TRY OUR FREE APP

Write your book in Reedsy Studio. Try the beloved writing app for free today.

Craft your masterpiece in Reedsy Studio

Plan, write, edit, and format your book in our free app made for authors.

DIRECTORY

Best Outlining Writing Apps in 2025

Showing 38 writing apps that match your search.

With our writing tools you can track your progress thus far, plan your novel, write your novel and be able to focus on what matters for you the most: FINISHING THE DAMN BOOK!

Platforms: Android

Best for: Outlining, Worldbuilding, Book, Story, and Free

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

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

–

Writing log

Progress stats & timeline

Character profile

Writing goals

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Performance

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Features

β˜…β˜… Accessibility

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Value

Also rated 4.0 β˜… on Google Play

The human brain is non-linear: we jump from idea to idea, all the time. Your second brain should work the same. In Obsidian, making and following connections is frictionless. Tend to your notes like a gardener; at the end of the day, sit back and marvel at your own knowledge graph.

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

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

Website: https://obsidian.md/

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

$25.00 one-time payment

Link pages

Graph view

Customizable with backlinked notes

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Performance

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Features

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Accessibility

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Value

Also rated 4.5 β˜… on TechRadar

ApolloPad is a feature-packed online writing environment that will help you finish your novels, ebooks and short stories.

Platforms: Online

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, Story, Book, and Free

Website: https://apollopad.com/

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

–

Project outlining & timelines

Notes in context

To-do lists

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Performance

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Features

β˜…β˜…β˜… Accessibility

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Value

Craft your masterpiece in Reedsy Studio

Plan, write, edit, and format your book in our free app made for authors.

Learn more about Reedsy Studio

Typing Chimp Character is designed to help fiction writers create better characters, stories, and worlds fast.

Platforms: Windows, Mac, PC

Best for: Outlining, Worldbuilding, Book, and Story

Website: http://www.typingchimp.com/

Base price:

$29.99 one-time payment

Premium price:

–

Enneagram tools

Story generator

World generator

β˜…β˜…β˜… Performance

β˜…β˜… Features

β˜…β˜…β˜… Accessibility

β˜… Value

Whether you’re brainstorming ideas, presenting in meetings, or managing tasks, Ayoa provides you with flexibility and intuitive working methods every step of the way.

Platforms: Online, Mac, Windows, Android, PC

Best for: Outlining, Blog, and Essay

Website: https://www.ayoa.com/

Base price:

$10.00 monthly

Premium price:

$13.00 monthly

Collaborative online whiteboard

Mind mapping

Focus on progress

Idea bank

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Performance

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Features

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Accessibility

β˜…β˜…β˜… Value

Also rated 4.1 β˜… on Google Play

Get organized. Stay creative. Milanote is an easy-to-use tool to organize your ideas and projects into visual boards.

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

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

Website: https://milanote.com/

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

$9.99 monthly

Boards for notes and to-dos

Web clipper

Collaborative functionalities

Integration across platforms

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Performance

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Features

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Accessibility

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Value

Also rated 3.0 β˜… on PC Magazine

Are you using the right tool to get your novel written? If you want a finished manuscript, you need intuitive novel writing software that keeps you on track and helps you write more novels. Writing a novel is not easy, but it should be simple. Novelize has all the features you need while minimizing distractions. Just write!

Platforms: Online, Chrome

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, Book, and Story

Website: https://www.getnovelize.com/

Base price:

$65.00 yearly

Premium price:

–

Easily navigable

Dozens of lists for settings and names

β˜…β˜…β˜… Performance

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Features

β˜…β˜…β˜… Accessibility

β˜… Value

Also rated 3.5 β˜… on PC Magazine

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

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Performance

β˜…β˜…β˜… Features

β˜…β˜…β˜… Accessibility

β˜…β˜…β˜… Value

Also rated 4.7 β˜… on Capterra

Story Planner is an easy-to-use and yet powerful tool for plotting novels, screenplays, and any fiction story. It works great for writers, screenwriters, producers, directors, RPG masters … All kinds of storytellers!

Platforms: iPhone, iPad

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, Story, and Book

Website: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/story-planner-outline-your-...

Base price:

$5.99 one-time payment

Premium price:

–

Organize projects by tags

Link elements

Color code and organize plot lines

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Performance

β˜…β˜…β˜… Features

β˜…β˜… Accessibility

β˜…β˜…β˜… Value

Also rated 4.7 β˜… on the App Store

Still looking for the perfect app to write your novel? Novelist might just be the perfect tool for the job!

Platforms: Android, iPhone, iPad, Online

Best for: Outlining, Worldbuilding, Drafting, Story, Book, and Free

Website: https://www.novelist.app/

Base price:

Free

Premium price:

–

Goal setting

Rich text editor

Back up and restore

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Performance

β˜…β˜…β˜… Features

β˜…β˜…β˜… Accessibility

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Value

Scrivener is the go-to app for writers of all kinds, used every day by best-selling novelists, screenwriters, non-fiction writers, students, academics, lawyers, journalists, translators and more.

Platforms: Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, PC

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, Editing, Publishing, Book, and Story

Website: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview

Base price:

$59.99 one-time payment

Premium price:

–

Flexible corkboard

Structure outliner

Metadata and target setting

Print and export functionalities

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Performance

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Features

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Accessibility

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Value

Also rated 4.0 β˜… on Reedsy

Step-by-step guided essay-writing directions written by a college English professor and includes explanations and examples to help you write a college-level essay including the following: introduction paragraph, supporting paragraphs, and conclusion paragraph.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, and Essay

Website: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/guided-essay-writer/id11731...

Base price:

$1.99 one-time payment

Premium price:

–

Essay writing tips

Help documenting sources

Easily check progress

β˜…β˜…β˜… Performance

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… Features

β˜…β˜…β˜… Accessibility

β˜…β˜…β˜… Value

Also rated 5.0 β˜… on the App Store

πŸ–₯️

Which writing app is best for you?

Take our 1 minute quiz to find out.