Final Draft
$250.00
Free 30 Day Trial
FinalDraft is not our top pick overall for best writing apps because it has a very outdated and confusing interface. You really need to watch some videos to understand how to use the features. Plus, editing and co-writing is complicated and can only be done with other people who have purchased FinalDraft. I guess it’s a little unfair to list FinalDraft here in comparison with the other apps, it’s not necessarily book writing software but rather screenwriting software.
But, it is the top pick for serious screenwriters. I emphasize “serious” because it costs a whopping $250 and it’s incredibly packed with features that will only be needed if you’re writing a screenplay that’s actually being picked up.
Features
- Formatting tools specific to screenwriting
- Auto suggest for dialogue
- Navigator window for scenes, script notes, characters, and tags (script day, location, makeup, cast members, etc)
- Script templates such as Cole Haag or Warner Brother, Dramatists Guild Musical template. Also for different graphic novels, half-hour sitcom, or one-hour TV drama
- Story Map shows the length of your script in pages, as well as your current position among those pages
- Beat board which is basically a virtual corkboard. You can drag these scene cards into the story map
- Split screen views
- Collaboration with others that own Final Draft
- Auto save every 15 minutes
- Revision history saved to a local folder on your computer
Pros
- The most tools, options, and templates for screenwriters
- Many view options
Cons
- Auto draft only saves every 15 minutes, not every keystroke
- The price is higher than all other apps
- Very complicated to collaborate and all the collaborators must own a copy of Final Draft.
- Not book writing software so not good for books at all.