9 Best Novel Writing Software in 2024: Reviews and Pricing

If you have ever written a novel, you’ll know it isn’t a straightforward task. It isn’t just about writing, rather you have to deal with a lot of related and even unrelated things. You need to organize your ideas and thoughts in the form of notes and outlines, you’ll need a stable internet connection, and you need a comfortable and cozy working environment.

One important part of the novel writing process is novel writing software. A decent, reliable novel writing software will help you with a lot of things including smooth novel outline, note-taking, collaboration, distraction-free writing, novel section management, storage and backup, formatting, and more.

Gone are the days when the typewriter was the only tool that an author needed. Times have changed, and you need to change and upgrade yourself too.

Check out the following list of the best novel writing software in 2024 with reviews and pricing details and pick the one that’s right for you.

1. Squibler

Squibler is the world’s best writing platform that simplifies the writing process for novel writers. It is an easy-to-use writing app that comes with a simple yet effective text editor and word processor. It doesn’t just help you in writing, but it has ready-to-use templates and plot generator with over 500 story ideas for novel writers.

Squibler Features

Squibler offers some of the best features and tools for novel writers:

• An easy-to-use and intuitive dashboard, text editor, and interface
• A drag-and-drop user interface for arranging and organizing chapters, sections, and notes
• First line generator tool for novel writers with more than 500 first line suggestions and ideas
• Story prompt generator and plot generator for novel writers of all genres
• A note-taking feature that helps you organize and manage your ideas
• More than 30 plot outlines for writers
• Distraction-free writing mode to write your novel with complete focus and attention
• An on-screen sidebar gives you quick access to all the essential elements and different novel sections
• Arrange different sections of your novel by dragging and dropping on the board
• Built-in grammar checking and editing tool to improve your novel and its readability in real-time
• Auto-save feature with version control that lets you access older versions of your novel
• Import feature that lets you import your novel from other another app
• Integrates and sync with Google Drive and Dropbox allowing you to save your work on the cloud
• Get your novel in publish-ready format for Kindle
• It works online and on Mac, Windows, iPad, and other devices. Your work is synced in real-time across all devices where you use Squibler.

Squibler Pricing

Squibler only costs $9.99 per month. You can try it for 14 days and check all the amazing features. Click here to start your free 14 days trial now.

Key Takeaways

Squibler is a cost-effective all-in-one novel writing software that comes loaded with all the features that you want to see in a top book writing software. 

2. AutoCrit

AutoCrit is an editing tool for novel writers that help you improve readability without getting help from a professional editor or proofreader. It compares your manuscript with the best-seller novels and books in your genre and gives you recommendations on how to improve dialogue, word selection, repetition, etc.

AutoCrit Features

The main features include:

• Easy-to-use word processor
• Up to 30 editing reports to improve your novel
• Built-in editing and grammar checking tool
• Specific guidance related to your genre
• Progress tracker and goal setting
• Online storage space
• Readability analysis

AutoCrit Pricing

AutoCrit has a free forever plan that gives you access to limited features. The premium plan is priced at $30 per month (or $297/year).

Key Takeaways

AutoCrit helps you write better and improve readability. It isn’t a feature-rich novel writing tool and it only covers one area (editing and readability).

3. Scrivener

Scrivener is a decent novel writing software that simplifies writing and organizing your novel, its chapters, and your ideas. It works on both mobile and desktop making it easier for you to access your manuscript from multiple devices.

Scrivener Features

Here is an overview of the core Scrivener features:

• A word processor designed specifically for writers
• Distraction-free writing mode
• Corkboard for managing your ideas and novel elements
• Outliner tool and templates to choose from
• Set up writing goals and monitor progress
• Autosave feature

Scrivener Pricing

Scrivener for desktop is priced at $49 (either Mac or Windows) and the iOS app is priced at $19.99. There isn’t any online version available.

Key Takeaways

Scrivener is a nice novel writing software, but it doesn’t work on Android devices and doesn’t have any online version. You’ll have to keep your device with you all the time.

4. Ulysses

Ulysses is a writing app for Mac, iPad, and iPhone for novel writers. If you are a proud Apple user and need a novel writing app that works on all Apple devices, Ulysses is the writing software for you. It has a lot of handy features that help you write better novels.

Ulysses Features

Here is what this novel writing software offers you with:

• Clean and simple user-interface
• Distraction-free writing mode
• Set and track writing goals
• Autosave and backup feature
• Supports multiple file formats
• Sync your data in real-time
• Create and manage your library with a single tap or click
• Organize your novel with a group feature
• Integrates with Dropbox and iCloud.

Ulysses Pricing

Ulysses is priced at $5.99 per month or $49.99 per year. It offers a free trial letting you explore it before you decide to pay.

Key Takeaways

Ulysses is a novel writing software for Apple devices with no online version. The features are good but lack some of the much-needed ones like corkboard and collaboration.

5. ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid is a grammar, style, and readability checking software that helps you edit the content of your novel and make it reader-friendly. It improves your writing to a great extent with its amazing and helpful features.

ProWritingAid Features

Here is what ProWritingAid offers you:

• Simple user-interface with powerful features
• Over 20 detailed writing reports for improvement
• Auto-suggestion feature that highlights grammar and style issues as you write
• Find and fix style issues automatically with a single click
• Use the most appropriate words by selecting the best synonym from the list
• It integrates with several leading tools and apps e.g. Microsoft Word, Medium, Gmail, and others
• It has a browser extension, Microsoft Word add-on, desktop app, and an online version.

ProWritingAid Pricing

ProWritingAid has flexible pricing. You can pay monthly ($20 per month) or a one-time payment of $224.25. You get 25% off if you switch to yearly payment ($59.25 per year).

Key Takeaways

ProWritingAid is a handy cross-device novel writing tool that lets you write better and quickly hassle-free. You can improve your writing style, grammar, and readability with ProWritingAid. However, the interface is a bit slow and there is no library of documents either.

6. Grammarly

Grammarly works like ProWritingAid by improving your writing. It fixes grammatical, style, tone, pronunciation, and readability errors in your manuscript. Grammarly has a writing assistant that automatically finds errors as you type and suggests how to fix them.

Grammarly Features

The leading Grammarly features include:

• AI-powered writing tool
• It detects a lot of grammatical and non-grammatical writing errors
• Write directly in Grammarly interface or copy text from the word processor
• Simple and easy-to-use interface
• It has a tone detector that helps you set the right tone for your novel
• It checks your manuscript for clarity, engagement, correctness, and delivery
• Built-in plagiarism detector
• A library of your documents to help you manage your novel chapters and sections
• Integrates with leading tools like Google Docs, Microsoft Word, Facebook, Slack, Outlook, Gmail, and more
• It has browser extensions, web version, desktop software, and mobile apps for both iOS and Android.

Grammarly Pricing

Grammarly has a free for life plan with basic features. As a novel writer, you’ll have to switch to the premium plan that costs $11.66 per month and has all the necessary features you need.

Key Takeaways

Grammarly is a powerful novel editing and writing software that offers you a lot of features that help you improve your writing. Its tone detector is a very helpful feature. 

7. yWriter

yWriter is a word processor designed and developed by Simon Haynes who is a full-time novelist. He developed this novel writing software to help the novelist break their novel into sections and chapters, and to make it easier for them to organize and manage their novel. 

yWriter Features

Here is what yWriter has to offer you with:

• A simple user-interface that doesn’t need any training
• Organize your novel and work on multiple novels simultaneously
• Add scenes, chapters, items, characters, etc. in your novel and organize them easily
• Progress tracker with the word count for each file in your project
• Storyboard view of your work
• Drag-and-drop chapters, scenes, and characters for arrangement and re-ordering
• Autosave and automatic backup
• Autonumbering of the chapters
• It has desktop software for Mac, Windows, and Linux and mobile app for iOS and Android
• Automatic software updates.

yWriter Pricing

yWriter is free to use. However, registering your account donates $11.95 or $24.95 to the developer. It isn’t compulsory though.

Key Takeaways

yWriter offers you multiple features to organize and manage your novel, sections, scenes, and chapters. The features are, however, basic and don’t offer something out of the box. 

8. Hemingway Editor

Hemingway Editor is editing software that anyone can use. It is a desktop software for both Windows and Mac and it also has a free online version. You can use it to improve the readability of your novel.

Hemingway Editor Features

Here is an overview of what Hemingway Editor offers you:

• Extremely easy-to-use text editor
• Highlights errors in different colors for easy identification
• It identifies adverbs issues in the text and suggests how to fix them
• Highlights passive voice
• Highlights sentences that are hard to read and very hard to read
• It also suggests simple synonyms to complex words to improve readability
• Gives a readability score to your novel
• You can format the text easily with its editor

Hemingway Editor Pricing

The online app is free to use. However, the desktop software is priced at $19.99. It is available for Windows and Mac and you have to buy separate licenses.

Key Takeaways

Hemingway Editor is a nice novel writing software that will fix most of the major readability-related issues. However, you won’t be able to write your novel in its editor. You’ll have to copy-paste chunks of text in the editor, fix them, and then move them back to your original word processor (e.g. Google Docs or Microsoft Word).

9. Evernote

Evernote is an all-purpose note-taking app. It isn’t a tool specifically for novel writers but since it is such a useful tool, you can use it as your novel writing software. If you work in a team or working with multiple authors on one or more novels, Evernote will turn out to be the best app.

Evernote Features

The leading Evernote features are:

• An easy-to-use tool for notetaking
• Take notes and share them with anyone you like
• Organize websites, URLs, articles, files, PDFs, etc. in your Evernote account
• Support for voice search
• Create a to-do list to keep track of daily writing tasks
• Organize and manage your notes easily
• Comes with ready-to-use templates
• It has a web version, desktop app, mobile app, and browser extension
• Integrates with leading tools and apps e.g. Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Google Drive, and more.

Evernote Pricing

It has a free plan that comes with the basic note-taking feature. You can switch to the premium plan ($7.99 per month) to unlock more features.

Key Takeaways

Evernote is a handy note-taking app that will help you keep your ideas organized. You can manage and organize different sections of your novel with Evernote too.

Choose the Best Novel Writing Software

Tools and software are essential for novel writing. They simplify the writing process, automate repetitive tasks, improve readability, help in editing, and boost your productivity. The software discussed above might have overlapping features, but they help you achieve different things.

Dealing with multiple software turns out to be a separate problem so you have to carefully handpick the one that’s the best and meets your requirements. I’d recommend Squibler as it is an all-in-one novel writing software that’s specifically developed for writers. It doesn’t just focus on one aspect of the writing process (notetaking, outlining, editing, etc.) rather it covers everything. It is an end-to-end novel writing solution. Give it a try and see how it works for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here’s a list of some of the most common questions about novel writing software:

What is the best software for writing a novel?

The best novel writing software does a lot of the heavy lifting for you including helping you outline, write and publish your novel. If you’re looking for something that helps you write and create a book then I suggest a tool like Squibler or Scrivener.

What is novel writing software?

Novel writing software helps writers to organize their novel and to write a novel. They can provide you with tools to help you outline, structure your novel, create an index for research purposes or add subtitles and chapters.

Do you need novel writing software?

You need novel writing software when you have a novel to write and you need help with outlining, structuring or adding subtitles. There are many different types of software available so it’s best that you read the reviews for each product before making your decision.

What is the difference between novel writing software?

The number one difference between novel writing software products is their interface: what they look like when you first log in and how they behave after that. Some people prefer Scrivener and some people prefer Squibler because there are slight differences in features such as formatting text, cross-referencing research sources etc. In any case, I suggest reading through all the options carefully before deciding on which type of tool will work best for your particular needs.

Antonio