Overview

Novlr brings manuscript work together with a planning grid for tracking story arcs and plot threads, with notes kept alongside the draft. Focus and typewriter modes, writing sprints, goals, streaks, and analytics give writers ways to shape sessions and track progress. This is a better fit for writers who value structure and motivation in the same workspace than for those seeking only a straightforward text editor.

Publishing tools, real-time collaboration, and version history extend Novlr beyond drafting. Writers can export their work and notes as DOCX, PDF, ODT, EPUB, or RTF, which makes it practical to move a project into different document and ebook formats. Novlr says it encrypts data in transit and at rest, uses database row-level security and secure session management, and does not use users’ writing for AI processing, analysis, or training. Its self-hosted grammar checker does not send text to a third party. User data is stored in the United States, with Supabase and Google Cloud Platform hosting services.

Key features

Planning and writing tools

The planning grid helps writers keep track of story arcs and plot threads without separating planning notes from the manuscript. Focus and typewriter modes support distraction-reduced drafting, while sprints, goals, streaks, and analytics help writers build and monitor a routine. These tools suit writers who want help organizing both a story and the work of writing it; they may be unnecessary overhead for someone who simply wants to draft.

Export, publishing, and sites

Novlr’s five export formats cover common document, ebook, and rich-text needs, and the platform also offers publishing tools. Studio adds Novlr Sites, which lets writers create an author website with themes and a custom domain. That is a useful extra for writers building an author presence, but it is not part of the lower-cost plans.

Access and support

Novlr supports current major browsers, including Safari on iOS and Chrome or Firefox on Android. It offers in-app support chat, email support, and a writer community on Discord. Despite its mobile browser support, Novlr is not an offline writing tool: it requires an active internet connection even when saved to a phone or tablet home screen. The platform lists Android and iOS support, but does not offer mobile apps.

Pricing

The Free plan costs 0.00 USD per free and includes two projects, online syncing, notes and the planning grid, focus mode, writing sprints, and analytics. It is a substantial starting point for writers with a small number of active projects, but it lacks the paid plans’ goals and streaks, and caps project count at two.

Starter costs 8.00 USD per month, billed yearly, with a 20% saving. It raises the limit to 10 projects and adds 30-day version history, goals, streaks, Academy courses, and community access. This is the best fit for writers who want progress tracking and a way to revisit recent work without needing unlimited projects, a website, or cloud backups.

Studio costs 16.00 USD per month, billed yearly, with a 20% saving. It includes unlimited projects and version history, Novlr Sites, a proofreader and advanced grammar and style checker, Google Drive or Dropbox backups, and priority support. The extra cost makes sense for prolific writers who need longer-term revision history, external backups, or an author website; those features are absent from Free and Starter.

Lifetime Studio Member is priced at 499.00 USD per month and includes Studio features forever, no subscription, Novlr co-ownership, and exclusive Discord channels. Its stated price and terms make it a distinct commitment from the yearly subscriptions rather than a simple monthly upgrade.

Platforms

Novlr runs on the web and supports Android and iOS browsers, but it requires an active internet connection. Writers who need to work offline should look elsewhere, even if they plan to use it from a mobile device’s home screen.

Who it's for

Novlr says it serves writers working on personal projects, fanfiction, or manuscripts for traditional or self-publishing. Its planning tools and writing routines particularly suit writers who want to manage plot and progress together. Novlr also says it became partially writer-owned in 2023, with writer-owners having a say in its development.

Pros and cons

Pros: A planning grid, notes, drafting modes, and motivation tools keep story organization and writing routines in one workspace.
Pros: DOCX, PDF, ODT, EPUB, and RTF exports provide flexible ways to move manuscripts and notes out of Novlr.
Pros: Studio adds unlimited projects and version history, cloud backups, and an author website with a custom domain.
Cons: An active internet connection is required, including on mobile browsers, so Novlr does not suit offline writing.
Cons: Free is capped at two projects, while Studio-only features such as Novlr Sites and cloud backups require the higher-priced plan.
Cons: There are no mobile apps, despite support for mobile browsers.

Alternatives

For a broader set of book-writing choices, see Book Writing Software; for more general writing tools, browse Writing Apps.

Choose Campfire if you want a freemium writing and worldbuilding option with Android, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows support; its free tier offers limited access to writing and worldbuilding modules without requiring a credit card.

Wavemaker Cards is a free alternative available on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows.

LivingWriter offers a free plan for one manuscript, capped at 25,000 words, with a full editor for chapters and subchapters and PDF export. It may suit writers focused on a single manuscript who want those specific editor and export features.

Plot Factory is worth considering for writers who want a freemium story-planning option with a free trial; its Basic plan allows one story, one universe, and 250-word narrations per day, while Hobbyist costs 9.00 USD per month.

Author's Forge offers a free plan and free trial for writers using Linux, macOS, or Windows.

oStorybook is a free desktop application for Linux, macOS, and Windows, and requires Java 8 or higher.

DragonWriter is a free, online-only option for Android and web, with no ads or paywall.

Novellum has a free beta plan with all features, unlimited books, scenes, and Nexus entries; after beta, its stated price is $15/month or $162/year, and its AI uses your own provider key.

Verdict

Novlr is a strong choice for writers who want planning, drafting routines, and flexible exports in one workspace, with Studio adding useful backup and author-site options. Its always-online requirement is the clearest reason to choose another tool, and writers who need more than two projects or Studio features should weigh the yearly plan costs before settling in.

	Novlr	PenCake
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	$8/mo	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, iOS, Web	Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Publishing tools	Yes	Yes
Real-time collaboration	Yes	—
Version history	Yes	Yes
Offline mode	Yes	—
Mobile apps	No	Yes
Export formats	extensive	standard

Novlr vs PenCake

Novlr

PenCake