Comparison

Ulysses vs Plotline Screenwriting Tool

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Ulysses

A distraction-free writing environment for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. It offers robust document management, seamless syncing, and flexible export options for writers of all kinds. Includes a proofreader and editing assistant.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free editor
  • Unified document library
  • Cross-device sync
  • Built-in proofreader
  • Flexible export options (PDF, DOCX, eBook, HTML)
  • Direct publishing to blogs
Features
Read full description

Ulysses is your one-stop writing environment for Mac, iPhone and iPad. Its pleasant, focused writing experience, combined with effective document management, seamless sync, and flexible export, make Ulysses the first choice for writers of all kinds. ++ Apple Design Award Winner ++ “The app is amazing. An absolute delight to use. Well done.” – David Hewson, Bestselling Author (The Killing) ### A Text Production Powerhouse Ulysses’ markup-based, distraction-free editor lets you focus on your most important task: Write, edit, and write some more. Formatting is kept for later, so you can completely immerse yourself in the text. Ulysses’ uniquely streamlined toolset covers the entire writing process, and its clean and simple interface will boost your productivity. From first to final draft, from prologue to closing chapter – Ulysses keeps you in the flow, so you can get stuff done. ### All Your Texts, All the Time Everything you’ll ever write is stored in Ulysses’ unified library. You can manage projects of all kinds and sizes, be it novels, diaries or study notes – they are always saved, and automatically in sync. And since Ulysses offers feature parity across macOS and iOS, it doesn’t matter where you are or when inspiration hits: All its tools, and all your texts, are always at your fingertips. ### Built-In Proofreader and Editing Assistant Write with confidence, thanks to Ulysses’ integrated grammar and style check. Available for over 20 languages, it analyzes your text and offers informed suggestions for capitalization, punctuation, semantics, redundancy, style and more. ### Create eBooks, DOCX, PDFs and HTML Ulysses’ export is flexible enough to cover any writer’s needs: Transform your text into beautiful PDFs, Word documents or eBooks. Or export HTML code, ready to be used anywhere on the web. You can even choose between a variety of pre-made formatting styles for all kinds of purposes, or create your own and share it with other users. ### Publish to WordPress, Ghost, Substack & More Do you blog? Ulysses’ offers best-in-class publishing to WordPress, Ghost, and Micro.blog. You can post to WordPress, Ghost and Micro.blog from right within the app – complete with images, tags, categories etc. All offer a built-in preview to proofread before submission. Ulysses also supports copy paste publishing to Substack and Basecamp. ### Pricing Ulysses requires a subscription. We offer monthly and yearly subscription plans. They include a fully functional trial, so you can test Ulysses (including export and sync). There’s also a special discount for students. All plans unlock the app on Mac, iPhone and iPad, and feature full synchronization. ### Questions Please visit ulysses.app for more information. You can also reach us via help@ulysses.app or on Twitter @ulyssesapp – we’re happily awaiting your feedback! Terms of Use: https://ulysses.app/app-terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://ulysses.app/app-privacy-policy

About

Plotline Screenwriting Tool

Organize your screenplay with an intuitive index card system. Visualize ideas with writing patterns, access IMDb data instantly, and set personalized writing reminders to stay on track with your creative process.

Highlights
  • Overlapping index card system
  • Flexible card arrangement
  • Writing pattern visualization
  • In-app IMDb search
  • Personalized writing reminders
Features
Read full description

- Fit 1,000+ index cards with the overlapping feature. - Complete flexibility on movement. - Provide writing patterns for better organisation. - Connect to IMDb on demand. - Set up personal writing reminders. With the capacity of 1,000 index cards, we provide you with total freedom to arrange your masterpiece and see possibilities. Long press before moving to prevent accidental misplacement and single tapping for further content adjustment. You can easily use our designed writing models to visualise your ideas and categorise them. We support your constant needs on searching for IMDb—without the hassle of jumping back and forth between apps, now you can simply type in names you desire and search in-app. By clicking on the result links, we directly take you to the IMDb page/app of the selected title. Create your reminders. No matter it’s a weekly writing schedule or a shoutout to yourself, encourage the future you to keep going! Feel free to send any comments, questions or suggestions to the developer in the Feedback section. Thank you for your support!

Screenshots

Ulysses4 screens
Plotline Screenwriting Tool4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Ulysses at Free against Plotline Screenwriting Tool's $1.99. Ulysses also leads on ratings volume (2.1K vs 15). Plotline Screenwriting Tool's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks). On rating, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Ulysses is free to download; Plotline Screenwriting Tool costs $1.99 up front. Ulysses sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Plotline Screenwriting Tool asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Ulysses against 4.5 for Plotline Screenwriting Tool. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ulysses has 2.1K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Ulysses's written reviews are positive against 86% of Plotline Screenwriting Tool's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ulysses ships an update every 3 weeks, Plotline Screenwriting Tool every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Ulysses versus Plotline Screenwriting Tool: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUlyssesPlotline Screenwriting Tool
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.6 (2.1K ratings) — better4.5 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews67.1% of reviews85.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.1K — better15
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionPaid — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS26.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size273 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUlysses GmbH & Co. KGPei Tzu Chang

Customer experience

Ulysses

All ratings2,127 ratings
Positive89.8%
Neutral2.3%
Negative7.9%
Written reviews1,273 reviews
Positive67.1%
Neutral7.1%
Negative25.8%

Plotline Screenwriting Tool

All ratings15 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

Bugs and requests

Ulysses

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Unexpected data loss or file corruption
  • Slow performance on older devices
  • Unreliable iCloud sync
  • Formatting issues when exporting to other formats

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved collaboration and sharing features
  • Better integration with reference managers and citation tools
  • More flexible export options and compatibility
  • Customizable keyboard shortcuts
  • Ability to hide Markdown syntax

Plotline Screenwriting Tool

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Ulysses

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Plan7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Yearly Plan$29.991 Year
  • Yearly Plan7 Days trial2 variants$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly Plan1 Year trial$39.991 Year
One-time2
  • Student Offer$10.99
  • Perpetual License$199.99
None

Plotline Screenwriting Tool

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ulysses free?
Ulysses is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Plotline Screenwriting Tool free?
Plotline Screenwriting Tool costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Ulysses or Plotline Screenwriting Tool?
Ulysses is rated higher. Ulysses averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.1K ratings, while Plotline Screenwriting Tool averages 4.5 from 15 ratings.
Do Ulysses or Plotline Screenwriting Tool have ads?
Neither Ulysses nor Plotline Screenwriting Tool shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ulysses or Plotline Screenwriting Tool?
Ulysses ships an update every 3 weeks, and Plotline Screenwriting Tool every 5 days. Most recently, Ulysses was updated on October 13, 2026 and Plotline Screenwriting Tool on September 21, 2026.

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