The best Scrivener alternative that works in a web browser
Plotiar is free to start: real A4 pages, corkboards and planning boards in your browser, and it imports your zipped Scrivener project directly. If you will pay from $19/month and need to write offline, Dabble is the closest Scrivener match. Reedsy Studio is free and formats ebooks, Novelcrafter suits series with a shared codex, and Atticus is a one-time purchase.
Free with a Google account; paid Workspace plans (check current prices)
Platforms and offline use
Web, iOS and Android, with an offline mode
How to choose
What to look for in a web-based Scrivener alternative
Four questions decide which one fits:
Can it import your existing Scrivener project, or will you copy chapters by hand?
Does it replace the binder and the corkboard, not just the editor?
Do you need to write offline, or is a browser with a connection enough?
Will you pay monthly, once, or not at all?
The options
Each option, honestly
Plotiar
Best for: Scrivener users who want the binder, the corkboard and real pages in a browser, free to start.
Plotiar keeps a whole book in one project: chapters in a nested tree, planning on corkboards, flowcharts and plot grids, and notes beside the manuscript. The editor shows real pages in A4, A5, US Letter and other sizes. Its Import drawer takes a .scriv project directly once you zip it, with the binder hierarchy, RTF content and synopses, as well as DOCX, EPUB, PDF, Markdown and TXT files. For export, Plus adds KDP paperback and IngramSpark presets that set trim size, margins and running headers for you, and an ebook preset for EPUB.
Where it falls short: PDF and EPUB export need the Plus plan, and its export is simpler than Scrivener's Compile.
Scenes on a corkboard in Plotiar, next to the manuscript.
Dabble
Best for: writers who want Scrivener rebuilt as a modern cloud app and are happy to pay monthly.
Dabble covers most of what Scrivener users rely on: a manuscript tree, a Plot Grid, story notes, goals and version history, with sync across every device. The installed app keeps working offline, and Dabble is AI-free.
Where it falls short: There is no free plan after the 14-day trial, each co-author needs their own subscription, and there is no direct PDF or EPUB export.
Best for: series writers who want a codex shared across books, with optional AI using their own key.
Novelcrafter pairs the manuscript with a Codex, a story bible that can be shared across the books in a series, plus grid, matrix and outline views for planning. AI is optional and uses your own API key.
Where it falls short: It needs an internet connection at all times, exports Word, Markdown and HTML but not PDF or EPUB, and collaborators' edits don't appear live.
Best for: writers who want a free path from first draft to a professionally formatted ebook.
Reedsy Studio is free for writing, formatting and export, including professional PDF and EPUB files. Planning happens on card Boards, and collaboration is free.
Where it falls short: The free plan gets one planning Board in card view only, and it doesn't work offline.
Best for: board-based plotters who like story elements and genre templates.
LivingWriter combines a manuscript with a Planning Board, story elements that track characters, places and objects, and genre templates. It has apps on every major device.
Where it falls short: The free plan stops at one 25,000-word manuscript with PDF-only export, and there is no Linux app.
Best for: writers who want a calm, focused drafting space with strong writing statistics.
Novlr focuses on the daily writing session: distraction-free drafting, sprints, streaks, goals and analytics, with notes and a planning grid. Exports cover DOCX, PDF, ODT and RTF, plus EPUB on Studio.
Where it falls short: The free plan stops at two projects, and planning is a grid of notes rather than flowcharts or freeform boards.
Best for: self-publishers who want to write and format for print and ebook with one purchase.
Atticus combines a manuscript editor with book formatting that produces EPUB and print-ready PDF files built for KDP and IngramSpark. It works on any device with a browser and keeps writing offline.
Where it falls short: Its planning and organization are basic next to Scrivener's, import and export need a connection, and collaborators need their own copy.
You want to pay once and own it. Atticus is a one-time $147 purchase, and Scrivener itself is sold as a one-time purchase.
You often write offline. Dabble's desktop apps and Atticus keep working without a connection.
Book design is your main job. Atticus has far more templates and fonts, and Reedsy Studio formats print and ebook files for free.
You rely on Scrivener's Compile to produce many formats from one manuscript. Nothing on this list matches its depth.
Questions
Questions about web-based Scrivener alternatives
Short answers, with the facts as of September 2026.
No. Scrivener runs as an installed app on macOS, Windows and iPad or iPhone, each bought separately, and syncs between devices through Dropbox. Every tool on this page runs in a web browser instead.
In Plotiar, yes: zip your .scriv project and drop the zip into the Import drawer, and the binder hierarchy, RTF content and synopses come through. For the other tools on this list, check their import options; exporting from Scrivener to DOCX first is the usual route.
Plotiar, Reedsy Studio, LivingWriter, Novlr and Google Docs all have free plans. Plotiar's covers five projects with its planning tools, Reedsy Studio's includes formatting and export, LivingWriter's is one manuscript up to 25,000 words, and Novlr's is two projects. Dabble and Novelcrafter offer trials instead.
Dabble's desktop apps and Atticus keep working without a connection, and Google Docs has an offline mode. Novelcrafter and Reedsy Studio need a connection.
Dabble is the closest overall: a manuscript tree, a Plot Grid, story notes and offline desktop apps, sold as a subscription from $19/month. Plotiar is close on structure and adds flowcharts, maps and real pages, free to start. Novelcrafter is closest for series writers who want a shared codex.
Bring your Scrivener project to the browser
Import your .scriv project into Plotiar and keep writing on real pages, free for up to five projects.