WriteMonkey

Free plan LinuxMacWindows

What WriteMonkey is

WriteMonkey 3 is a plain-text, Markdown-enabled editor for writers who want a focused workspace and tools for organizing longer projects. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and supports offline editing. The interface is a themeable single window with full-screen writing and keyboard-friendly controls; it handles UTF-8 text and large documents. Projects divide long-form work into separate documents, with full-text library search, a snippet repository, and Jumps for a live table of contents, bookmarks, and comments.

Markdown features include footnotes, tables of contents, and KaTeX expressions. Templates support printing or PDF export. Writing tools include live word and character counts, a progress bar, session and Pomodoro timers, sentence or paragraph highlighting, typewriter scrolling, and inline spell checking. Documents are stored locally in a database file or can be saved as regular text files. The documentation describes database backups, set by default to run every six hours when the application loses focus. A plugin engine and API extend the editor, with plugins available to donors. The site also lists a ChatGPT helper plugin that works with GPT-4.

Who it suits

WriteMonkey suits writers who want a distraction-free place to draft and organize long-form work across desktop platforms. Its projects, navigation tools, Markdown support, and print or PDF templates also suit writers preparing documents for publishing.

What it does well

Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with offline editing.
Projects separate long-form writing into documents.
Jumps combines a live contents list, bookmarks, and comments.
Markdown supports footnotes, tables of contents, and KaTeX.
Templates support printing and PDF export.
Documents are stored locally, with database backups described.

What to know first

WriteMonkey 3 handles only UTF-8 text files.
Plugins are available to donors.
Cloud synchronization is listed among missing modules in the documented January 2023 state.

Limits

The free plan costs nothing and is available for use on as many machines as needed. Plugins are available separately to donors, and WriteMonkey 3 currently handles only UTF-8 text files.

Plans

Plan	Billed and limits	Price
Free	Free to download and use on as many machines as needed · Donor-only plugins are available separately	Free
WriteMonkey 3	Free to download and use on as many machines as needed · plugins available to donors for any donation amount	Free

As writemonkey.com lists them, read 22 Sept 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Getting started

Visit https://writemonkey.com/index.php.
Download the ZIP for your operating system.
Unzip the downloaded file; the documented version 3.3.0 process requires no special installation procedure.
Open the application and begin writing; it is free to download and use on as many machines as needed.

Verdict

Choose WriteMonkey 3 if you want a free, offline-capable desktop editor with tools for navigating and preparing longer Markdown documents. Look elsewhere if you need file formats beyond UTF-8 text or cloud synchronization.

Questions

How much does WriteMonkey cost?

The Free and WriteMonkey 3 plans are each listed as free. The software is free to download and use on as many machines as needed.

Which platforms does it support?

WriteMonkey runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Offline editing is supported.

Does it support Markdown?

Yes. Listed Markdown support includes footnotes, tables of contents, and KaTeX expressions.

Where are documents stored?

Documents are stored locally in a database file and can also be saved as regular text files.

Are plugins included?

The plugin engine and API expand the editor, and plugins are available to donors. The site lists a ChatGPT helper plugin that works with GPT-4.

Does WriteMonkey sync to the cloud?

The documentation lists cloud synchronization among modules missing in the January 2023 state it describes.

Facts from WriteMonkey's own pages

AI plugin: The site lists a ChatGPT helper plugin that supports continuing previous conversations, copying conversations, clipboard use, and proxy servers, and says it works with GPT-4. · writemonkey.com, 11 Oct 2026
Backups: The documentation describes database backups and says automatic backups default to every six hours when the application loses focus. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Cloud sync: The documentation lists a cloud synchronization mechanism among modules missing in the January 2023 state it describes. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Editing: It offers full-screen writing, a themeable single-window interface, UTF-8 text editing, and support for large documents. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
File format limit: The documentation says WriteMonkey 3 can currently handle only UTF-8 text files. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Free plan: Yes · writemonkey.com, 22 Sept 2026
Installation: The documented installation process is to download the ZIP for the operating system and unzip it; the documentation says there is no special installation procedure for version 3.3.0. · writemonkey.com, 11 Oct 2026
Markdown and export: It supports Markdown, including footnotes, tables of contents, and KaTeX expressions, and includes templates for printing or exporting to PDF. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Organization: It supports projects that split long-form writing into separate documents, full-text library search, a snippet repository, and a Jumps tool with a live document table of contents, bookmarks, and comments. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Plugins: WriteMonkey 3 can be expanded through a plugin engine and API, and the maker says plugins are available to donors. · writemonkey.com, 11 Oct 2026
Storage: The documentation says documents are stored locally in a database file, and documents can also be saved as regular text files. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Support: The maker directs bug reports, feature suggestions, and general discussions to the project's GitHub issues page. · writemonkey.com, 11 Oct 2026
What it does: WriteMonkey 3 is a minimal, plain-text, distraction-free, keyboard-friendly Markdown-enabled text editor for writers. · writemonkey.com, 11 Oct 2026
Who it is for: The maker describes WriteMonkey 3 as a writing environment for writers, with organizational and publishing capabilities alongside its primary text-editing function. · writemonkey.com, 11 Oct 2026
Writing tools: Its listed tools include live word and character counts, a progress bar, session and Pomodoro timers, sentence or paragraph highlighting, typewriter scrolling, and inline spell checking. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026

Where WriteMonkey stands on Freedom251

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