Dabble vs Final Draft
Dabble
dabblewriter.com
Final Draft
finaldraft.comSide by side
| Figure | Dabble | Final Draft |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $19/mo | $0.69/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 5 | 12 |
| Spec score · Text App | 9.0 (#2) | 9.1 (#1) |
| Spec score · Writing Apps | 8.6 (#29) | 9.2 (#6) |
| Collaboration | Co-authoring lets writers invite a co-author to collaborate on the same manuscript in real time. | Final Draft supports real-time collaboration on the script and Beat Board, while Final Draft Cloud provides asynchronous collaboration. |
| Export formats | extensive | extensive |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Mobile apps | Yes | Yes |
| Offline mode | Yes | Yes |
| Publishing tools | Yes | Yes |
| Security | 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. | Final Draft says encrypted cloud storage protects scripts from AI scraping and describes its collaboration and sharing as enterprise-secure. |
| Support | Support is available by email and live chat, with help documents and bug reporting also offered. | Final Draft provides a knowledge base, self-service activation, installers and manuals, and registered-customer support resources. |
| Version history | Yes | Yes |
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
Final Draft
- Final Draft Suite Annual$99.99 a year
- Final Draft Suite Monthly$16.99 a month
- Final Draft 13$249.99 a month
- Final Draft Suite annual$8.33 a year
- Final Draft Suite$16.99 a month
- Upgrade to Final Draft 13$79.99, paid once
- Educational Edition$99.99, paid once
- Final Draft 13 Student$99.99, paid once
- Final Draft 13 Personal$199.99, paid once
- Final Draft 13 Educators & Non-profitsPriced on request
In their own words
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.
Final Draft
Final Draft is screenwriting software that automatically formats scripts and supports planning, drafting and production workflows. Beat Board, Outline Editor and Structure Lines help writers brainstorm, outline and navigate drafts. SmartType completes common character names and locations, and writers can store multiple dialogue versions. The software includes templates, customizable workflows, autosave, sprint timers and writing statistics. Production tools cover revision, location tracking, casting, scheduling, budgeting, production tagging and reporting. Real-time collaboration works on scripts and the Beat Board; Final Draft Cloud adds asynchronous collaboration, Vault storage, project folders, ScriptNotes, sharing and optional desktop-to-cloud syncing. Final Draft is available for macOS, Windows, web and iOS, but the numbered desktop versions do not run on iPad or iPhone; Final Draft Go is separate. Desktop requirements are macOS 12 Monterey or later, or Windows 10 or later with an Intel or AMD processor; Chromebook is not supported. Suite plans include Final Draft 13 and Cloud: $99.99 a year or $16.99 a month, each with a 5-day trial.