Best writing software on Reddit

333 reviews from r/selfpublish, r/writers, r/writing and 25 more subreddits

333 reviews from

and

By Brand

By Product

Scrivener

4.5

(71)

"Scrivener!!!"

"Scrivener NovelWriter STARC"

"Hands down Scrivener"

"Been using Scrivener for several years. Published two books now using it."

"Scrivener if you want a premium tool."

"Scrivener pretty much ticks all your boxes."

"I'm throwing kn another vote for scrivener!"

"Scrivener"

"Best piece of advanced writing software I've ever used."

Microsoft

4.5

(23)

"I write all my fics in plain text without any other formatting."

"Microsoft Word is featured rich and stable, preferred by many bestselling authors."

"Word is great for document creation."

"Word is the most common word processor, making it easier to work with various programs and add-ons."

"The Word document comes with a 24 chapter template and a navigation pane that allows easy movement between chapters."

"Word gives you exactly what you need."

"I always come back to plain old Word."

"Microsoft Word does everything I need it to do. I've published nine books."

"It's well worth the price and the editing features are great."

"I use this document format that Fred Van Lente was kind enough to share for free."

Google

4.4

(23)

"Excellent for backups."

"I love being able to write on my phone when I get bored if I'm out and about."

"Great for typing!"

"Google Docs is an excellent tool for collaboration and document editing."

"It's the best tool out there."

"The interface is simple, gets the job done, and lets you work on your projects anywhere you can access the internet."

"I think it's great that I can access it anywhere, also on my phone."

"Convenient to switch from mobile to laptop and vice versa. Instant cloud saving is the best."

"Google Docs is excellent for writing."

"GDocs keeps all the previous versions of a document, allowing you to go back in time and find bits you deleted or edited."

Microsoft Word

4.0

(14)

"If you intend writing professionally, then I would recommend Word as well."

"Microsoft Word is really great."

"Microsoft word"

"Microsoft Word plus SharePoint as the content management system."

"Word."

"Word"

"MS Word...but also Campfire Write."

"Word. Simple white screen without clutter. Gets the job done."

"I use them for my day job and have been writing in Word for over a decade now."

"MS Word is surprisingly versatile."

Google Docs

4.1

(12)

"I love the new tab feature (although I originally hated it)."

"Google docs with offline mode."

"I like Google Docs, it can do that."

"If it’s your first book, use google docs."

"I tried a bunch, ended up back in Google docs."

"Google Docs and InDesign for me"

"Google docs for drafts."

"I use google docs."

"I just like Google docs it's free and you can use it anywhere."

"I've written a ton of short stories and a novel using Google Docs."

Literature and Latte

4.6

(10)

"Scrivener is great for beginners, providing all the essentials you need to craft your story from start to finish."

"It's just so brilliant for moving stuff around and writing ahead and then coming back."

"Scrivener lets me move scenes around, import outlines, and track my writing goals."

"Scrivener is worth it. Just read the tutorials and go on YouTube to watch the tutorials. I absolutely love it."

"I love Scrivener."

"I find it's a lot easier to stay organized there than in a normal word processor."

"Scrivener is worth it once you decide what works for you and stick to those functions."

"Scrivener is a great program, especially with tutorials."

"I use it as well, but I feel like I'm not using it to its full potential. Are there any good guides out there for it?"

"Scrivener has unique features that are very useful."

Atticus

4.0

(11)

"Atticus is the best paid app for ease of use and a streamlined workflow."

"Atticus is a great tool for writers looking for guidance."

"You could try Atticus."

"Formatted it all in Atticus and then scrivener again later."

"I love Atticus. It's $147 lifetime."

"Atticus is great for formatting your novel expertly for self-publication."

"Atticus is another program that works well for ebook formatting."

"Atticus and Vellum are really best for formatting your book for publication."

"Atticus is mostly used for formatting, but it also has a writing feature that is much simpler than Scrivener."

"It’s mainly for formatting but there’s no reason why you couldn’t write in it."

Ywriter

4.1

(10)

"Among the free options, I recommend YWriter."

"Ywriter worked really well for me when I used it last. It's the best free software for writing I can think of."

"YWriter!"

"I think it was developed by an author for his NaNoWriMo projects."

"YWriter is extensive and rivals Scrivener in capabilities."

"Ywriter free, tons of features."

"It's not for everyone, but yWriter is a free option."

"Pretty easy to use, has all sorts of handy things that could be useful."

"Has most of the features of a paid app but it's free. It's not a super pretty app but it's super functional."

"YWriter is favored by some authors, though opinions vary."

LibreOffice

4.3

(8)

"Libreoffice is free, has been around forever, and is excellent."

"I use libreoffice but also find Notepad++ really cool with its tabs."

"LibreOffice"

"LibreOffice is a versatile tool that can be used effectively for writing, similar to Word."

"I have to be budget conscious. But I've tried several different free office suites and standalone word processors for this."

"LibreOffice is a free alternative to Microsoft Office with many features, though it can be slightly buggy and complicated."

"Libre Office"

#10

Notion

4.7

(6)

"Notion is an excellent tool for organization and productivity."

"I use Notion for organization."

"Notion is my go to. Easy to customize with sub pages and free."

"Notion"

"Notion might be another good option."

"Similar to Evernote."

#11

Apple

4.3

(6)

"I use Apple Pages for my documents and it's fantastic!"

"Minimalist UI, saves immediately to the cloud, and has automatic spellcheck."

"The Notes app on my phone is very convenient for jotting down ideas."

"Apple Notes is a secure and user-friendly note-taking app that offers strong privacy features."

"On a Mac, their Pages software comes with the computer, and as long as the files are stored on your Mac and not on the cloud, that should be fine."

"Pages is top-notch and accessible through the Web app on iCloud.com."

#12

Obsidian

4.3

(6)

"For me, it is Obsidian. For several reasons: \- It is free for personal use \- It has an endless source of plugins that can customize the editor to any purpose."

"Obsidian MD fits a lot of those. It's free, stores your information locally, and has a lot of plugins you can use."

"I just have to bring up obsidian (sorry). It is not open source, but you have all your files in markdown + folders."

"I use Obsidian to have a wiki to organize my thoughts and lore for the stories."

"Obsidian. Free to use."

"More like a database that you build from the ground up."

#13

Vellum

4.3

(6)

"On Mac, it's Vellum, end of conversation."

"I just use Word. I format with Vellum so it's easy to export."

"Vellum is user-friendly and offers a pay-per-use model."

"Something on your computer, like Vellum or Scrivener, for example, wouldn't be scraped."

"Vellum is a user-friendly program for formatting ebooks."

"Atticus and Vellum are really best for formatting your book for publication."

#14

LivingWriter

4.2

(6)

"I use LivingWriter and I love it!"

"I am loving LivingWriter. I like the way it’s organized, and it has templates to help you keep your story in line and that you can have a ton of side notes with details on people and places."

"It's got a 14 day free trial and has cloud backup, and you can drag and drop chapters/subchapters around as you like."

"Try LivingWriter."

"LivingWriter needs too many clicks and complicated fill ins to set your plot or novel up."

#15

Dabble

4.6

(5)

"Dabble is simple to export and very user-friendly."

"It just works on all devices and it does everything I would ever need it to do for me with regards to writing a novel."

"I use dabble. It is cloud based, super simple function wise. I love it."

"Currently using google docs but looking to make the switch to Dabble."

"Dabble is better for writing than Atticus, in my opinion. It's very simple and downloads into Word."

#16

Evernote

4.2

(5)

"It's a really awesome app that enables you to adjust the writing screen as per your preferences, and it is so organised that you can switch between notes very easily."

"Note taking software but people have used it successfully to write a book too."

"Switch to Evernote and your life won’t be the same."

"I live and breath Evernote."

"Evernote or Notebook by Zoho. Both have their pros and cons."

#17

Reedsy

4.5

(4)

"Reedsy is the best free writing tool."

"I just started using Reedsy and I'm really enjoying it!"

"It's free and cloud based which for me is handy since I'm so bad about saving things."

"I'm liking it. They just added a 'planning' section that I haven't tried yet."

#18

WaveMaker

4.5

(4)

"Free and cross platform - designed to work on all your devices - give it a go"

"WaveMaker is free, simple, minimalist, works on any device, saves in Google Drive, and has the same major features as Scrivener."

"Wavemaker is a free and good cloud-based solution."

"Wavemaker allows collaboration from multiple devices."

#19

Final Draft

3.6

(5)

"Final Draft here. Been using for several years now and the app keeps getting better."

"Final Draft is the best tool on the market. It’s the industry standard for the film industry."

"Final Draft has templates for a variety of play formats."

"Final Draft has too many features that complicate the writing process."

"Final Draft 13 does a terrible job with formatting but is excellent at Index Cards and Beat Boards."

#20

Grammarly

4.5

(4)

"Make sure to get the free Grammarly extension for Google Chrome."

"The Grammarly extension enhances GDocs by providing grammar and spelling suggestions, helping to avoid typos and errors."

"Has a decent free tier for proofing."

"Grammarly is another great tool for improving writing."

#21

Musescore

4.3

(4)

"Musescore is an excellent tool for music notation."

"Musescore Drumline is free and is a good starting point for writing software"

"MuseScore is almost as good as full Finale 2012 (which I have) and it's completely free."

"Not sure about other options, but Muse score is pretty neat."

#22

OpenOffice

3.8

(4)

"It does make everything a lot faster."

"OpenOffice is a free alternative for writing."

"I just use OpenOffice and Google Docs."

"You don't need complex programs to write. All you need is the desire, and OpenOffice can handle all the tasks."

#23

Atomic Scribbler

5.0

(3)

"Atomic Scribbler is an excellent free option for authors."

"It is basically free Scrivener."

"I use Atomic Scribbler. Its Irish. It does exactly what you want, no frills."

#24

Ulysses

3.5

3.5

3.0

(1)

"Notepad is a simple and no-frills writing tool."

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