Final Draft vs NovelPad
Final Draft
finaldraft.com
NovelPad
novelpad.coSide by side
| Figure | Final Draft | NovelPad |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $0.69/mo | $12.50/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 12 | 8 |
| Spec score · Writing Apps | 9.2 (#6) | 8.6 (#28) |
| Collaboration | Final Draft supports real-time collaboration on the script and Beat Board, while Final Draft Cloud provides asynchronous collaboration. | Users can invite beta readers by email with viewer, commenter, or editor roles and use threaded comments. |
| Export formats | extensive | basic |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Headquarters | Burbank, California | Hudson, New Hampshire, United States |
| Offline mode | Yes | Yes |
| Publishing tools | Yes | Yes |
| Version history | Yes | Yes |
| Writing tools | SmartType auto-completes locations and character names, and the software can store multiple dialogue versions simultaneously. | Features include writing goals, adaptive schedules, sprints, focus modes, and locale-aware smart quotes in more than 20 locales. |
Plans
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
NovelPad
- Pro Cloud Monthly$15 a month
- Pro Cloud Annual$150 a year
- Desktop Only$89 a month
- Lifetime$349 a month
- Pro Cloud — monthly$15 a month
- Desktop$89, paid once
- Pro Cloud — annual$150 a year
- Lifetime$349, paid once
In their own words
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.
NovelPad
NovelPad is a novel-writing application for professional and aspiring novelists, available on desktop and the web. Writers can arrange scenes as cards across boards for chapters, subplots, characters, timelines, and outlines. Its Codex tracks characters, locations, and items across scenes, with profiles, aliases, co-mention rankings, and chapter presence. Writing aids include goals, adaptive schedules, sprints, focus modes, and smart quotes that account for more than 20 locales. For revision, NovelPad offers scene revisions, snapshots, structural and text diffs, and recovery of deleted scenes. The desktop app works offline; cloud sync can reconcile changes across devices when connected. NovelPad imports DOCX and exports chapters, subplots, or outlines to DOCX. Beta readers can join by email with viewer, commenter, or editor roles and use threaded comments. ProWritingAid is named as an integration. The 14-day trial requires no card. Pro Cloud costs $15 a month or $150 a year. The Desktop license costs $89.00 USD once and has no sync or sharing.