The Dabble Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Dabble in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Dabble
The Insider’s Guide
Novel writing app with plotting, story notes and sync
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among writing tools, read from Dabble’s own pages.
Made by Dabble Writer, Inc. · checked Oct 5, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Dabble’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Dabble’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 5, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.4
GPA, above 20 of the 69 other writing tools we grade
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.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Dabble, taken from its own pages and our grades.
- 1
Best for plotting and writing a novel in one place
Annual prices aren't shown, and phones get a web app, not a store app.
- 2
Paid plans start at $19 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $19 per month, billed monthly (Writer).
- 3
You can try it first
14-day free trial, no credit card required.
- 4
It runs on 4 platforms
Web, macOS, Windows and Linux.
- 5
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.
- 6
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.
- 7
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.
- 8
A 2.4 GPA, above 20 of 69
That is against the other writing tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
The plain part of Dabble you could make: long-form writing. What surrounds it you could not. The 4 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
Dabble at a glance
- Pricing
- Free trial, from $19 per month, billed monthly (Writer)
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, Linux
- Made by
- Dabble Writer, Inc.
- Category
- Writing Tools
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for plotting and writing a novel in one place
Dabble keeps your novel, plot and character notes in one place, with a Plot Grid for lining plot lines up against scenes, and it saves to your device first so you can write offline. It costs $19 a month to start, comments and track changes wait for the $29 plan, and there's no free plan. Annual prices aren't shown, and phones get a web app, not a store app.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D | Writer is $19 a month, 20% less paid annually, and the dearest tenth of this category starts at $15.00, so that's a dear tool before you add anything. Comments, track changes and the grammar checks are Author at $29 a month, and Lifetime Author is $699. |
| Free plan and trial | C | No free plan at all. What you get is a 14-day trial with no credit card asked for. After that, without a subscription your projects stay viewable and exportable but turn read-only, so nothing is lost and nothing can be written either. |
| Features | B | A Plot Grid mapping plot lines against scenes, story notes and character profiles that carry across a series, automatic chapter numbering, focus mode, goals, stats, versioning and co-authors writing in the same manuscript live. The novel-writing job covered, deliberately without generative AI. |
| Ease of use | B | No store rating on record, but there's nothing to set up: scenes and chapters are numbered and formatted for you and reordered by dragging, the Plot Grid sits beside the editor, and the trial starts without a card. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web plus desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux, with ProWritingAid and Google Docs connected. On a phone or tablet it's the web app added to your home screen, not an app from either store, which is what keeps it off an A. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Dabble is for
- Fits if you want your plot, your notes and your manuscript in one place
- Works for co-authors writing in the same manuscript live
Who it is not for
- Pricey if you want comments and track changes, which start at $29 a month
- Not for you if you want a free plan, as it's a 14-day trial and then projects turn read-only
- Skip it if you want a phone app, because on mobile it's a web app on your home screen
- Watch out: the pricing page says annual billing saves 20% but doesn't show the annual amounts
- Pricey if you want to own it, as Lifetime Author is $699 once with no other discounts
Good to know
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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$19
A month to start
Dabble is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $19 per month, billed monthly (Writer).
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.
Trying it first
14-day free trial, no credit card required.
Read from dabblewriter.com on Oct 5, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Dabble's pricing page says paying annually saves 20% compared with the monthly prices of $19, $29 and $49.
Stated on dabblewriter.comLifetime license
Lifetime Author Access for $699
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.
Stated on dabblewriter.comEducation
30% off for teachers and students
Teachers and students with an academic email address can save 30% by applying through Dabble's partner, Student App Centre.
Stated on dabblewriter.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
4
Places it runs: Web, macOS, Windows and Linux
Novel writing app with plotting, story notes and sync. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: works offline, one-time purchase, real-time collaboration, long-form writing, grammar & style.
The novel-writing job covered, deliberately without generative AI.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
What it works with
- ProWritingAid
- Google Docs
Dabble is made by Dabble Writer, Inc.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
20/69
Other writing tools it is graded above
Dabble's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 20 of the 69 other writing tools we grade, and level with 11.
It stands best on features (B, above 36 of 69) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $19 a month, against a middle price of $8 for the category: 42 of the 44 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.0 out of 4. 5 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 70 writing tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Dabble’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 69
- CFree plan and trialAbove 5 of 69
- BFeaturesAbove 36 of 69
- BEase of useAbove 32 of 69
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 32 of 69
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 53 writing tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Dabble is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
The plain part of Dabble you could make: long-form writing. What surrounds it you could not. The 4 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 38 of the 69 other writing tools grade higher. It costs $228 a year.
What you could make
- Long-form writing: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Grammar checking as you type, wherever you type.
- Apps for macOS, Windows and Linux that stay in step with each other.
- Several people working in it at the same moment.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Dabble’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Scrivener, Novelcrafter, LivingWriter, Novlr and Plottr
The 5 tools Dabble is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.8GPA
Scrivener
Free trial · from $23.99 one-time
Manuscript writing app with a binder, corkboard and outliner.
- Only Dabble lists a web app.
- Only Dabble lists a Linux app.
- Only Scrivener lists an iOS app.
- 2.6GPA
Novelcrafter
Free trial · from $4/mo
Novel writing platform with a story wiki and optional AI.
- Only Dabble lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Dabble can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Dabble also covers grammar & style.
- 2.4GPA
LivingWriter
Free plan · from $15/mo
Cloud writing app for books and screenplays with planning boards.
- LivingWriter has a free plan. Dabble does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Dabble lists a Linux app.
- Only LivingWriter lists iOS and Android apps.
- 2.0GPA
Novlr
Free plan · from $8/mo
Browser-based novel writing workspace built around writing goals.
- Novlr has a free plan. Dabble does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Dabble lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Dabble can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- 2.2GPA
Plottr
Free trial · from $60/yr
Visual book outlining and series bible software.
- Only Dabble lists a Linux app.
- Dabble also covers long-form writing and grammar & style.
- Plottr also covers templates.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
15
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Dabble free?
No, Dabble is a paid product, but you can try it first. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
How much does Dabble cost?
Dabble lists 4 plans. Writer: $19 per month, billed monthly (20% less when paid annually).
What platforms does Dabble work on?
Dabble is available on Web, macOS, Windows and Linux.
Does Dabble offer any discounts?
Dabble publicly lists the following: Save 20% with annual billing; Lifetime Author Access for $699; 30% off for teachers and students.
Does Dabble have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Dabble is listed for Web, macOS, Windows and Linux.
Does Dabble have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Dabble is listed for Web, macOS, Windows and Linux.
Is Dabble open source?
Dabble is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 5, 2026.
Does Dabble work offline?
Yes, according to its own site. What works without a connection differs by plan and platform, so check the vendor's page for the detail.
What does Dabble integrate with?
Dabble's listing names ProWritingAid and Google Docs. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Does Dabble have a student discount?
30% off for teachers and students. Teachers and students with an academic email address can save 30% by applying through Dabble's partner, Student App Centre.
Who makes Dabble?
Dabble is made by Dabble Writer, Inc.
What are the alternatives to Dabble?
The closest alternatives to Dabble in our directory are Scrivener, Novelcrafter, LivingWriter, Novlr and Plottr.
How does Dabble compare with other writing tools?
Dabble's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 20 of the 69 other writing tools we grade, and level with 11.
Is Dabble good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Dabble D for value for money. Its paid plans start at $19 a month, against a middle price of $8 for the category: 42 of the 44 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Dabble?
The plain part of Dabble you could make: long-form writing. What surrounds it you could not.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Dabble’s own pages on Oct 5, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Dabble's own pages on 5 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-06-30.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Dabble Writer, Inc. Prices change, so check dabblewriter.com before you buy.
- dabblewriter.com/pricing
- dabblewriter.com/
- dabblewriter.com/downloads
- dabblewriter.com/support
- dabblewriter.com/docs/account-billing/plans-and-pricing
- dabblewriter.com/docs/apps-sync-offline/install-on-mobile
- dabblewriter.com/docs/apps-sync-offline/working-offline
- dabblewriter.com/about
- dabblewriter.com/terms
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Dabble, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/dabble
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Dabble: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 5, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/dabble
Know someone choosing between writing tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/dabble/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded writing tools after Dabble, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Writing Tools Insider's GuideEvery one of the 70 writing tools we grade, compared
- Microsoft Word Insider's GuideWord processor sold with Microsoft 365, free in the browser3.4 GPA
- Beat Insider's GuideFree, open-source Fountain screenwriting app for Mac and iOS3.2 GPA
- JotterPad Insider's GuideMarkdown and Fountain editor for books, papers and screenplays3.2 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Dabble’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Dabble is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Dabble Writer, Inc. Prices and plans change: check dabblewriter.com before you buy.