Comparison

Storyist 4 vs Story Plotter

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

Head to head
About

Storyist 4

This app provides a robust writing environment for authors and screenwriters. It allows for detailed story outlining, manuscript creation with rich text editing, and seamless revision on any device. Organize all your writing projects in one place for easy access and collaboration.

Highlights
  • Rich text editor with comments and images
  • Index card outlining and story sheets
  • Manuscript and screenplay formatting
  • Cloud storage and collaboration support
  • Import/export text and images
  • Support for various file formats
Read full description

Storyist is a powerful writing environment that lets you create, review, and revise your work wherever inspiration strikes. “If I could have only one screenwriting app on my iPad, Storyist would be it.” – Taz Goldstein, Hand Held Hollywood. “I'm currently traveling in Europe and am just now putting the finishing touches on the book that will be published in September. I'm using the Storyist app for my iPad Mini and it's sensational... a real godsend.” – Michael Brandman, Bestselling Author. With Storyist, you can: • Produce submission-ready manuscripts and screenplays. Storyist provides a rich text editor with support for comments, images, headers, footers, and style sheets so you can create properly formatted manuscripts and screenplays. And Storyist comes with manuscript and screenplay templates so you can focus on the writing, not the formatting. • Work with your story at a high level. Storyist lets you sketch out a story using index cards and then refine it with customizable plot, character, and setting sheets. When you're ready to put words on the page, Storyist can even display your index cards next to your manuscript as you write. • Review and revise on the go. Have a few minutes? Open Storyist and jot down a note, rewrite a few paragraphs, or annotate your manuscript with ideas for future changes. • Keep all your writing organized and accessible. Storyist organizes your novel manuscripts, screenplays, notes, and other project-related writing so you can access them with just a few taps. And the Files app support lets you store your projects where you want and edit them in place. Features at a Glance • Rich text editor with support for fonts, colors, comments, images, headers, footers, and style sheets. • Files interface with the ability to collaborate with other writers, browse version history, and sync with your favorite cloud storage service. • Automatic manuscript and screenplay formatting with familiar tab and return key shortcuts. • Color-coded index cards. • Customizable story sheets. • Easy import and export of text and images. • Support for Storyist for Mac, RTF, Plain Text, Fountain, and Final Draft FDX files. • Ability to export text files as PDF. • Wireless printing with AirPrint. • Courier Prime font for screenplays. Try Storyist 4 for free for 14 days. After the trial period ends, you can purchase Storyist 4 to continue using the editing features or use the app in reader mode for free. Upgrade pricing is available for customers who purchased Storyist 3 for iOS. No subscription required.

About

Story Plotter

This app helps you craft compelling stories for novels, comics, movies, and more. It offers tools for organizing ideas, developing characters and their relationships, and structuring plot points. AI-powered brainstorming and time-series visualization assist in overcoming writer's block.

Highlights
  • Idea Note
  • Plot Note
  • Plot creation function
  • AI Brainstorming
  • Character Correlation & Family Tree
  • Time series with World Setting
  • Theme Setting
Features
Read full description

This is strong plot creation app that support - Novel - Manga - Movie - Drama - Secondary creation - TRPG Scenario - Script If you are worried about the following, we will suggest to use this App. - I don't know what the plot looks like - I can't organize the flow of the story and get confused - I want to create attractive characters, want to organize relationships - Lots of incidents, but unmanageable. This app is fully packed with the essences of more than 15 script reference books, including "Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting" and “save the cat”, called the scripture Bible. This app will lead you to an interesting screenplay !!! ** Features ** This app have - Idea Note - Plot Note and - Plot creation function So, You can easily create plot using stored idea!! In addition, functions also available to support you. - Brainstorming with AI - Correlation & Family Tree with Character setting - Time series with World Setting - Theme Setting By deepening these, you can escape from stack writing plot ** Postscript ** Unless you have permission, this App does not send any creative data to the internet, so you can use it safe. ** SubScribe ** For $4/month, we offer automatic data synchronization across multiple devices. All features other than automatic data synchronization will continue to be available free of charge. ** Terms and Conditions ** Please see this link for the Terms and Conditions By installing the application, you agree to the Terms and Conditions. Terms and Conditions : https://storyplotter.net/term/pc/en.html Privacy Policy : https://storyplotter.net/privacypolicy/pc/en.html

Screenshots

Storyist 44 screens
Story Plotter4 screens

Verdict

The call

Storyist 4 and Story Plotter both sit at 4.3 stars, but that hides the real split: 80% of Story Plotter's written reviews are positive against 44% of Storyist 4's. Story Plotter also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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

Both are free to download. Storyist 4 sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Story Plotter sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Storyist 4 against 4.4 for Story Plotter. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 384 and 193 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 44% of Storyist 4's written reviews are positive against 80% of Story Plotter's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Storyist 4 ships an update every 4 months, Story Plotter every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Storyist 4 versus Story Plotter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStoryist 4Story Plotter
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (384 ratings)4.4 (193 ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.3% of reviews80.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings384 — better193
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB193 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStoryist SoftwareHajime Hata

Customer experience

Storyist 4

All ratings384 ratings
Positive82.8%
Neutral3.9%
Negative13.3%
Written reviews70 reviews
Positive44.3%
Neutral10.0%
Negative45.7%

Story Plotter

All ratings193 ratings
Positive83.9%
Neutral7.3%
Negative8.8%
Written reviews126 reviews
Positive80.2%
Neutral10.3%
Negative9.5%

User reviews

Storyist 4

From 384 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Clean, intuitive user interface
  • 🚀 Fast iCloud synchronization across devices
  • 💰 One-time purchase with no subscription fees
  • 📝 Excellent for organizing long-form writing projects
  • 🔄 Seamless Mac-iPad-iPhone sync

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Data loss and file deletion issues
  • 💔 Upgrade from v3 to v4 requires full repurchase
  • 😤 Misleading free trial presentation
  • 🔧 Clunky navigation requiring multiple taps
  • ⚠️ Significant bugs in version 4 compared to v3

Story Plotter

From 193 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for writing and planning
  • 🚀 Great organizational tools
  • 💡 Detailed character profiles
  • 🔒 Secure and password protected
  • 👍 Clean and easy to navigate

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or performance issues
  • 🔍 Confusing or unclear interface in places
  • 🔒 Limited free features, need to pay for syncing
  • 🐛 Bugs with Bluetooth keyboards
  • 🐛 Data loss issues, stories deleted without warning

Bugs and requests

Storyist 4

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Files and projects mysteriously disappear
  • App crashes when opening manuscripts
  • Freezing during typing sessions
  • Auto-capitalization in middle of sentences
  • Spell-check suggestions showing duplicate words
Show 8 more
  • Index cards losing color after updates
  • Styles vanishing when edited on iOS
  • Text disappearing from documents while outline remains
  • Dropbox connection failures and blank file displays
  • Split-screen zoom focusing on wrong area
  • Font selection list not loading
  • Restore Purchases prompt appearing repeatedly
  • Export formatting issues with dark theme

Requested features

11 requests
  • Footnotes and endnotes support
  • Word and Pages format export compatibility
  • Better backup system with cloud storage
  • Folder tree navigation on mobile
  • Non-fiction templates with query tracking
Show 6 more
  • Improved dark mode customization
  • Cursor support for iPad
  • Section-level export functionality
  • German language localization
  • Extended keyboard shortcuts preservation
  • Better page number formatting options

Story Plotter

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Deleting previous work without warning
  • Crashing when trying to edit thumbnails or move characters
  • Syncing and data transfer issues between devices
  • Bluetooth keyboard compatibility problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to pull photos from external sources
  • Implement a collaborative feature for co-writing
  • Add more customization options for character profiles
  • Improve the character relationship diagram functionality
  • Expand timeline options beyond just years/months/days

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Storyist 4

One-time3
  • Free TrialFree
  • Storyist 4 Upgrade$9.99
  • Storyist 4$19.99
4 purchases

Story Plotter

Subscriptions2
  • Data Sync(half price)7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Device Synchronize7 Days trial$3.491 Month
One-time2
  • Number of Image Generations$0.49
  • Releasing AI Limitations$2.99

Questions

Is Storyist 4 free?
Storyist 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Story Plotter free?
Story Plotter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Storyist 4 or Story Plotter?
Story Plotter is rated higher. Storyist 4 averages 4.3 out of 5 from 384 ratings, while Story Plotter averages 4.4 from 193 ratings.
Do Storyist 4 or Story Plotter have ads?
Neither Storyist 4 nor Story Plotter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Storyist 4 or Story Plotter?
Storyist 4 ships an update every 4 months, and Story Plotter every 2 weeks. Most recently, Storyist 4 was updated on October 11, 2026 and Story Plotter on October 15, 2026.

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