--- title: Scrivener Reviews meta_title: 'Scrivener Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta_description: Filter 87 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Scrivener works for a business like yours. aggregate_rating: rating_value: 4.5 review_count: 87 scale: '5' date_modified: '2026-08-04' parent_category: name: Performing Arts url: https://www.g2.com/categories/performing-arts --- # Scrivener Reviews **Vendor:** Literature & Latte **Category:** [Screenwriting Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/screenwriting) **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 87 ## About Scrivener Scrivener is an integrated writing, outlining and research app that is tailor made for long writing projects. Since its launch in 2007 it has become the go-to for writers of all types. The project outline makes it easy to get an overview of your work and flip between sections. You can also split the screen and refer to research alongside your writing and drag and drop to rearrange your work. Write in any order, in sections as large or small as you like, and let Scrivener stitch it all together before submitting or publishing. However you write or whatever you're writing, Scrivener contains everything you need to get writing and keep writing. Scrivener is available for Mac, Windows and iPhone. ## Scrivener Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users appreciate the **ease of use** of Scrivener, simplifying research and manuscript organization seamlessly. (2 reviews) - Users love the **ease of organization** in Scrivener, effectively managing research and writing for long projects. (2 reviews) - Users value Scrivener for its **superior organization** , managing manuscripts and critical information efficiently in one place. (2 reviews) - Users value Scrivener's **easy implementation** for organizing writing tasks seamlessly across devices without disrupting workflow. (1 reviews) - Users value the **flexibility** of Scrivener, effectively managing tasks across its desktop and mobile versions. (1 reviews) - Navigation Ease (1 reviews) - Tracking Ease (1 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users find the **learning curve steep** , complicating initial use despite the many beneficial features available. (1 reviews) - Users find Scrivener's **limited collaboration features** inadequate for team work and less effective for smaller documents. (1 reviews) - Users find **missing collaboration tools** in Scrivener limits its effectiveness for team projects and smaller documents. (1 reviews) ## Scrivener Reviews ### 1. Great writing software for all projects **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Tim S. | Independent Writer and Proofreader, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 24, 2017 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** Scrivener allows you to place all your documents, images and other reference material into one location so that you no longer have to access muliple locations for notes, webpages or other documents. Writing withine the software is straight-forward and simple to use, as is managing the order that you want your pages to be displayed. Creating a summary for each document (or page) is simple and if you're working to a word count, this is easy to track both by page and by project total. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** The formatting options for producing an ebook aren't as clear as they could be, and understanding how they work takes a lot of time and patience. The manual does explain how this section works and what should happen but there doesn't appear to be as much support for when things go wrong. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Like many programs, Scrivener has a 30-day trial. However, unlike most pieces of software, the trial time is based on actual use, therefore if you start using it for a couple of days and then don't use it for two weeks, your trial time will only have been two days. There are a lot of features that make managing documents that easier, allowing a user to keep all relevant information in a single place even after a project has been completed. Making updates to your work is clear cut and easy as is producing them in a variety of formats (printed, pdf, ebook, etc.) Scrivener is feature rich so there is a bit of a learning curve though the manaul that comes with it is detailed and there are also many support groups and training videos available both on their site and independantly produced. The software is available on both the Mac and PC though the Mac version has a few extra features. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am a writer and being able to put all my notes, pdfs, images and webpages that I use or reference in a single place makes accessing that information invaluable. That I can look at a webpage, pdf, etc and the document I am writing on in the same screen without having to constantly switch from one to the other allows me to concentrate on the work I am doing and reduces distractions.. I no longer have to remember which folder I saved a key piece of information or where I put a bookmark for a webpage, all of it is readily available at my fingertips within the files that I am working on. In addition to this, being able to take a snapshot of the page/section that I am working on allows me to make changes, compare them to the previously unchanged document to see whether they improve or detract from what I am doing, and being able to reorganise the internal structure of the document without having to cut and paste pages is a life saver. ### 2. Excellent novel writing software **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Publishing | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 19, 2018 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** I like the formatting features and options **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** I dislike the steep learning curve for certain things **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I'm able to format my own books, saving money ### 3. Scrivener Is For Every Writer! **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Management Consulting | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 28, 2017 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** It is a toss-up on if I like the cork board feature, or the easy drag-and-drop feature that allows me to move chapters, scenes, etc. around with ease. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** If you are writing with Scrivener on a smaller screen then you might have a bit of trouble at first. There is some sort of buggy issue when the software is put on screens smaller than 15 inches (at least in my case). **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** If you are a writer you need to try Scrivener! You can use it for blogging, note-taking, or general writing. You can even use it to make a recipe book, screen writing, etc. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** When I first started writing it was difficult to keep track of where I was, what part of the scene or chapter I was in, etc. Having Scrivener helped me organize each part of the story into multiple chapters, scenes, etc. It also helped me to stay on track with what happened, seeing as I can easily place a recap of the scene in the little note card feature. ### 4. Excellent Software **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Writing and Editing | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 13, 2018 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** I love that I can use text fragments and keep them in folders together all in one place. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** It has a steep learning curve, and can take a while to use comfortably. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Scrivener has helped me stay organized through large writing projects. ### 5. Scrivener is the perfect writing app! **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Greg D. | Owner, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 20, 2017 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** What I love best about Scrivener is its distraction-free writing environment, its organization tools, and its universal usability. As an author, ad-writer, web designer, and marketer, there are many apps that I have used for writing over the years. However, Scrivener is by far my favorite. It's not for layout, mind you. The styling tools are very basic, but that's the point. Scrivener is designed for writing everything from books to stories to screenplays and more. Any time you need to crank out a couple thousand words, this app is your best friend. I use it to write ads, blogs posts, and web copy on a regular basis. I have also written whole books using Scrivener. The organization tools provided allow me to jot down thoughts, logic points, and plot twists on note cards and then organize them in any order. Once I'm satisfied with the flow of what I've written, I simply continue creating. Scrivener allows me to think linearly or skip around and organize later. This is essential when organizing long works or a series of pieces with a specific timeline. Finally, Scrivener is the most universal writing app I've ever used. I can write on my desktop computer. Then close down and open my laptop to keep going on location somewhere. I can even use it on my tablet in a meeting and then integrate my meeting notes later when I'm back in the office. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** While I love all of Scrivener's functions, It would be nice to give the user interface an update. It sort of looks like a program from the mid 1990s. And also, while I appreciate the way that limited styling options keep me focused on the content, it would be nice to have a few more styling elements to use like more advances color choices and modern project templates for writing web copy. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Scrivener is not the most user-friendly app in the world, but there are lots of videos on YouTube that explain every aspect of the program. It's a fantastic tool if you write a lot and often. Just be prepared for a little learning time when you first get started. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Right now, scrivener is my go-to app for cranking out large amounts of copy for blogs, social media posts, web pages, articles, and more. ### 6. Love Scrivener **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Writing and Editing | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 16, 2018 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** I got Scrivener to attempt writing a novel and it really helps you organize a big piece into smaller sections (parts, chapters, etc.). Also has great character and place "cork boards" to help you visualize your subject. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** There is no timeline feature. Because of the complexity of the story I would really like to make a timeline of the story and I can't. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Well someday I would like to publish a book! ### 7. Straightforward, well-organized writing tool for the way writers think **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Katherine F. | Instructor of Anthropology, Higher Education, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 04, 2017 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** The number one positive for me is that this is a content-first system. The focus in Scrivener is on what you're writing, not on how you're formatting it. You don't have to worry about indentations or automatic capitalization or whatever new "feature" certain other word processors have developed, and can instead think about what words you're actually putting to (digital) paper. There are some awesome built-in planning tools that allow you to storyboard, brainstorm, create character and plot sheets, and incorporate research notes. All of this is built around how writers think about writing-- whether you're writing a novel or a dissertation (I was mostly the latter, but briefly the former). I loved the word count/ tracker feature most of all for my daily writing goal, both for dissertating as well as for NaNoWriMo. Highly motivating. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** The only problem for me was that I was working with multimedia material as "notes"-- videos, photos, etc. Attempting to load too many of these files in to the brainstorming feature of Scrivener significantly slowed it down. It got to the point where the program would crash. Granted, I was working with some very heavy files, and I imagine that most people would not have this problem. I imagine that people who are putting together professional, business-related reports might not like Scrivener, because it really removes formatting from the initial equation, and those are very format-forward genres. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** This program is best for content-focused writers... academics, novelists, creative non-fiction, etc. Short reports or business plans are likely better in other word processors. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I was solving the problem of sitting down to write, every day. Scrivener's built-in tools helped me to develop a writing habit, which helped me to produce (rather than just think about producing) polished and well-thought-out written work. ### 8. I LOVE SCRIVENER **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Executive Office | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 14, 2017 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** The ability to efficiently write my material and have the organizational piece taken care of for me so that I can just focus on my craft . **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** I Love Everything about this software. It allows me to just focus on writing and it takes care of the rest for me . **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Scrivener helps me to organize my projects. I can just focus on writing and don't have to focus on compiling notes ,etc because Scrivener does it all ### 9. Best writing project software **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Emily I. | Content Marketer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 25, 2017 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** I don't know how I wrote before Scrivener. Compared to word processors like Word or Google Docs, Scrivener is a whole different ballgame with its focus on managing your writing. Think of the organizational power of Evernote, combined with the powerful simplicity of a Word document, minus the inconveniences of using both apps together, and that's Scrivener. Everything in Scrivener is designed to help you compartmentalize and organize your work, breaking down both the writing and editing processes into focused, manageable chunks. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** I do wish Scrivener had more in the way of Markdown editing. You can export as Markdown, or export from Markdown, but you don't get the live preview effect you can get in other apps. I also wish their rich text formatter was a little smarter. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Many people experience a bit of a learning curve with Scrivener, or feel overwhelmed by all its features - but don't give up! Play around, experiment. Read about it online, there are a lot of great guides and tutorials out there. It won't take long before using Scrivener is second nature to you. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I write very long blog posts (anywhere from 3,000 - 8,000 words). Scrivener keeps me sane by making it easy to split out my long articles into multiple documents for each section. It also keeps all my research, notes, and outlines for these articles within easy reach while I'm writing. I also love Scrivener for my noveling, as do many other novelists. ### 10. Great Idea, Good Tool **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Furniture | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 26, 2017 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** I like the visual nature. I'm a to-do lister, and I use sticky notes, outlines and organization frequently. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** It's not quite as intuitive to use as I would hope. And, if you already have a work in progress when you start using Scrivener, it can be tricky to put into into the program to use for the remainder of the writing project. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** This is great if you are at the beginning of a project. It can be tricky to transition an in-progress project into Scrivener. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** It's a great way to visualize progress and keep ypurself organized and on track so you can meet deadlines. ### 11. For Serious Writing - the Hands-Down Winner **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Scot H. | Writer, Staffing and Recruiting, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** February 01, 2017 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** Scrivener gives you tools and features and all the support you need to organize a complex project, then it gets out of your way and lets you write. You can bring in tons of resources for quick reference, then you can put them aside and just write. You can segment your text and try different combinations, then get back into the zone, writing. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** Hard to say. There's a learning curve, as with every software more complex than Notepad. Maybe the tools for creating and assigning styles could be more intuitive. If you're constantly developing new layouts, this isn't the right tool for the job. But if you're writing, Scrivener is top of the line. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Honestly, I'd say stop "considering" and buy the thing. As a writer, this was probably the best $40 I've ever spent. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Writing, content creation, generating prose. We use these terms so casually, ignoring how much effort goes into this kind of work. And Scrivener supports the writer better than any other tool. Whatever method you want to use for your word-crafting, Scrivener helps you, whether it's outlining, notes on corkboard, topic/persona/character exploration, or just ready-set-write. You can export to every major file format. You can move topics/sections/chapters around with ease, and track their status using your own labels or the defaults. I've personally used Scrivener for projects as large as novel manuscripts, and I'd love to use it for work, except the business world doesn't acknowledge it. ### 12. As vital as pen and paper **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Emma A. | Author, Entertainment, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 08, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** The ability to rearrange scenes, access pre writing without leaving your main manuscript and use meta data to find important info is invaluable. This kind of functionality makes writing a novel so much more efficient, and also improves your writing because of the ability to quickly cross reference for editing and plotting purposes. It would be impossible to conduct developmental editing if not using Scriv. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** If you want to use the more advanced features, you really do have to read/watch some kind of tutorial. So you can't just dive right in for more advanced stuff. There is a learning curve. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Don't try and do everything at once. Play with it learn the advanced options a little at a time. For wiring you can jump right in and as you have time you can figure out all the features. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I'm a full time fiction writer. I use Scrivener to write everything I publish and to plan. ### 13. My personal project go-to. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Aly N. | Content Strategist, Internet, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 15, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** I love the organizational aspect of Scrivener. I've been having to use Word Online to write lately since I'm normally away from my personal laptop (it's also a few years too old and starting to fade) and I miss Scrivener so much. Anyway, Scrivener allows you to outline your project and keep tabs for characters, settings, plot points, etc. so you have quick references mid-chapter and you don't need to read back the last twenty pages to remember where Character B set their coffee mug. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** I haven't tried the export features yet, but they seem like they could get screwy if you don't format your stuff exactly right. More to come on that once I use them. There really aren't many things I dislike about Scrivener. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** If you're a writer, you should at least give the trial version a shot—it's a really great program. And it helped expedite my process the last time I did NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month challenge). **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I'm solving some of the headaches I have with fiction writing namely. Benefits are keeping tabs on things along the way instead of going back to find them later. ### 14. Makes Thesis writing easy **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Writing and Editing | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 11, 2017 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** Split screen, access to notes, note cards, and the full screen option **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** It isn't great with formatting footnotes **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** If you need to write long documents, write as journalist, author, or a academic, scrivener is perfect. It keeps me so organized and I love the note card features. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** organizing long documents/writing projects ### 15. The Best Writing Software Out There **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Te-ge B. | Owner and Curator, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 20, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** There is so much you can do with Scrivener that it's hard to pick something to like "best." I use Scrivener for all my writing. I pair it with Scapple to lay out ideas and then create ebooks. I use the Research section as a file cabinet and pull in every relevant website, PDF, image, etc. so that I can have easy access to them when I'm writing. Scrivener takes all the tools I used to use for every stage of writing, and puts it together into one app. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** There is a learning curve once you get past the basics. Part of this is because of all the options Scrivener offers. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Scrivener has a 30 days of use trial period, and during November, often offers a special price or a percentage discount, especially for participants in NanoWriMo. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Much of my business involves research. If I am going to quote a statistic, for example, I need to easily be able to prove the veracity of my quote. I use one Scrivener document primarily as a file cabinet, saving relevant quotes in various categories, and then adding the PDF, website, etc. as a resource, and linking the two so I can easily go back over the material. ### 16. Great for note taking and early drafts, depending on your writing method. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Evan C. | Designer / Tech Studio, Architecture & Planning, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 29, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** The folder structure is very helpful for organizing initial thoughts, and structuring a piece of writing. The various ways to view the document are helpful for maintaining focus, or getting a full overview of your document, depending on your current task. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** A lot of the features are somewhat counter-intuitive, there is a bit of a learning curve, but there is an exhaustive tutorial included, which helps. If you anticipate a lot of illustrations in your document, or want control over the layout, this is not the right tool. Great for text only documents. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Scrivener is great for getting initial thoughts down for writing projects, and for structuring your initial drafts. The program is less useful for final edits, and is very limited in terms of text formatting. There are very few graphic tools, so consider this for writing only, not layout. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I have used this software to write/edit several long-form essays of ~4000 words, for publication online and in print.. ### 17. A solid, helpful tool for all types of writing projects **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Taylor M. | Web Designer / Developer, Computer Software, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 20, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** Scrivener has an abundance of features, but allows you to only learn the parts of the program that are relevant to you. Later, it is flexible enough that you can grow into the other features. Scrivener shines with larger writing projects, for both planning and execution. It is an excellent repository for snippets, notes, and thoughts, and allows you to interact with these and move them around as it makes sense to your brain. It is also a pleasant and powerful writing atmosphere, allowing each section to be written and sorted individually and then compiled together when you are ready. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** There is a small but present learning curve with the software. The company has included helpful guides to getting started, but because it can do so much the initial impression can be a bit overwhelming. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Scrivener is an excellent choice, but be prepared for a few days of moving your writing workflow into the system. It is worth the effort without a doubt. Don't feel like you have to understand and use every aspect of the program for it to be beneficial. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Larger writing projects are difficult to manage with typical word processors. Scrivener allows me to organize and approach these projects with a concrete system in place instead of trying to juggle it all mentally. ### 18. Your brain, except organized **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Online Media | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 05, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** The ability to have a multitude of supporting documents at hand in the sidebar while creating the main document is a godsend. And now that it's cross-platformed onto iOS means I can tote my iPad to the coffeeshop and carry on with the research and writing. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** I had disliked that there was no iOS version but that has been solved. The main problem is that it's not more popular as I still have to import my final document into Google Docs which I use with other crewmembers so they can access. Learning curve is a bit steep to know the ins-and-outs of using Scrivener but you can start quickly and learn/add skills as needed. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Give it a try, there's a trial period to use Scrivener and you can usually find discouts online especially around National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Writing grant submissions requires me to pull information from a number of different documents and Scrivener allows me to have them all at hand easily without having a lot of extra document windows open. ### 19. Perfect for Working Writers **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Mark V. | Freelance Ghostwriter, Publishing, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 03, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** I'm a professional ghostwriter, meaning that I'm often working from client audio files. Scrivener has been the perfect tool for my work, because it allows me to handle my audio files, research, and writing all in one program. It also remembers where I am in the audio files between sittings, so I don't have to scan for the right section every time I sit down to work. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** They promised an iOS app a long time ago and have yet to deliver. I would love it to be mobile already. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Take the time to learn the features available. It's much more than just a word processing suite. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** It allows me to use one program to achieve many different things as well as limiting the amount of time catching up at the beginning of the work day. Where previously I'd have to find the right place in the recordings, I now have it saved. ### 20. Cool Features but Steep Learning Curve **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Higher Education | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** August 16, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** Scrivener has tons of functionality that helps you organize your writing. I particularly like the ability to search ALL the notes with the search bar, to organize by folders and subfolders, and the ability to tag with keywords. It also supports internal linking, which is helpful, and I LOVE the ability to split your screen--which I use for notes on one screen and writing on the other. I was able to set up a system to organize my comprehensive exams and dissertation, where my own thoughts were in one color and notes were organized by book and searchable by keyword. It's highly customizable, which is great. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** Scrivener is hard to learn to use. I spent a long time learning all the the shortcuts and functionalities, but because it's counterintuitive, I forget them if too much time goes in between projects. I learned it for my comprehensive exams, relearned it for my dissertation, but unfortunately, I've abandoned it for my current project because I just don't have the time to relearn everything. I'm also looking for a program that can be more of a one-stop shop (allowing me to annotate PDFs, take notes, AND draft). A more attractive interface wouldn't hurt, either. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** The organization capabilities of Scrivener are top-notch. It's easy to take and search detailed notes--locating things is a snap with the search bar and folder system. I was also able to set up a system that worked for me exactly the way I wanted it, given all the ways to customize. ### 21. An amazing resource for sermon preparation and writing **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Todd P. | Senior Pastor, Religious Institutions, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 30, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** It is an amazing resource to gather materials of all kinds together to make the peculiar task of writing sermons make more sense. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** I wish that the task of working with styles was better integrated with MS Word. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Works great as a stand alone product. It is not as easy to implement for collaborative projects. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Working on sermons. Writing devotions. ### 22. As a writer, this software in indispensable to me **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Anna M. | Director. Full time travel and business writer, travel expert., Writing and Editing, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 02, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** No word processer compares to the features of Scrivener for professional writing. Especially for making the processing of outlining and formatting a book so simple. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** The interface can take a while to become familiar with, and I still haven't taken the time to properly understand all of the features. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Saving time in formatting and laying out books and other professional materials I write. ### 23. Interesting Idea, Not Sure it Competes. **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Writing and Editing | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 24, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** In college I was a creative writing minor, and this software made things easy. It really helped me understand format. It's good to use if you already have Microsoft Office. It is also great if your using it for long ongoing writing projects like manuscripts. If you write a lot, I'd give this software a try. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** This doesn't compete with Microsoft Office. Unfortunately, though it has a similar idea is cheaper, and makes format and organization easy, it is not the standard of the industry. I wouldn't send this as a file to anyone, because not many people that I know own this software. While it makes things easier for format, you can do similar things in Word. This software also didn't make it possible to convert things to pdf, as far as I could tell. It was a little slow to run on my computer and it takes longer to set up a file than it would in Microsoft Word. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** If your looking into buying Scrivener as a replacement for Microsoft, don't buy it. However, if your looking into buying it as an extra feature, and are serious about writing, full speed ahead. You can convert Scrivener files to Microsoft Word, which is nice. Its fantastic software for organizing long projects. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** It's nice how templates are organized according to what genre your writing. Blank, fiction, non-fiction, scriptwriting, poetry&lyrics, and miscellaneous. This really helps for beginners and experts alike. ### 24. Confusing at First, Then Amazing **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Writing and Editing | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 16, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** I like having a place to keep my research and the ease with which I can reorganize my text. I'm learning to take better advantage of the features such as target and session goals and character naming. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** Not as intuitive as I'd like. It took me many weeks of using to really get comfortable. I finally looked at Scrivener for Dummies and got a better handle on how to use it. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Play with it, watch video tutorials, and stick with it for a while. It may take a while to get used to it, but it's worth the effort. Scrivener for Dummies helped a lot. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I'm working on several writing projects of various sizes at the same time and Scrivener helps me keep it all straight and organized. ### 25. I have been using Scrivener for about 7 years **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Elaine F. | Visiting Professor of Graphic Design, Higher Education, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 26, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** Scrivener works like I think. It's so flexible and fluid that I can write without the software getting in the way. I love this software so much. Now I use it for all my writing. I like the way it allows me to create parts of a text, split it apart or join it with another. It takes away all the formatting issues and allows me to just write. I can choose a font I like to write in and then export my text into a word document pre-formatted into 12 point Courier to read for editing when my eyes get dulled to what I see on the screen. The ability to create and see chapters and sections while I write, then move them around is one of the most desirable features for me. I also really like that I can drop web pages, photos, or other kinds of research into the document to refer to later. What a benefit to just go to the research folder that I have organized into relevant categories for my project and find exactly the information I need and be able to cite where it originated if I want. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** When I first tried to use Scrivener I could not figure it out at all. I put it on hold for months when I might have been using it. It's just organized on a completely different set of principles than any other writing program I have ever used. After several months of frustration trying to use Word and Google docs to do my writing, I fortunately came back to Scrivener and found the video tutorials linked to the splash screen. I only needed to watch the first one and it all made sense. It took a little while to figure out how to use all the different tools, and there are some that I still could learn to use, but it was easy to learn once I understood how it was organized and why it was organized that way. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** If you write a lot and haven't tried Scrivener, I encourage you to give it a try. It's so different from any other writing program I have ever used that it was hard for me to start using it. In fact, I almost didn't use Scrivener because I couldn't make it work like Word. That would have been a huge loss for me. When I watched the first video in their support section it helped me understand. Once I stopped thinking like Word and started using the features in Scrivener I was able to write smoothly and to follow my thoughts as they happened. It allows you to flexibly move and restructure an entire document and then look at it on screen or export it to a text format like Word for review. I wrote a 40,000 word thesis using Scrivener and I would not have been able to explore my ideas as well with any other kind of program I have ever known. I was able to see what I had at a glance and change it back and forth with ease. Today I use Scrivener for all my writing projects not matter how small. Love, love, love. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I wrote a 40,000 word thesis document using Scrivener. My work process often started with a general list of sections that I broke into sections, adding notes into the sections, moving sections from chapter to chapter, working the notes into paragraphs and then editing, adding, subtracting as I went along. ### 26. Scrivener, a very good writer's tool **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Fred A. | Chanteur, guitariste, producteur, Music, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 24, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** I can organize the whole writing of my novel, including its complete documentation **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** What I expected is the iOs version, but it is here now **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Put your ideas there, they will find their right place **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am writing my first novel, and Scrivener have been helping me to do it, because of its organization fitting this objective ### 27. Fantastic creative and organizational tool for casual or professional writers **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Nathan M. | Information Technology, Parts Sales, Automotive, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 23, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** Scrivener allows creative writers (who are not always the most organized folks) to put their work into a solid framework but retain flexibility in organization and formatting. It can be used like a clippings box, a heap of looseleaf, a set of notebooks, or a rigid outline. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** I really have no complaints. Some of the user interface for file organization has a bit of a learning curve, but it's not a big deal. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Demo it, you won't go back. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I've been able to better organize the product documentation I generate for my clients, and I also use the product for my own freelance writing. ### 28. Perfect if you like to write a lot **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jose E. | Software Developer, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 30, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** During my time at high school, I had the luck to participate in the school's newspaper group, and Scrivener simply made the experience so great. Scrivener has just what you need if you are working on an article and you need to customize it. Lots of fonts, options to place pictures, etc. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** It's a little bit hard to understand. It took me around a week to feel comfortable, and it was hard. Also, I do not like how hard is it to work with other people. It won't let you edit a file if another person has it opened already in a computer. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** It's hard to say so because i have not used it in a long time, but before judging this Software, give it a time so you can understand everything Scrivener has to offer. It will make your life easier as an article writter or newspaper editor. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I was working in a newspaper for my school, We need a Software that would let us do the job, and this program solved it. It helped us to write articles, and even to edit the structure of the newspaper. ### 29. Makes Writing Organized **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Entertainment | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 29, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** The thing I like the most about Scrivener is how malleable it is. You could use it simply as a thought pad or a research tool if you wanted, but the great thing is that when you reach the point of putting "pen down to paper" you have all the outlining and research you did within one system. This makes it much easier to take work you did months ago and turn it into your original intent when you begin writing. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** My only pet peeve with Scrivener is that it doesn't have an iPad version that syncs with the desktop version. They support you partially toward this by making Scrivener able to interface with the Index Card app. I still feel that there could be a great mobile version, however, that would bring out the best aspects of both the desktop and mobile use. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Buy it. You won't regret using it if you do any sort of long-form writing, whether that is an article on a website or an in-depth look at a subject. The reliable data back-up and convenience make the price well worth it. The truth is, Literature and Latte (the makers of the software) could charge much more and they would still have a wide user base. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Scrivener for everything from outlining and writing technical literature to organizing novels, screenplays, and how-to books. Having a database of all my ideas that reliably backs up all my data is a huge asset to my workflow. The amount of time I save not having to chase down journals, research, etc. from other word processing apps is significant. ### 30. Professional writer uses Scrivener for storyboarding **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in E-Learning | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 14, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** I love the storyboarding functionality Scrivener has, as well as the ability to easily link lists and ideas together and move them around. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** My major problem with Scrivener, and the reason I no longer use it, is the inability to share accounts in the same project (co-writing) and the inability to work across both Mac and PC platforms. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** I would recommend Scrivener to writers who want to use software for planning and drafting their own projects, without collaborators. I would not recommend it for those who need to collaborate across distance, or to those who need or want to use both PC and Mac platforms. I also would not recommend it to anybody who is not already fairly computer literate, as it is not the easiest software in the world to use. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** The problem we attempted to use Scrivener to solve was how to storyboard across distance, when it was not possible to get everybody in the same room. ### 31. I love Scrivener **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Real Estate | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 20, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** The ability to work in two screens at once. Also, that it automatically saves my documents. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** There is so much that Scrivener can do, but I don't want to take the time to figure it all out. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I used to struggle with losing documents that weren't saved, but Scrivener does that for me automatically, so I don't waste time recreating documents that I've lost. ### 32. Strong and reliable product for fiction and non-fiction **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Information Technology and Services | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 23, 2015 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** Scrivener enables the logical sorting of content into easy locations, enabling complex story structures, character notes, and research to be easily at hand, enabling the checking of facts, previous writing and logical sequences to flow well. Whilst I do also use Final Draft for more simple scripts, Scrivener enables more complex screenplays to be written as well as a few non-fiction works I have created. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** Since I first started using Scrivener several years ago, the product has developed and has a lot of nice technical features. However, some of these features do not necessarily help the flow of either creative thinking nor writing. So perhaps a little less focus on technical features and a little more "back to basics" with writing would be good. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Use the 30 day trial fully. Only by actually working with the product will you get to use some of the best features and realise what you've been missing! **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Primarily two areas: fiction screenplays and stories, and non-fiction works. For screenplays, you can't beat Final Draft for simple stuff, but Scrivener wins hands down for more complex character and story structures. For fiction stories and non-fiction work, Scrivener has saved so much time and effort on re-work, but is also a joy to work in. ### 33. With power comes responsibility... **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Chas N. | Writer, Writing and Editing, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 19, 2015 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** I really like the Binder... like the Folders column of Windows Explorer with custom colour coding it makes it easy to navigate and view the hierarchy as you write. Also the ability to compile to multiple ebook and print formats in a few clicks... the ones I use most are ePub, mobi (Kindle) and PDF (for CreateSpace). You can save compile settings and switch quickly between them and switch between frontmatter with different tables of contents - clickable for eBooks, page numbered for print. This means when I amend a book I generate the eBook first and upload to KDP then generate a print ready PDF for CreateSpace in a matter of a few minutes. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** It's not WYSiWYG. I think this is because it has to compile to multiple formats which will all look different anyways but if you've spent a long time with WYSIWYG software it's a culture shock. Sometimes there are too many ways to do the same thing... for instance page breaks. You can embed them into the text, tick an option on text items or folders in the Binder , or set up rules used between text/text, text/folder, folder/text and folder/folder transitions at compile time... end up with a stray one and it can take a while to figure out where it came from. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** They say a golf swing is a tough game to perfect on your own but spending a few sessions with a pro can massively improve your game... it's the same with this. The tool can do a lot but blithering about figuring things out will get you in a pickle. Get a good book on the subject to get the best out of it... **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** I write complex nonfiction books with long and deep hierarchies. The Binder and Outliner interfaces and the ability to have visible notes for each component as absolutely perfect to keep track of that complexity. It also has excellent tools for caching files and web pages inside the tool so you have all your research materials to hand instead of having to jump in and out all the time. ### 34. Great Writing Tool **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Automotive | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 16, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** Scrivener is versatile! It allows writers to organize works in so many various ways, always presenting a unique perspective and helping the team collaborate. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** The downside to Scrivener is cross-compatibility between operating systems. It would be beneficial to work between both a Mac and PC system. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Give it a shot, try the trial and see if it works with your flow. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Storyboarding for video training and internal video projects. Basic scripting. ### 35. Research Project Application **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Research | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 14, 2016 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** Once you get the hang of it, it makes organizing thoughts, processes, etc a snap. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** As useful as it is, it wasn't entirely intuitive out of the box. This is minor though because it is worth the initial getting-to-know you period. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Our first, and thus far only, use was to use it to help organize a complex research proposal. I can see its usefulness in future manuscript development. ### 36. Robust Platform for Large/Ongoing Writing Projects **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Scott S. | Writer & Editor, Writing and Editing, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 18, 2015 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** Scrivener allows you to break up sections of your project and rearrange them easily in a number of ways, depending on your preference. You can use the 'Binder', a bar on the left side of the screen, to move different sections while viewing the text editor. Or you can view your sections and note cards on a grid. Scrivener makes it easy for you to break split individual sections or combine separate ones. You can also create folders that show up in the Binder to categorize and sub-categorize sections, grouping them together. This allows you to work on large writing projects in a non-linear manner. Scrivener also allows you to view multiple sections of your writing projects at once. You can have two editors open at once, either side by side or above and below. It also allows you to view even more sections view pop-out reference windows. There is also a customizable bar on the right side of the screen that hold all of your foot notes, end notes, and annotations. In sum, if you have a large enough screen, you can view all aspects of your project at once --- sources, outlines, notes, end notes, foot notes, the overall text, and the individual section you're currently working on. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** There is no automatically available 'dark mode' or other thematic options that are easy to switch between. In order to change the way the editor appears you have to go deep into the settings and change each part of the interface separately. You can save these as different profiles, but you can not quickly switch back and forth between them. And the color of the text itself changes independently from the editor theme colors. So if you'd like to switch from a dark-on-light theme to a light-on-dark theme, you have to change the theme and then manually highlight all of the text in your document and change it to a lighter color within the editor. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Try the free trial (if that's still being offered). Understand that there is a bit of a learning curve. And there are many features you may never use (for example, I have never touched the script-writing suite). Once have some time to figure out and set up this writing 'sandbox' it can change the way you write (if that's what you want). **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Besides being a more straightforward way to work on large, 50+ page, writing projects, Scrivener has changed the way I work on ongoing, iterative writing projects. For example, business proposals, statements of purpose, introduction letters, and other short pieces that follow similar guidelines but that change over time depending on the individual subject matter and audience are much easier to work on iteratively in Scrivener. I have one Scrivener project file for these documents. Whenever I want to work on a new one I can go to that project that contains all the previous iterations of the piece, in addition to various 'stock' bits of text, and quickly create a new piece without having to start from scratch or switch back and forth between a text editor and another note-keeping program or a folder of previous pieces. ### 37. Great tool for writers **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Madeleine C. | Server, Kellogg School of Management - Allen Center, Retail, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 15, 2015 **What do you like best about Scrivener?** Scrivener enables writers to organize complex works in a variety of ways - by scenes, by parts, on a corkboard layout, in outline layout, and even by word-count per scene. Its greatest strength is in allowing creative people to organize and look at their ideas in new ways. **What do you dislike about Scrivener?** It can be a bit complex, and it takes a while to learn all of its features fully, but it does come with simplified and in depth tutorials, and their website has plenty of helpful forums to find answers to any basic questions you have about using Scrivener's many features. **Recommendations to others considering Scrivener:** Scrivener has a great trial run - use it for a month to see if it's for you, and don't be intimidated by it's complexity. Use the tutorials when needed, they're extremely intuitive and helpful. Furthermore, scrivener can be helpful for various different stages of the writing process. For example, I don't use it for drafting, but I love it for revisions when I need to rearrange scenes and see how a new scene/chapter order might look overall. Great product. **What problems is Scrivener solving and how is that benefiting you?** Scrivener has allowed me to more systematically organize, evaluate, and rearrange my novel when needed. Furthermore, it allows me to easily compile my manuscripts into a variety of formats (from pdf, to word doc, to epublishing/ibook formats). I do not plan to epublish, but I know Scrivener is a valuable tool for those who do, and it is valuable for me as well when packaging up my manuscript to send to critique partners/readers. ## Scrivener Discussions - [How do i integrate this application with Google Drive?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/12361-how-do-i-integrate-this-application-with-google-drive) - 2 comments, 1 upvote - [View Scrivener pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/scrivener/reviews?page=2§ion=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-08-05+09%3A06%3A14+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=506cf456-0422-4e71-8dd8-a82113649a31&secure%5Btoken%5D=254ac90280159b168fefbbbf3eb1471cf779b434f050a25937993eb661c07631&format=llm_user) ## Scrivener Integrations - [Grammarly](https://www.g2.com/products/grammarly/reviews) ## Scrivener Features **Document Creation** - Template Creation - Story Map - Formatting - PDF Creation **Design** - Graphics - Templates - Themes **Workflow** - Collaborative Creation - Comments and Tasks **Collaboration** - Multi-User Collaboration - Real-Time Communication **Platform** - Web Interface - Mobile apps **File Types** - Export - Import - Web Publishing **Edit & Revise** - Revision History - Suggestion Mode - Document Editor **Agentic AI - Screenwriting** - Autonomous Task Execution - Multi-step Planning - Adaptive Learning - Natural Language Interaction - Proactive Assistance **Integrate & Embed** - Calendar - Website - Applications **Operating System** - PC Operating System - Mac Operating System - Linux Operating System **Generative AI** - AI Text Generation - AI Text Summarization - AI Text-to-Image - AI Text-to-Speech - AI Image-to-Text **Agentic AI - Document Creation** - Proactive Assistance ## Top Scrivener Alternatives - [Final Draft](https://www.g2.com/products/final-draft/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (46 reviews) - [Celtx](https://www.g2.com/products/celtx/reviews) - 4.2/5.0 (83 reviews) - [WriterDuet](https://www.g2.com/products/writerduet/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (29 reviews)