer | $19 per month, billed monthly (20% less when paid annually) | Unlimited manuscripts, cloud backup and sync, Plot Grid, story notes and character profiles, goals and stats, co-authoring and versioning. |
| Author | $29 per month, billed monthly (20% less when paid annually) | Adds comments, track changes, sticky notes, text highlighting, advanced grammar and style checks, Read-to-Me, and priority support by chat and email. |
| Bestseller | $49 per month, billed monthly (20% less when paid annually) | Everything in Author plus DabbleU Academy: live monthly workshops, a library of courses and more than 70 hours of workshop recordings. |
| Lifetime Author Access | $699 one-time payment | All Author features permanently, including future Author updates and features. No additional discounts apply. |

Read from https://www.dabblewriter.com/pricing on Oct 5, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Dabble before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Save 20% with annual billing** (Annual discount): Dabble's pricing page says paying annually saves 20% compared with the monthly prices of $19, $29 and $49. Source: https://www.dabblewriter.com/pricing
- **Lifetime Author Access for $699** (Lifetime license): A one-time payment of $699 gives every Author feature permanently, which Dabble describes as about the price of two years of Author. No other discounts apply. Source: https://www.dabblewriter.com/pricing
- **30% off for teachers and students** (Education): Teachers and students with an academic email address can save 30% by applying through Dabble's partner, Student App Centre. Source: https://www.dabblewriter.com/pricing

## Key features

- **Plot Grid:** Lays out plot lines and plot points against scenes so a story's structure can be planned as fully or as loosely as wanted, with the editor open alongside the plan.
- **Story notes and characters:** Keeps character profiles, worldbuilding details and research beside the manuscript, and can share characters, locations and lore across the books in a series.
- **Manuscript editor and goals:** Scenes and chapters are numbered and formatted automatically and reordered by drag and drop, with focus mode, daily word-count goals, stats and a writing timer.
- **Editing tools:** Comments, sticky notes, highlighting, track changes and Read-to-Me, plus grammar and style checks powered by ProWritingAid. These start on the Author plan.
- **Co-authoring:** Invited co-authors work on the same manuscript in real time. Writer allows 5 collaborators per project; Author, Bestseller and lifetime plans allow 100.
- **Offline-first sync:** Every edit saves to the device first and syncs to the account once a connection is available, so writing continues offline on any installed copy.

## Good for

- Novelists who want plotting, notes and the manuscript in one place
- Writers who move between a computer, a tablet and a phone
- Co-authors working on the same manuscript
- Writers who want a tool without generative AI

## Worth knowing

- There is no free plan. Without a subscription, projects stay viewable and exportable but become read-only.
- Comments, track changes, sticky notes, advanced grammar checks and Read-to-Me need the Author plan at $29 a month or higher.
- On phones and tablets Dabble is a web app added to the home screen from the browser; it is not in the App Store or Google Play.
- The pricing page lists monthly prices only and says annual billing saves 20%, without showing the annual amounts.

## Works with

ProWritingAid, Google Docs

**Tags:** Long-form writing, Works offline, Real-time collaboration, Grammar & style, One-time purchase

## Alternatives

- [Scrivener](https://toolgpa.com/tools/scrivener): Manuscript writing app with a binder, corkboard and outliner. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dabble-vs-scrivener)
- [Novelcrafter](https://toolgpa.com/tools/novelcrafter): Novel writing platform with a story wiki and optional AI. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dabble-vs-novelcrafter)
- [LivingWriter](https://toolgpa.com/tools/livingwriter): Cloud writing app for books and screenplays with planning boards. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dabble-vs-livingwriter)
- [Novlr](https://toolgpa.com/tools/novlr): Browser-based novel writing workspace built around writing goals. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dabble-vs-novlr)
- [Plottr](https://toolgpa.com/tools/plottr): Visual book outlining and series bible software. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dabble-vs-plottr)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 5, 2026:

- https://www.dabblewriter.com/pricing
- https://www.dabblewriter.com/
- https://www.dabblewriter.com/downloads
- https://www.dabblewriter.com/support
- https://www.dabblewriter.com/docs/account-billing/plans-and-pricing
- https://www.dabblewriter.com/docs/apps-sync-offline/install-on-mobile
- https://www.dabblewriter.com/docs/apps-sync-offline/working-offline
- https://www.dabblewriter.com/about
- https://www.dabblewriter.com/terms

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/dabble
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).