novelWriter
A plain-text novel room with scenes, synopses, cross-references, and no cloud account between you and chapter twelve.
Technical Profile & Specs
verified 2026-08-11
- Cost
- $0 / forever (Open Source)
- License
- GPL-3.0+
- Hosting Model
- Local (on your machine)
- Platforms
- desktopone-click install
- Installation
- Signed Windows installer or Linux AppImage/.deb; macOS currently requires pipx/PyPI
- Operational Setup
- As of release 2026.1 there is no macOS DMG, so Mac users must create a Python environment and install the package
- Where Your Data Lives
- A project is a normal local directory containing many human-readable plain-text documents plus project metadata and configuration files
- The Catch / Trade-off
- It has an excellent local manuscript binder but no managed cloud sync, browser/mobile editing or Dabble's visual plot-grid and collaboration workflow.
Replaces 4 paid apps
up to $34/mo ($408/yr) in subscriptions
novelWriter FAQ
Common questions
Is novelWriter free and open source?+
novelWriter is an open-source tool licensed under GPL-3.0+ that runs on local. A plain-text novel room with scenes, synopses, cross-references, and no cloud account between you and chapter twelve.
What paid software does novelWriter replace?+
novelWriter serves as a free replacement for 4 paid SaaS applications: Dabble, LivingWriter, Novelcrafter, Scrivener, saving up to $34/month ($408/year) in subscription bills.
How do you install and set up novelWriter?+
Installation: Signed Windows installer or Linux AppImage/.deb; macOS currently requires pipx/PyPI. Setup notes: As of release 2026.1 there is no macOS DMG, so Mac users must create a Python environment and install the package
What is the catch or trade-off with novelWriter?+
It has an excellent local manuscript binder but no managed cloud sync, browser/mobile editing or Dabble's visual plot-grid and collaboration workflow.