Author's Forge vs Dabble
Author's Forge
authorsforge.com
Dabble
dabblewriter.comSide by side
| Figure | Author's Forge | Dabble |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $20/mo | $19/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 5 |
| Spec score · Book Writing Software | 8.5 (#8) | 8.9 (#3) |
| Audience | The maker describes the product as built for authors and designed around book organization, writing, and export for publishing. | Dabble says it is designed for novel writers ranging from first-time hobbyists to professional authors. |
| Security | The privacy policy lists TLS/SSL encryption in transit, secure authentication, regular security assessments, and access controls and monitoring. | Dabble says work is stored locally and synced over an encrypted connection, with server data encrypted at rest; support staff may access writing to provide support. |
| Support | The site lists [email protected] for privacy inquiries and links to a Discord community. | Support is available by email and live chat, with help documents and bug reporting also offered. |
Plans
Dabble
- Writer$19 a month
- Author$29 a month
- Bestseller$49 a month
- Lifetime Author Access$699 a month
- Lifetime Author Access$699, paid once
In their own words
Author's Forge
Author's Forge is a local-first writing app for drafting, organizing, formatting, and preparing books for publication. It structures work into libraries, series, books, and chapters, with front matter, back matter, and research notes. Formatting tools include presets, typography controls, trim-size and margin settings, live preview, and reusable themes. Outlining is supported, and exports include EPUB, PDF, DOCX, Markdown, and MP3 audiobook files. Core writing works offline without an account, and manuscripts are stored locally in standard file formats. Paid plans add AI tools for spellcheck, writing assistance, manuscript import, cover art, read aloud, and audiobook export. When AI features are used, portions of content may go to providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. The Free plan costs nothing and includes core writing features but no AI credits. Paid plans start at $20 a month; any paid plan includes a 7-day trial with 1,000 credits, and the selected plan is charged afterward unless canceled. Monthly AI credits reset and do not roll over. The app runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Dabble
Dabble is a fiction-writing tool aimed especially at novelists, from first-time hobbyists to professional authors. Its Plot Grid organizes plot lines, plot points, and labels, alongside character profiles and worldbuilding tools. The editor includes scene organization, focus mode, daily word-count goals, and auto-numbered chapters. For editing, it offers sticky notes, comments, highlights, and built-in grammar and style checks. Co-authors can work together on a manuscript in real time. Dabble says it provides automatic cloud backup and sync, along with regular online and offline backups. Projects can be exported to the web, Word, and Google Docs; a NaNoWriMo word tracker is included. It runs in a browser and has Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android availability. There is no free plan, though a 14-day trial is listed. Writer costs $19 a month, Author $29 a month, and Bestseller $49 a month. After a subscription ends, manuscripts and notes remain viewable and exportable but become read-only.