Scrivener is the go-to solution for serious writers. Dubbed as the best writing software with glowing testimonials from best-selling writers, it seems it has helped compose several major books. This regularly updated list features the best writing apps and software for authors, bloggers and freelancers. I use many of these writing tools regularly. Others, come recommended.

Whether you’re writing an email, a blog post, or a full-on novel, you’ll likely find the task impossible without the right tools. Which raises the question: what are the best writing apps to help you with everything from basic composition to firing-on-all-cylinders productivity?

This blog post sets out to answer that question. Here we’ve divided our favorite writing apps of 2021 into three categories (writing apps, editing apps, and focus apps) and provided brief reviews of each, so you can decide which ones you can’t live without! Let’s start with apps that fulfill the most essential need every writer has: getting words down on the page.

While Google Docs and Microsoft Word are more-or-less fine, a dedicated writer like yourself deserves something more substantial. Here are seven writing apps designed specifically for creative writing, with various organizational tools to take your work to the next level.

1. Reedsy Book Editor

Price: Free
Runs on: Web
Best for: Authors seeking an elegant, distraction-free writing interface that typesets your work into a professional-grade book

Best App For Writing Letters On Mac

With its sleek interface and easily navigable formatting options, the Reedsy Book Editor is a first-rate choice for modern authors. You can drag and drop chapters, insert images, and even track changes to look at past versions of your work — a function that most paid creative writing apps don’t offer.

The Reedsy Book Editor's advanced typesetting features will also save you hours of work when you get to formatting your book for publication. You can create intricate front and back matter and export it as a clean, professional file that can be instantly uploaded to any ebook retailer or print-on-demand supplier. If you’re looking for an all-in-one writing, formatting, and typesetting tool, look no further than the Reedsy Book Editor. Start using it for free right now.

2. Scrivener

Price: Free trial for 30 days, $45 license fee
Runs on: Mac, iOS, and Window
Best for: Novelists and other long-form writers who want an elaborate, organized interface

You’d be hard-pressed to find a list of writing apps that omits Scrivener, and for good reason: it manages to be both streamlined and incredibly sophisticated at the same time. With Scrivener, you can choose a template for your project (novel, essay, screenplay, etc.) and get organizing right away. The left-hand sidebar includes sections and virtual notecards for every element you could think of, and you’re able to arrange these elements however you like.

More advanced features allow you to track your research, create specialized materials like front/back matter, and even analyze the content of the text itself. Needless to say, Scrivener is an excellent book writing app for authors, and indeed ideal for any writer who values attention to detail. You can read our full review of Scrivener 3 right here.

3. Ulysses

Price: $4.99/month or $39.99/year subscription
Runs on: Mac and iOS devices
Best for: Writers who want to productivity-hack their formatting

At first glance, Ulysses looks a lot like Scrivener, but closer inspection reveals that they cater to different experience levels and interests. While Scrivener is known for its steep learning curve, Ulysses offers several tutorials alongside its features. This is especially useful because Ulysses uses “Markdown” rather than manual formatting — for instance, in Ulysses, you’d type # to create a header, or > to create a blockquote.

While it may seem inconsequential now, writers who familiarize themselves with Markdown will likely find that it helps them keep their “flow” during a writing session, and it also makes editing much easier. Other than this, Ulysses is a fairly standard writing app; it’s not as outline-friendly as Scrivener, but you’ll have no trouble staying organized with keyword labels, split view capability, progress tracking, and all your projects lined up neatly in the sidebar.

4. Plottr

Price: Flat fee of $25
Runs on: PC and Mac
Best for: Authors looking for a software that will help them smartly and fluidly outline their books

Plottr may be the one plotting software to rule them all. While Scrivener and Ulysses are built to be all-purpose writing platforms, Plottr was created with only one main objective in mind: to help you outline and plan your story.

To that end, it shines. Plottr lets you easily build the scenes, plots, and arcs of your story, which its intuitive interface then allows you to visually organize, re-arrange, color-coordinate, and filter until your plot begins to flow and sense to you. Additional features like timelines, plot cards, and starter plotting templates (including the Hero’s Journey and Dan Harmon’s Story Circle) are built into the program to help you plot smarter. The sum of its parts is a software that achieves the impossible and makes planning a novel, dare we say it, fun.

5. iA Writer

Price: Free trial for 14 days, $29.99 for Mac, $19.99 for Windows
Runs on: Mac, iOS, and Windows (free trial available for Android)
Best for: Writers who prefer simplicity over style

Reviews often compare iA Writer to Ulysses because it, too, employs Markdown for formatting. However, the interface is much simpler and more naturally integrated into your screen. This minimalist design fits perfectly with the mission of iA writer, which is “to keep you focused on just writing.”

In the upper-hand toolbar, you can still access features like dark mode (shown above) and syntax highlighting for different parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and so on). But the purpose of iA Writer is to facilitate writing, and its setup clearly reflects that — a definite boon for distraction-prone and clutter-averse writers.

6. yWriter

Price: Free
Runs on: Windows
Best for: Authors who like to break their stories into bite-sized pieces

Pivoting to the non-Apple side of things, we have yWriter, a book writing app designed for Windows in a similar vein to Scrivener. yWriter boasts a well-organized interface that divides your story into scenes rather than chapters, which is less stressful for easily intimidated writers. This app is also great for tracking your progress, with features like a storyboard to review your narrative arc, and reports you can generate about your daily word count, the state of your draft, etc.

But perhaps the best thing about yWriter is that it’s a free writing app — astounding in light of all it provides. The only “missing” feature is story templates, which experienced writers can disregard anyway. However, we’d caution users not to disregard yWriter’s intended platform, as the Mac trial is pretty glitchy and unreliable.

7. Storyist

Price: Free trial for 15 days, $59.99 license fee
Runs on: Mac and iOS devices
Best for: Screenwriters who are just getting started

Now let’s talk about screenplay writing apps. Though Storyist provides a solid foundation for novel writing, screenplay and stage play projects are where the app really shines. Upon creating a new project, you’ll work from a highly intuitive script template where each new line prompts you to choose action, character, dialogue, etc. This ensures proper formatting and keeps you conscious of which elements you’re using, so you don’t overdo it on dialogue or forget to transition between scenes.

You can also organize your characters, settings, and images via the sidebar tabs, which may be useful for screenwriters who like strong visuals to supplement their work. But Storyist is feature-minimal for a reason: it’s supposed to be basic and affordable for beginners, with just enough formatting flair to make you feel like an up-and-coming Hollywood darling.

8. Final Draft

Price: Free trial for 30 days, $249.99 license fee
Runs on: Mac, iOS, and Windows
Best for: Professional screenwriters who are ready to level up

Speaking of Hollywood, if you’re already such an advanced screenwriter that you’re frustrated by the limitations of “beginner” apps, Final Draft is the program for you. In addition to line-by-line formatting and other standard scriptwriting features, Final Draft offers countless options for comments, collaborations, content analysis, and more!

You can track story elements and measure your character’s traits using the inclusivity analysis feature. You can tweak your “beat board” until you find the arrangement that works perfectly for you. When you’re ready to bring in editors, you can all work simultaneously in real time. And if you want to shop your script around, Final Draft will export the file flawlessly.

The only drawback of Final Draft is the price tag — a struggling screenwriter may not have $250 to spare, no matter how stellar the software. If this sounds like you, stick to Storyist or a similar app for the time being, but keep Final Draft in mind for when you’re able to upgrade.

And what about when you’re ready to upgrade not just your tools, but your entire text? Well, that’s what this next section on editing apps is for.

But remember, no app can replace a human edit.

Luckily, all the best editors are right here on Reedsy!
Sign up to meet them today.

Learn how Reedsy can help you craft a beautiful book.

All writing is rewriting, as they say. If you’re ready to take on the “rewriting” stage of your project — or if you prefer to edit as you write, either because you’re a perfectionist or you just want to save yourself the work later — these five apps will let you revise to your heart’s content.

9. Grammarly

Price: Free
Runs on: Web, including browser extension
Best for: Writers who want to carefully check short pieces, such as articles and emails

Grammarly is the writing world’s go-to spelling and grammar checker outside of standard word processors. Like any good editor, it underlines the errors and weak phrases in your writing — but Grammarly also goes above and beyond by providing a label and detailed reason for each correction, so you’ll actually learn from your mistakes

On top of these notes, Grammarly has a number of nuanced features to ensure your writing accomplishes exactly what you want it to do. You can “set goals” in terms of your audience, formality level, and tone (happy, confident, urgent, etc.) and analyze your text for factors like clarity, engagement, and delivery.

All this makes for a very well-rounded writing experience. However, we will say that Grammarly, with its goal-oriented interface and meticulous suggestions, is better for short-form copywriting than long-form storytelling.

So if you write a ton of emails, Grammarly could be perfect for you! But if you write books, you might benefit more from the tools to follow.

10. ProWritingAid

Price: Free trial with limited features, $70/year subscription
Runs on: Web, Mac, and Windows
Best for: Long-form writers hoping to hone their personal style

ProWritingAid often draws comparisons to Grammarly, but this app’s approach to editing is a bit more holistic. Though it still points out significant errors, ProWritingAid’s suggestions tend more toward enhancing the flow of your prose — for example, reducing passive voice and filler words — than nitpicking for grammatical technicalities.

You’ll also find more methods of analysis with ProWritingAid, including auto-generated stats regarding your vocabulary, sentence structure, and more. ProWritingAid will let you know which words you’re overusing, which areas are inconsistent, and how you might connect your ideas more smoothly. Overall, it’s a great tool that will undoubtedly help you polish your writing (though keep in mind that you’ll have to pay to access the full range of features).

11. Hemingway

Price: Free online, $19.99 license fee
Runs on: Web, Mac, and Windows
Best for: Authors who value crisp, clean prose above all

Both a useful tool and clever homage to one of the twentieth century’s greatest authors, Hemingway is a must-have app for writers who like to keep things short and sweet. The purely prose-based editor gives feedback on sentence length, word usage, passive voice, and adverbs — simple elements that can nonetheless make or break a piece.

The app employs different-colored highlights to help you trim the fat in each area, and also identifies the text's reading level to ensure you’re targeting the right audience. But that’s pretty much it! Just as simplicity was a trademark of Hemingway’s prose, so it is of this app’s design.

12. Readable

Price: Free online, $4/month for Readable Pro account
Runs on: Web (no browser extension yet)
Best for: Short-form writers who need their work to be easily digestible

Readable’s core mission is similar to Hemingway’s: to make your prose more, well, readable. But Readable has a few more bells and whistles to it, which may be helpful for writers who want really thorough textual analysis. Besides pointing out run-on sentences and other indicators of purple prose, this app collects tons of relevant statistics, from text composition to reading time. You’ll also receive scores on multiple readability scales — Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Fog, etc.

As with ProWritingAid, you’ll have to upgrade for full access to features like keyword density and quality control. This may be worth looking into if you create content for a living, but for writers whose work doesn’t depend on SEO, the free version of Readable should serve you well.

13. NaturalReader

Price: Free
Runs on: Web, Mac, and Windows
Best for: Writers who need fresh eyes — or rather, ears — for editing

Reading one’s work aloud is a great way to catch awkward phrasing and typos. But what if you’re already so accustomed to your own prose that, when reading to yourself, you skim right over these issues?

That’s when you can turn to NaturalReader, the best text-to-speech reader we’ve found this side of an actual person. To use it, simply copy/paste your writing into the text box, choose a voice and reading speed, and follow along with the magnified text at the bottom. You can pause, rewind, fast-forward, and change the other settings at any time; it’s all incredibly easy and conducive to comprehension. (Just make sure you’re actually listening, not zoning out.)

We’d recommend NaturalReader for anyone with a short piece to proofread, as it may not be practical to feed your entire book through the app. Then again, if you’ve got the time, have at it!

Now let's talk writing apps for focus and organization. Buckling down and getting started is often the hardest part of the writing process. Fortunately, these apps will help you cut out distractions, organize your thoughts, and regain inspiration when writer’s block rears its ugly head!

14. FocusWriter

Price: Free
Runs on: Mac and Windows
Best for: Overstimulated writers who want to get back to basics

Thought Ulysses and Hemingway were minimalist? You ain’t seen nothing yet. FocusWriter is exactly what it says on the tin: it compels you to focus on writing and nothing else. The interface takes on the appearance of a sheet of paper, and lacking any elaborate formatting options or research notes to mess around with, you have no choice but to write.

You can still adjust the font, track your progress, and even set a timer for writing sprints using the toolbar at the top — but it safely tucks these features away from view. If in-app distractions are your kryptonite, FocusWriter might be the solution you need.

15. Freedom

Price: Free trial for 7 sessions, $6.99/month or $30/year
Runs on: Mac, iOS, Windows, and Android
Best for: Internet-addicted writers who can admit they have a problem

Of course, even a super-basic interface can’t protect you from distractions that lurk outside that interface. That’s why you need Freedom: app- and website-blocking software to curb your Internet and social media procrastination (which, let’s be honest, is an issue for all of us).

Freedom allows you to set timed blocks, schedule blocks in advance, and even “pause” before visiting distracting sites. It certainly covers all the bases in terms of potential diversions; users can customize a list of distracting websites and desktop apps, plus connect Freedom to their phones to block distractions on there as well.

But perhaps the nicest thing about Freedom is that it feels truly freeing — between the gentle branding and the ultimately self-imposed limits, you’ll come away feeling not restricted, but relieved that you can get some writing done at last.

16. Evernote

Price: Free basic plan, $4.99/month for premium
Runs on: Mac, iOS, Windows, and Android
Best for: Multitalented writers who want a single space to collect all their thoughts

Another one of the best free writing apps out there, Evernote takes written organization to a whole new level. With dozens of templates for everything from classroom note-taking to personal planning to structuring a novel, Evernote makes admin not only easy, but fun!

Besides abundant organizational templates — again, all for free with the basic plan — Evernote also lets you tag everything in specific categories, share your notes with collaborators, and even chat with them in-app. One of its coolest features is the Web Clipper, which you can use to save any excerpt of web content that appeals to you. More than anything, Evernote is a work-saving app designed to be adaptable and accessible for all kinds of writers and their projects.

17. Reedsy Prompts

Price: Free
Runs on: Web
Best for: Writers who just need a spark of an idea to get started

Okay, this one’s not exactly an app, at least not yet. But after comparing Reedsy Prompts to similar writing inspiration apps like Writing Challenge and The Brainstormer, we can honestly say it has much more to offer. For one thing, you’ll get five new prompts every single week — and not just on the Reedsy Prompts page, but sent straight to your email inbox. And if you write a short story based on one of those prompts, you could win $50 in our weekly contest!

That said, if you’re not inspired by the prompts of a particular week, you can explore the infinite possibilities of the 700+ prompts that already live on the Reedsy Prompts page. Though you’ll only be able to enter the competition with one of the five featured prompts for that week, we’re always excited to see what our users create… so if you write a story based on any of the available prompts, make sure to let us know.

At the end of the day, that’s what writing is all about: creating something wonderful and unique to share with others, whether it’s an informative article, a personal essay, or a 300-page book. Whatever your writing project, we hope these apps can be of use to you — and indeed, of service to everyone who gets to enjoy your work.

Didn’t find what you were looking for here? Check out our list of novel writing software for some more intensive writing programs, or this list of writing tools to help hone your creative process.

As a child, I used to read a lot of novels. My fascination for reading kept me glued to books all the time. I used to finish up a Sidney Sheldon novel within days of starting. But do you know how much it takes to write a book? There are authors who take years to finish up writing one. It is for the ease of all those authors and budding writers that writing applications have been developed. If you are in search of the best writing apps for Mac, the buddy, you are in the right place!

The history behind writing…

Contents

• So, improve your productivity with the following writing apps for Mac…

Writing began with stone tablets which then moved on to palm leaves and manuscripts. And then when the paper was invented, books started showing up everywhere around the globe. Writing a book with a pen took several months to complete. Typewriters shortened this time by many folds. But with the invention of computers, writing became super-convenient.

In the present generation, writing applications are being developed which will make the life of authors and writers even easier. If you are a tech blogger, the promising writer, author, then a good writing app is a must!

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What is the use of a writing app?

Though a general word file covers the basic needs of a writer, yet for a more convenient experience, you can go for a writing app. It creates the right ambiance in the system for the writer to concentrate just on the content of his write-up.

Additional editing tools, backgrounds, correcting tools etc. will help you create a better story or article in lesser time. When you write a book, you add various chapters or sub-sections to it.

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Managing all these documents can turn quite messy; in these times writing apps come to your rescue.

So, improve your productivity with the following writing apps for Mac…

Mac systems are widely used all over the globe and if you are a writer or author, then this app is god’s gift for you. This ultimate writing application can be used for focused writing sessions encouraging immersion with the text.

The app also helps you organize your write-up related documents and daily blog posts. It works on iPhones and iPads and you can also sync up your work with iCloud through this application.

It has got a 14-day free trial and after that, the monthly rental price is Rs 299.

2. Microsoft Word 2016

Really guys? Do you even need an introduction to this app? Popular across the globe for its simplicity yet abundant features, Microsoft Word 2016 can be used in Mac as well as Windows systems.

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Though it is tailor-made for Windows systems, yet it works more than fine in Mac ones. Available at a price of Rs 454, you can find cheaper alternatives of this in this list.

Even the name of the app has got an ‘I’ in it indicating it is made for Apple products. Listed as the best-selling text editor in the Apple store, it is a minimalistic writing application used for focused writing experience.

It is also used by famous author Augusten Burroughs. Though some users complain about its missing settings of preferences, it is this very feature that makes the app help writers focus on their content.

Best Apps For Writers On Mac Pro

The item is prized at Rs 590.

Just like Microsoft Word is for Windows systems, Apple pages are for Mac systems. But it is not only limited to Mac users. If you have any other PC, then you can download pages and use it through iCloud. And the best part about this writing app for Mac? It is free of cost!

It is certainly one of the best free word processors for Mac. Though it has got an impressive user interface and features, it is not very popular as every user with whom you would like to share or collaborate would have to install Pages in their systems too.

Released back in 2007, it is one of the bestnovel writing software for Mac. It is also supported by systems running on Windows and Linux. You can now easily organize your documents and notes with the help of this content managing app. The app also offers various templates for creating screenplays, fictional, and non-fictional manuscripts.

The split-screen mode and drag-drop feature of virtual index cards make it a top choice for various writers.

6. TextEdit

The Mac word processing app SimpleText was replaced by TextEdit. It uses the Cocoa text format to read and edit documents in various formats like Rich Text Format, plain text and HTML.

Though it is not a very advanced tool, it can be used for applying various text edits to your content, adding multimedia inputs to it and writing different character encodings. And the best part? It is a free novel writing software for Mac.

A top-notch text editor and writing app for Mac is Byword, available on Mac and Apple app store. You can easily use this app anywhere to edit your stories, blog posts, and school projects.

There are various features like on-the-tip keyboard shortcuts and syntax highlighting that help the user achieve better productivity.

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Sync up your work in iCloud or Dropbox so that you can work on them from any device, anywhere, anytime.

The finest in the industry, it has been used by various authors and movie script writers in the entertainment industry. All have given rave reviews about this app. Tailor-made for the entertainment industry, it offers more than 100 templates for drafting screenplays and stage plays.

You can also collaborate with a partner for real-time writing, outline act, scenes and sequences easily. Apart from these, there are several other text editing features that make it one of the best word processor for Mac.

It also works on Windows systems.

9. Write!

Yet another free writing app for Mac is Write! Though currently, only its Windows version is available, its Linux and iOS versions are on their way for release. If you get quite distracted while writing your blog or story or even school essay, then use this tool for a distraction-free writing session.

Features like automatic spell-check, tunable autocomplete (completes your word before you end), multiple keyboard shortcuts, support for Markdown, Wiki, and Textile syntax, unlimited undo etc. make authors prefer this over the others.

10. Storyist

An advanced writing app for Mac preferred by various novelists and screenplay writers is Storyist. Talk about focused writing environment, more organized writing, easy access to all documents…Storyist covers them all.

It supports Mac systems and also works on iPhones and iPads.

With the help of this app, you can now create stunningly formatted manuscripts and screenplays and get a customized high-level view of the story with the help of index cards.

Experience a distraction-free writing session with app Whiteroom which creates a full-screen writing environment. It was developed as an alternative to Microsoft Word to provide a more convenient writing environment. It has got spell check and auto-save feature in addition to basic features of Word.

More the features more the distractions; that is why Whiteroom has stuck to the basics.

Writing a movie script or screenplay? Go for one of the best writing apps for Mac named Slugline. It is a simple and elegant writing application for Mac and iOS systems. Its outline navigator helps you write sections and sub-sections of the write-up in a more organized way.

Just like other writing apps in the list, you can sync up your documents in iCloud and Dropbox and then work on them on other devices too.

Best Apps For Writers On Mac Os

The dark mode of the app helps you work in low light conditions. You can also pair a keyboard to your iPad and then write using it.

13. Tinyword:

Best Apps For Writers On Mac Apps

Work on multiple document types like DOC, DOCX, PDF, HTML, RTF etc. and create amazing stories with the help of Tinyword. Featuring multiple editing tools like inserting tables, symbols, footnotes, hyperlinks, page numbers etc., it is highly preferred by budding writers and authors.

You can also protect your content with a password and also put editing restrictions on your content.

Focus on your story or write-up with the help of this amazing writing app for Mac. With quick note feature, easy to use interface, advanced markup editor with knowledge of over 20 programming languages, multiple work themes, cross-note links, focus mode, hashtags, smart data recognition, multi-device sync…and many more,

Best Free Apps For Writers Mac

it is certainly one of the most feature-rich writing apps for Mac.

Best Apps For Writers Mac

We hope the above writing apps for Mac help you create your dream story or screenplay in time. If you want a better work space, do take a look at free time tracker apps for Mac and Calendar apps for Mac.

Just the way above-mentioned tools will help you improve your writing productivity, these apps will help you achieve more work in less time.