What is the best free book writing software?
Google Docs. Free plans elsewhere hold features back: bibisco’s EPUB export and writing goals come with the $69 Supporters Edition, and Squibler’s exports with its Plus plan.
Best Book Writing Software: 16 Apps Scored for Authors
Sixteen apps authors draft books in, from free ones to one-time licences, scored on the jobs each vendor confirms, a year’s cost and search demand.
Prices and data checked October 7–14, 2026 · Author Score computed by a published formula, not paid for · List your tool
The short answer
Novlr comes out on top at 8.7. It’s free to start, runs in the browser and has no built-in AI, though its EPUB export needs the paid Studio plan.
- Novlr 8.7 Free plan; paid from $8 a month (billed yearly)
Writers wanting a free web app with no built-in AI - Google Docs 8.3 Free
Authors sharing drafts with editors at no cost - LivingWriter 7.8 Free plan; paid from $179 a year
Plotters writing on web, desktop and mobile - Scrivener 7.7 $59.99 one-time
Mac or Windows authors who want a one-time licence - Ulysses 7.6 $39.99 a year
Apple-only writers who like plain-text markup
All book writing software, scored
16 of 16 shown · How the Author Score works
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1
8.78/8 author jobsFree plan; paid from $8 a month (billed yearly)Free plan + paid plans, one-time option3.6K+1%searches a monthweb
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2
8.36/8 author jobsFreeFree20.4M−54%searches a monthweb · iOS · Android
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3
LivingWriter
Cloud writing app with planning boards, story templates and optional AI
Book writing softwareAI writing tools for fiction
7.87/8 author jobsFree plan; paid from $179 a yearFree plan + paid plans1.3K−29%searches a monthweb · Windows · Mac · iOS · Android -
4
7.77/8 author jobs$59.99 one-timeOne-time licence720+0%searches a monthMac · Windows · iOS
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5
7.67/8 author jobs$39.99 a yearSeveral ways to pay1K−1%searches a monthMac · iOS
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6
7.57/8 author jobs$19 one-timeOne-time licence260−46%searches a monthMac · iOS
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7
7.35/8 author jobsFree plan; paid from $179.99 one-timeSeveral ways to pay, one-time option1M−44%searches a monthWindows · Mac · iOS · Android · web
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8
7.26/8 author jobsFree planSeveral ways to pay2.4K−36%searches a monthWindows · Android · iOS
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9
7.16/8 author jobsFree plan; paid from $69 one-timeSeveral ways to pay, one-time option720−40%searches a monthWindows · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
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10
Atticus
Browser-based book writing editor and formatter for ebook and print
Book writing softwareBook formatting
7.06/8 author jobs$147 one-timeOne-time licence1K+25%searches a monthWindows · Mac · Linux · Chromebook · web · iOS · Android -
11
Reedsy Studio
Free browser book editor that typesets print PDF and EPUB
Book writing softwareBook formatting
6.85/8 author jobsFree plan; paid from $52.99 a year (add-on)Free plan + paid plans5.4K−13%searches a monthweb -
12
6.75/8 author jobsFreeFree1.3K−7%searches a monthWindows · Linux
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13
Novelcrafter
Web novel-writing app with a codex and bring-your-own-key AI
Book writing softwareAI writing tools for fiction
6.55/8 author jobs$4 a monthSubscription8.1K+0%searches a monthweb -
14
6.17/8 author jobs$19 a monthSubscription, one-time option1.9K+12%searches a monthWindows · Mac · Linux · Chromebook · web · iOS · Android
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15
5.94/8 author jobsFreeFree170+18%searches a monthweb
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16
Squibler
AI book and screenplay generator with an editor, on credits
Book writing softwareAI writing tools for fiction
5.43/8 author jobsFree plan; paid from $15.83 a month (billed yearly)Free plan + paid plans8.1K−53%searches a monthweb
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Prices in USD from each vendor’s own site, checked October 7–14, 2026. Searches: US Google searches a month for the product’s name, with the change over 12 months. Score out of 10, by one published formula; nobody pays for a rank or a score in this list.
How to choose book writing software
Pick by the files you need first, then by device, then by price.
Do you need ebook and print files from the same app?
Ebook stores want an EPUB and the paperback wants a print-ready PDF. Atticus and Reedsy Studio typeset both from your draft, so one app takes you from chapter one to upload. Scrivener, LivingWriter and Storyist export EPUB too. Dabble and Novelcrafter export Word and Markdown but no EPUB, so you’ll need a second tool to format the book for print and ebook. Reedsy Studio has the opposite gap: it exports EPUB and PDF but no Word file, which matters if your editor works in tracked changes.
Which devices do you write on?
Atticus, Dabble and LivingWriter run on Windows, Mac, the web, iPhone and Android, so a chapter started on a laptop can be finished on a phone. Scrivener covers Mac, Windows and iOS, with no Android or web version. Ulysses and Storyist are Apple only. Novlr, Reedsy Studio, Novelcrafter and Squibler live in the browser: Novlr says it keeps working offline once it’s been opened online, while Reedsy Studio and Novelcrafter say they need a connection. Drafting on Android? Atticus, Dabble and LivingWriter are the book apps that also run on Windows, Mac and the web; Google Docs and Word’s phone app cover Android for free.
One payment or a subscription?
Scrivener is $59.99 once and Atticus $147 with formatting included. Subscriptions add up. Dabble’s Writer plan is $19 a month, so $228 a year, and its one-time Lifetime Author Access is $699, nearly five times the Atticus price for an app that runs on the same devices. LivingWriter Pro is $179 a year. Pay monthly only if you need a feature the one-time apps don’t have.
Do you plan first or write first?
If you outline in detail, use a dedicated planning app; Plottr, Campfire, Aeon Timeline and World Anvil are scored among the story planning apps. Write first and restructure later? Then you want a binder or chapter list you can drag into a new order, which Scrivener, Novlr, Dabble and LivingWriter confirm. If you haven’t settled on a method, try one of the ways to outline a book on a single chapter.
Free book writing software
For a whole book at no cost, draft in Google Docs and typeset in Reedsy Studio.
- Google Docs: free with a Google account, on the web, iPhone and Android. It downloads EPUB as well as Word, though the EPUB is a plain export, not a typeset book.
- Microsoft Word: free on the web and phones; the desktop app needs Microsoft 365 or a one-time Office licence.
- Reedsy Studio: free drafting and typesetting to print-ready PDF and EPUB in the browser.
- Manuskript and Wavemaker: free; Manuskript runs on Windows and Linux, Wavemaker in the browser.
- Free plans: Novlr, LivingWriter, bibisco and Squibler can be used without paying; yWriter is free outright on Windows.
Once you know your word count, turn it into printed pages with the free words to pages calculator.
AI for writing a book
Sudowrite and other apps built around AI are scored among the AI writing tools for fiction, where LivingWriter, Novelcrafter and Squibler also appear. The score doesn’t judge AI prose. Novelcrafter runs on your own AI key, so you pay the model provider directly, while Squibler’s free plan comes with 1,000 AI credits a month. Novlr has no generative AI at all.
How the BookBird Author Score works
In book writing software, a product earns up to 50 points for the author jobs its vendor’s pages confirm (chapters and scenes you can reorder, word-count goals, notes beside the manuscript, version history or snapshots, works offline, exports to Word (DOCX), exports a book file (EPUB or print PDF) and syncs across devices), 25 for what a year costs and 25 for how many people in the US search for it by name and whether that is growing. The formula, and what it leaves out, is on how we score software.
| Book writing software | Author jobs /50 | Cost /25 | Adoption /25 | Score /10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novlr | 50 | 25 | 12.3 | 8.7 |
| Google Docs | 37.5 | 25 | 20 | 8.3 |
| LivingWriter | 43.8 | 25 | 9.6 | 7.8 |
| Scrivener | 43.8 | 23.2 | 10.3 | 7.7 |
| Ulysses | 43.8 | 21.5 | 10.6 | 7.6 |
| Storyist | 43.8 | 24.4 | 6.8 | 7.5 |
| Microsoft Word | 31.3 | 25 | 16.7 | 7.3 |
| yWriter | 37.5 | 25 | 10 | 7.2 |
| bibisco | 37.5 | 25 | 8.3 | 7.1 |
| Atticus | 37.5 | 20.7 | 12 | 7.0 |
| Reedsy Studio | 31.3 | 25 | 12.1 | 6.8 |
| Manuskript | 31.3 | 25 | 10.7 | 6.7 |
| Novelcrafter | 31.3 | 20.8 | 13.2 | 6.5 |
| Dabble | 43.8 | 5 | 12.1 | 6.1 |
| Wavemaker | 25 | 25 | 9.5 | 5.9 |
| Squibler | 18.8 | 25 | 10.7 | 5.4 |
Export one chapter before you pay
Draft a chapter on the free plan or trial, then export it in the file your next step needs: Word for an editor, EPUB and print PDF for upload. Dabble’s trial runs 14 days with no card. Atticus has no trial, only a 30-day money-back guarantee, so run that test inside the refund window.
Questions
Is Scrivener worth paying for?
Yes, if you write on Mac or Windows and would rather pay once than subscribe. The $59.99 licence covers one platform, though. Mac and Windows together cost $95.98 and the iPhone and iPad app is a separate $23.99 on Scrivener’s plan list, with a 30-day trial before you buy.