Final Draft vs LyX

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.

LyX is a document processor for structured writing, combining TeX and LaTeX capabilities with a graphical interface. It suits work ranging from academic articles, theses, and books to letters, novels, plays, and film scripts. Its equation editor accepts point-and-click input or LaTeX commands and renders formulas on screen. For document organization, LyX includes labels, references, indexes, and bibliography tools, with advanced BibTeX support. Configurable converters handle imports and exports including LaTeX, PDF, PostScript, DVI, ASCII, HTML, OpenDocument, RTF, and MS Word. It supports multilingual documents, right-to-left writing, CJK writing systems, and Unicode. Basic links to Maple, Maxima, Octave, and Mathematica are available, while modules can add Noweb, Sweave, and LilyPond support. LyX works offline on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and supports track changes and external version control systems such as Git. It is free software under the GPL. Windows requires a TeX distribution; Mac installations require a TeX system such as MacTeX.