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DIRECTORY

Best Writing Apps in 2024

Showing 128 writing apps that match your search.

Notes are just the beginning. Create and annotate anything, from study guides to storyboards. We've got an intuitive, minimal interface for you to start in seconds.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Note-taking, Book, Story, Journal, and Free

Website: https://notability.com/

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

$8.99 one-time payment

Presentation mode

PDF import and annotation

Multimedia notes

Custom stickers

★★★★ Performance

★★★★ Features

★★★ Accessibility

★★★★ Value

Also rated 4.7 on the App Store

The simplest way to keep notes. All your notes, synced on all your devices.

Platforms: Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, PC, Chrome, PC

Best for: Note-taking, Drafting, Book, Story, Journal, and Free

Website: https://simplenote.com/

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

Automatic syncing

Tags for organization

Share documents and notes

★★★★★ Performance

★★★ Features

★★★★★ Accessibility

★★★★★ Value

Also rated 4.5 on TechRadar

Built for teams and individuals to create, collaborate, and organize all your knowledge in one place from anywhere in the world. Create fast dynamic notes, documents, wikis, knowledge bases, and projects while integrating across the apps you work with.

Platforms: Online

Best for: Productivity, Blog, and Free

Website: https://bit.ai/

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

$8.00 monthly

Folders and subfolders

Smart search

Cloud upload

Interlinking & document sharing

★★★★ Performance

★★★★ Features

★★★ Accessibility

★★★★ Value

Also rated 5.0 on Capterra

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A reliable proofreading tool and essay editor for any writer or student.

Platforms: Online

Best for: Editing, Proofreading, Essay, Blog, and Free

Website: https://typely.com/

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

Proofreader

Distraction free

Pomodoro timer

★★★★ Performance

★★★ Features

★★ Accessibility

★★★★★ Value

Also rated 4.3 on Capterra

LanguageTool’s multilingual grammar, style, and spell checker is used by millions of people around the world.

Platforms: Online, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, PC

Best for: Editing, Proofreading, Essay, Blog, and Free

Website: https://languagetool.org/

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

$6.66 monthly

Personal dictionary

Distraction-free writing experience

Quality scoring for your texts

★★★★ Performance

★★★ Features

★★★★★ Accessibility

★★★★ Value

Also rated 4.8 on the App Store

Most writers have at least one old notebook lying around somewhere, full of old story ideas, interesting characters, enchanting locations, or a myriad of other margin-scribbled thoughts. Notebook.ai is a worldbuilding tool that organizes, saves, and helps in fully fleshing out your fictional world, your way.

Platforms: Online, Chrome

Best for: Worldbuilding, Book, Story, and Free

Website: https://www.notebook.ai/

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

$9.00 monthly

Create universes

Create characters

Create family trees

★★★ Performance

★★★★ Features

★★ Accessibility

★★★ Value

Mind mapping starts with a main idea in the center of your mind map. As your map takes shape, add context to topics with attachments, embedded media and more. MindMeister’s features guide you through your first mind maps onto maximum creativity.

Platforms: Online, iPhone, iPad, Android

Best for: Outlining, Journal, Poetry, and Free

Website: https://www.mindmeister.com/

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

$8.25 monthly

Outline mode & focus mode

Comments and notifications

Collaboration

★★★★ Performance

★★★ Features

★★★ Accessibility

★★★ Value

Also rated 4.7 on Capterra

Capture what’s on your mind. Add notes, lists, photos, and audio to Keep.

Platforms: Online, iPhone, iPad, Android

Best for: Note-taking, Story, Book, Blog, Journal, Poetry, and Free

Website: https://www.google.com/keep/

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

Set reminders

Share easily

Quick search and filter

★★★★ Performance

★★★ Features

★★★ Accessibility

★★★★ Value

Also rated 4.5 on TechRadar

OmniOutliner is a powerful tool for organizing (and reorganizing) information, so you can see the full picture and structure your information effortlessly.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Outlining, Essay, and Blog

Website: https://www.omnigroup.com/omnioutliner/

Base price:

$19.99 one-time payment

Premium price:

$99.99 one-time payment

Resource folders

Multitasking

Document stats

Inline notes

★★★ Performance

★★★ Features

★★★★ Accessibility

★★ Value

Also rated 3.2 on the App Store

FocusWriter is a simple, distraction-free writing environment. It utilizes a hide-away interface that you access by moving your mouse to the edges of the screen, allowing the program to have a familiar look and feel to it while still getting out of the way so that you can immerse yourself in your work.

Platforms: Windows, PC

Best for: Drafting, Book, Essay, Journal, Poetry, Story, Blog, and Free

Website: https://gottcode.org/focuswriter/

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

Full screen hide-away interface

Timers & daily goals

Customizable themes

Live statistics

★★★★★ Performance

★★★ Features

★★★ Accessibility

★★★★★ Value

Also rated 4.0 on TechRadar

Grammarlookup.com uses artificial intelligence to check grammar and punctuation mistakes in your writing, eliminate spelling errors and highlight 1000s of style issues to make your writing exceptional among other writers.

Platforms: Online

Best for: Editing, Proofreading, Essay, and Free

Website: https://www.grammarlookup.com/

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

Grammar checker

Punctuation checker

★★★★★ Performance

★★★★ Features

★★★ Accessibility

★★★★ Value

Also rated 4.7 on Capterra

Writer is a writing application without the fuss and distraction of a traditional word processor. It's perfect for everything from taking notes to writing a novel on your phone or tablet.

Platforms: Android

Best for: Note-taking, Book, Story, Journal, Essay, Blog, Poetry, and Free

Website: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jamesmc...

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

Markdown

Estimated reading time

Character and word count

★★★ Performance

★★★ Features

★★ Accessibility

★★★ Value

Also rated 3.8 on Google Play

What makes a good writing app?

Put simply, what makes a writing app good for you will depend on the kind of writer that you are. 

  • If you’re an author, you might be interested in a writing app with outlining, planning, and formatting functionalities.
  • If you’re a student, you’re probably in the market for a writing app that blocks out distractions while you’re writing.
  • If you’re a screenwriter, you’ll want a writing app that’s specifically dedicated to writing screenplays.

Or, if you’re none of the above, worry not: that’s why we built this directory of writing apps. Whatever you need, we’ve gathered the outstanding writing apps of 2024 across multiple categories (drafting, editing, note-taking, etc) and platforms (Android, iOS, online browsers, etc) in one place. Feel free to use the filters to make your quest for the perfect writing app even easier!

So what are the best writing apps of 2024?

We can now put an end to the age-old debate of which writing app is best: Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs

The answer, of course, is neither! Hopefully, this directory will point you towards a much better match that actually fulfills your writing needs. We objectively evaluated each writing app based on four metrics.

  • Performance: How seamlessly does the writing app do what it’s purported to do? How good is the user experience, from top to bottom?
  • Features: How many bells and whistles are built into the app to augment its use?
  • Accessibility: Is it widely available on many different operating platforms (e.g. iOS, Windows, mobile, desktop, etc)?
  • Value: Is it worth the cost that it would take to download it?

Here are some general recommendations to give you a headstart.

The best writing app for authors

If you’ve been searching for an all-in-one outlining, writing, formatting, and typesetting tool, look no further than Reedsy Studio. Used by over 50,000 authors every month, it’s publishing’s most trusted companion to take them from a first draft to a professionally exported manuscript.

💰 Price:  Free

🚉 Runs on: Web

The best writing app for note-takers

Evernote is the king of written organization. In addition to its free organizational templates, Evernote also gives you impressive tagging capabilities, an omnipresent Web Clipper, and the ability to share notes with collaborators, so that you’ll never forget anything again.

💰 Price:  Free basic plan, $4.99/month for premium

🚉 Runs on: Mac, iOS, Windows, and Android

The best writing app for screenwriters

Along with standard scriptwriting features, Final Draft enables you to measure character traits using its inclusivity analysis feature, and tweak your “beat board” until you find your perfect arrangement. And when you’re ready to bring in editors, you can all work simultaneously in real time.

💰 Price: Free trial for 30 days, $249.99 license fee

🚉 Runs on: Mac, iOS, and Windows

I’ve found the perfect writing app. What next?

Congratulations! Now the fun part begins: actually writing the project that you’ve got in mind.

For authors, this means that you have a long and exciting road ahead. In addition to a writing app, we recommend that you arm yourself with some writing knowledge before you embark on it: whether it’s an understanding of story structure or careful thought put into your character creation, all of it can help you realize your goal of a novel.

If you don’t know where to start, check out the list of free resources below. Good luck, and happy writing!

Free online materials

RBE | ToF Bring Your Stories copy Illustrated | 2024-06

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