Hiveword review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Web-based novel organizer for scenes, characters and plotlines
Black Friday: is there a Hiveword sale?
Hiveword report card
Good · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for tracking big casts and plotlines
Hiveword is a browser organizer for novels: scenes, characters, settings and plotlines, with scene filtering and a plotline view, all free on the Basic account. Custom fields, images, notes, search and the journal need Plus at $25 a year, it only runs on the web, and it organizes a book rather than writing or formatting it.
Who Hiveword is for
- Fits if you plot with index cards or the Snowflake method and track many characters
- Works for writers who want a free organizer now and might add coaching later
Who Hiveword is not for
- Skip it if you want to draft and format the manuscript in the same place, as export is novel export only
- Not for you if you need an app on your phone or desktop, because it is web only
- Watch out: custom types and fields, images, notes, journal and search all need Plus at $25 a year
- Pricey if you want the coaching prompts, since Knockout Novel is a separate $49 on top of any plan
Why Hiveword gets a 2.6
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- AValue for moneyPlus is $25 a year, about $2.08 a month, well under 60% of the $5.75 the category's cheaper quarter starts at. Knockout Novel coaching is a separate $49 one-time charge.
- BFree plan and trialBasic is free for good, with unlimited stories, scenes, characters, settings and plotlines. Plus has a 14-day trial, but custom types, images, notes, search and dark mode need it.
- CFeaturesScenes, casts and plotlines are covered. The listing's own gaps keep it at C: export is novel export only, not manuscript formatting, and custom fields, notes and search sit on Plus.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. You build your own scenes, characters and plotlines, so there is setup before it pays off.
- CPlatforms and integrationsWeb only, with no desktop or mobile app listed and no integrations on record.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Hiveword's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/hiveword#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/hiveword.svg" alt="Hiveword: 2.6 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Hiveword stands among writing tools
Hiveword's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 76 of the 136 other writing tools we grade, and level with 18.
It stands best on value for money (A, above 89 of 136) and worst on features (C, above 2).
Its paid plans start at $2.08 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $8.66 for the category: 2 of the 81 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 9 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 137 writing tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Hiveword’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 89 of 136, level with 47
- BFree plan and trialAbove 91 of 136, level with 16
- CFeaturesAbove 2 of 136, level with 91
- CEase of useAbove 7 of 136, level with 81
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 7 of 136, level with 63
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 107 writing tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Hiveword, or make your own?
Your call
A writing app at its plainest is a page that saves what you type.
You could make the core of Hiveword for yourself: long-form writing, notes, bookmarks, daily notes and templates. What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call. At $25 a year it costs less than the weekend it would take to replace, which is the argument for keeping it.
What you could make
- Long-form writing, notes, bookmarks, daily notes and templates: an app builder makes these well.
- It runs in a browser, which is where something home-made would run too.
What you could not
- People on the other end: coaches. No app builder makes those.
What this rests on. Hiveword’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.
What is Hiveword?
Hiveword is a browser-based organizer for fiction writers. The free Basic account tracks stories, scenes, characters, settings and plotlines, with scene filtering and a plotline view. Hiveword Plus adds custom types and fields, images, notes, a writer's journal and bookmarks, and a separate Knockout Novel add-on provides guided coaching prompts.
Worth knowing
- It organizes a novel but is not a manuscript-formatting tool; export is listed as novel export only.
- Custom types, fields, images, notes and the journal need the paid Plus plan.
- Knockout Novel is a separate $49 charge on top of any plan.
- It is web-only, with no desktop or mobile app listed.
Key features
- Scene filtering
- Filter scenes by point-of-view character, location or tag to see where a character appears, and sort the filtered list.
- Plotline visualization
- A visual view of how the main plot and subplots run through the scenes.
- Custom types and fields
- Plus lets you track items like spells or clans with your own fields and add extra fields to standard types.
- Images, notes and journal
- Plus attaches images and notes to story elements and keeps a tagged writer's journal with multiple entries per day.
- Searchable bookmarks
- Plus saves links to web pages with tags and notes, and its search also looks through the saved page text.
- Knockout Novel coaching
- Prompts based on author James Scott Bell's methodology, built into the organizer; sold separately.
Hiveword pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hiveword has a free plan, and paid plans start at $25 per year.
- Starts at
- $25 per year
- Free plan
- Hiveword Basic: unlimited stories, scenes, characters, settings, items and plotlines, with scene filtering, plotline view, backups and novel export.
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial of Hiveword Plus
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Hiveword Basic | $0 | Unlimited stories, scenes, characters, settings and plotlines, plus name generators, backups and novel export. |
| Hiveword Plus | $25per year | Adds custom types and fields, images, notes, bookmarks, journal, search and dark mode; yearly subscription. |
| Knockout Novel | $49one-time charge | Add-on with self-paced coaching prompts, a sample plot breakdown and coaching response export; needs a free account. |
Read from hiveword.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Hiveword before you buy.
Hiveword alternatives
- Hiveword vs Plottr
Free trial · from $60/yr
- Hiveword vs The Novel Factory
Free trial · from $82.50/yr
- Hiveword vs Campfire
Free plan · from $0.50/mo
- Hiveword vs World Anvil
Free plan
- Hiveword vs bibisco
Free plan · from $3.49/mo
Common questions
Does Hiveword have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Hiveword is listed for Web.
Does Hiveword have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Hiveword is listed for Web.
Is Hiveword open source?
Hiveword is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.