Author's Forge vs GrinTale
Author's Forge
authorsforge.com
GrinTale
grintale.itSide by side
| Figure | Author's Forge | GrinTale |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $20/mo | €6.58/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 4 | 1 |
| Spec score · Book Writing Software | 8.5 (#8) | 7.9 (#19) |
| Export | The app exports EPUB, PDF, DOCX, and Markdown files, and lists audiobook export among its features. | Projects can be exported to PDF, DOCX and EPUB, with the FAQ specifying PDF page formats and chapter selection. |
| Organization | It organizes work into libraries, series, books, and chapters, with front matter, back matter, and research notes. | Users can divide projects into parts, chapters and scenes and reorder them with drag and drop. |
| Purpose | Author's Forge is a local-first writing app for drafting, organizing, and publishing books. | GrinTale is an online writing environment for organizing books and long texts, including chapters, characters, research and notes. |
| Security | The privacy policy lists TLS/SSL encryption in transit, secure authentication, regular security assessments, and access controls and monitoring. | The maker says data is transmitted over HTTPS and stored on protected cloud servers, passwords are hashed, and accounts can use two-factor authentication. |
| Support | The site lists [email protected] for privacy inquiries and links to a Discord community. | The Pro plan includes priority support, and the FAQ gives [email protected] as a contact address. |
Plans
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.