# Novelist - Write novels — Your novel, anytime, anywhere

> All-in-one free app for novel writing, plotting, organizing, and scheduling. (iPhone/iPad app by Alessandro Riperi.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novelist-write-novels/id1564737393 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Alessandro Riperi](https://appshunter.io/developer/1564737395)
- Category: Productivity, Utilities
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.40/5 from 202 App Store ratings · 216 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 54 MB
- Languages: American English, Arabic, Bangla, French (France), German (Germany), Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, European Portuguese and 3 more
- Released: 2021-04-30
- Data updated: 2026-09-03
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novelist-write-novels/id1564737393/reviews.md

## What is Novelist?

Join over 200k authors writing their next masterpiece with Novelist!

Novelist is the all-in-one app for writing your novels—completely free with no ads or in-app purchases.

We give you the freedom to create without limits. Whether you're plotting, outlining, organizing, or scheduling, Novelist provides powerful tools to help bring your story to life.


Key Features:

▪ Plot: Organize your story elements like on a board. Easily edit, move, merge, reorder, and add notes, tags, metadata, or images. Everything is customizable.
▪ Write: Craft scenes directly in the app. Annotate or write with rich formatting tools.
▪ Organize: Structure your story into acts, chapters, or any format you like.
▪ Schedule: Set word count goals or deadlines to stay on track.


Advanced Tools:

▪ Autosave, find/replace, add comments, and restore previous versions from history
▪ Mention story items directly in your text for quick reference
▪ Split your screen with reference panels to inspect items while writing
▪ Track your progress daily with detailed stats
▪ Real-time preview without leaving the app
▪ Export and share your manuscript in EPUB, ODT, or HTML formats
▪ Enjoy an interface optimized for large screens
▪ Write on any browser with the companion web app
▪ Create templates for book series to streamline your workflow
▪ Backup and restore locally or with Google Drive
▪ Switch to dark mode for comfortable writing during long sessions


Your story, your way—with Novelist.

## Key features

- Plotting with customizable story elements
- Scene writing with rich formatting
- Story organization into acts and chapters
- Word count goals and deadline scheduling
- Manuscript export in EPUB, ODT, HTML
- Autosave and version history
- Companion web app

## What do users think of Novelist?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 🚀 Amazingly different application
- 🔒 Completely free, with no ads or in-app purchases
- 👍 Well-organized all-in-one app for writing, plotting, outlining, and scheduling
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 👍 Helps with organizing and keeping things clean
- 👍 Visually pleasing interface
- 👍 Customizable metadata and tags
- 👍 Useful for both planning and writing

**Cons**

- 🐛 Confusing menu options and backup/restore process
- 🐛 Glitches when editing text, cursor behaves unexpectedly
- 🐛 Crashes or freezes on some devices
- 🐛 Syncing issues between devices
- 🐛 Lack of font customization options
- 🐛 Keyboard issues in dark mode
- 🐛 Difficulty reordering scenes and chapters

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Backup/restore process can lead to data loss
- Cursor and text editing issues
- Crashes and freezes on some devices
- Syncing problems between devices

**Most requested features**

- Ability to import/export in various formats (PDF, Markdown, etc.)
- Improved syncing and cloud integration
- More font and formatting options
- Ability to add images/illustrations to the book
- Collaboration/co-writing features
- Spell check and grammar tools
- Customizable keyboard in dark mode

## Recent user reviews (10 of 216)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novelist-write-novels/id1564737393/reviews.md

### 4/5 — I love it but one problem

*2026-08-18, version 2026.1.17*

I LOVE this app, BUT I wish that I was able to put pictures for my story’s I totally recommend but if you are a picture person (like me) I recommend something else I use this app for my chapter books like Potato’s story (about a cat that gets a owner and loves her, but she lives with a dog named Penny they both work together to find a new home.) and stranger thing (the BEST show on earth) if you haven’t watched it then WATCH IT it’s really GREAT anyway if the developers responds reads this PLEASE have a picture button so I can put pictures. And if you read this thank you for your time 😊. Toothless99nights99sunflower singing out but really thank you for your time 😊.

### 5/5 — WHY IS THIS SO UNDERRATED

*2026-08-01, version 2026.1.17*

I LOVE this app! It’s so helpful for writing, and organizing books and stories! More people should use this app. Granted, writing isn’t exactly an incredibly pursued career/hobby, but for those who wanna get into it should use this app! It pales in comparison to Apple Notes. Selecting fonts is much easier, organizing lore for every part of your story is easy, and this app is near perfect! Too bad I’m a poet and know you can’t achieve perfect. If I weren’t so smart, I would say this app is perfect. Instead, I’ll use some metaphors. If everything I ate was as good as this app, I would triple my weight in four hours. Thanks to everyone who worked on this project, and everyone who took time out of their day to build this convenience for me!

P.S: I wouldn’t mind being able to give text color, though. Thank you!

### 4/5 — Amazing, just one thing

*2026-07-23, version 2026.1.13*

This app is so customisable it’s like the better cousin of foretelling. I love being able to customise, and the learning curve although not intuitive is very easy to get used to. 

I understand not being able to set up a syncing system between devices due to the app being free and syncing being too expensive, but that’s really the only complaint I have, and it’s what is keeping me from using it more.

### 5/5 — Awesome

*2026-07-15, version 2025.1.10*

I got an idea for a story and went looking for an app to write it in. I didn’t want to write it on my computer, but on my iPad, since I can take it wherever I go. I downloaded this app because it was free, and the reviews were so good. And I love, love, love the app! I had to leave a review because I have had so much fun writing in this app. I love how you can set up the events and characters in advance, then add them to a chapter or event for easy access. I am on book seven now and just have a question…what happens when you archive? Where does it go? I need to know the best way to store it once a book is published…

### 1/5 — I’m so sorry.

*2026-07-09, version 2025.1.10*

My apologies for the harsh review.  That wasn’t right, but I hope it works better eventually.

### 5/5 — Super Kind

*2026-07-05, version 2025.1.10*

Completely free, no add pop-ups and gives a lot of different planning options for your writing! This is a super helpful app honestly

### 5/5 — So rare to find a gem like this nowadays

*2026-06-28, version 2025.1.10*

Only been using the app for a short while but it’s blowing my mind because usually simple functions would be paywalled or something stupid, but this seems to be genuinely free and genuinely very useful. It’s so simple yet so customizable and the fact you don’t need to make an account for it makes it even better. Everything’s just there, perfect. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

### 5/5 — Great

*2026-06-21, version 2025.1.10*

It works great and I love that I can send it out. My only problem is that there are no different fonts and the tab but that doesn’t matter do much. It is exactly what I wanted when I got it though.

### 5/5 — Amazing! But one thing…

*2026-06-17, version 2025.1.10*

I have been using this app for like two months and it is so glorious, i love it and it is so good for all my 20+ story ideas! I love how you can set the cover and i love how it organized it is! But one thing i don’t like is that there is no pages, so i dont know how many pages i wrote so far, there is no pick your page size or numbering and that makes it hard since i like to print out my books. One more thing, whenever i use the arrow buttons on my keyboard to fix something it sends me back to the other letter/sentence and to fix that i have to exit out of the whole app and go back in, other then that it is an amazing writing app!!! 

  I hope you found this helpful! Peace out ✌🏻

### 5/5 — Yazzz

*2026-06-13, version 2025.1.10*

I legit love this app, it’s so useful for writing. It took me awhile to learn how to use everything but I know now and it’s so nice. To publish it, I just copy paste the text I write, put it on my docs app which sends it to my computer and then bam it works. Great app!
🥰

## Frequently asked questions about Novelist

### What does the Novelist app do?

Novelist is an all-in-one application designed to help authors write, plot, organize, and schedule their novels. It provides tools for structuring your story, crafting scenes, setting goals, and managing all aspects of your writing project from conception to completion.

### What are the key features of Novelist?

Key features include a plotting board for organizing story elements, a writing interface with rich formatting, tools to structure your story into acts and chapters, and scheduling features like word count goals and deadlines. It also offers advanced tools like autosave, version history, and manuscript export.

### Is Novelist free to use?

Yes, Novelist is completely free to use. The app states it offers its full functionality with no ads or in-app purchases, allowing users to write their novels without any financial barriers.

### What file formats can I export my manuscript in?

You can export and share your manuscript from Novelist in EPUB, ODT, or HTML formats. This allows for flexibility in how you share and distribute your finished work.

### Can I use Novelist on different devices?

Yes, Novelist is optimized for large screens and also offers a companion web app, allowing you to write on any browser. This provides flexibility for writing across different devices and platforms.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2026.1.17 — 2026-07-28

• Create multiple books within the same project — perfect for series and multi-volume stories
• 8 new machine translations
• Persist section expanded/collapsed state
• Preview of the upcoming Tools feature (coming soon)
• Many bug fixes and stability improvements

### 2026.1.14 — 2026-07-26

• Create multiple books within the same project — perfect for series and multi-volume stories
• 8 new machine translations
• Persist section expanded/collapsed state
• Preview of the upcoming Tools feature (coming soon)
• Many bug fixes and stability improvements

### 2026.1.13 — 2026-07-23

• Create multiple books within the same project — perfect for series and multi-volume stories
• 8 new machine translations
• Persist section expanded/collapsed state
• Preview of the upcoming Tools feature (coming soon)
• Many bug fixes and stability improvements

### 2025.1.10 — 2025-07-30

▪ Introduced a dedicated page for third-party licenses
▪ Scene status colors now visible in the Organize screen
▪ Added a sample book to help new users get started
▪ Implemented various bug fixes to enhance stability

### 2025.1.6 — 2025-04-04

▪ New Bookshelf: easily browse your books with sorting options and a list view.
▪ Safety Indicators: see the backup status of each book at a glance.
▪ Rewritten Quick Start Guide: a clearer and more helpful introduction to the app.
▪ Various Improvements & Bug Fixes: enhancing performance and stability.

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-03.*