Comparison

Storyist 4 vs Final Draft Go

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

Final Draft Go

Write, edit, and read screenplays on your mobile device. Seamlessly sync scripts across platforms and enjoy industry-standard formatting. Ideal for writers on the go.

Highlights
  • Write and edit scripts
  • Sync scripts via cloud services
  • Industry-standard formatting
  • SmartType for auto-completion
  • ScriptNotes and character highlighting
  • Grammarly integration
  • Multi-language support
Read full description

Final Draft Go Final Draft™ – the #1-selling screenwriting software in the world – brings you Final Draft Go for iPhone and iPad. With this convenient, subscription-based app, you can write, edit and read Final Draft scripts on your iPhone or iPad. Go paperless and carry all your scripts with you everywhere you go, create new scripts or edit existing ones with easy-to-use features such as Tab and Enter navigation, ScriptNotes, SmartType, and more. Easily move your Final Draft scripts from desktop to iPhone or iPad and back again via iCloud, Dropbox, or email. Your scripts will appear perfectly paginated and formatted to industry standards every time. NEW FEATURES INCLUDE: ENHANCED UI New and improved user interface PINCH TO ZOOM Use multi-touch gestures to zoom in and out and customize the text size of your script view IMPROVED NIGHT MODE Change from day to night mode easily without having to leave the app UNIVERSAL CONTROL SUPPORT Work seamlessly between your iPad and Mac, using your Mac keyboard, mouse, or trackpad GRAMMARLY INTEGRATION Use the Grammarly app with FD Go to edit and proofread your work Creativity is truly portable with Final Draft Go. - Send or share your Final Draft FDX file between all your devices and computers and always be on the same page with Dropbox, OneDrive, or iCloud - Easily change script elements with classic Tab and Enter functionality or through the Elements bar (iPad) or Menu (iPhone) - Use SmartType to remember your character names, scene headings and more - Multi-language support – Write in over 95 different languages - Bluetooth keyboard support - Character Highlighting allows you to keep track of your characters for table reads or character development - Add, color-code, label, and edit ScriptNotes - Perfectly paginates to US Letter and standard European (A4) page sizes - Send feedback directly through the app - Professionally formatted TV, Film, and Stage Play templates to help get you started - Search your entire script for characters, locations, or other script elements - Export scripts to PDF via Dropbox, iCloud or email - Saves the last page you’re working on to get back to work quickly - iPhone Page View shows 100% accurate Final Draft pagination, formatting and line breaking - Automatic More’s and Continued’s - Multi-page Title Pages are supported for TV production scripts - Includes production features like Scene Numbering, Omit Scenes, Colored and Locked Pages - Shows Active or Collated Revisions with Colored Pages - Quickly switch from one revision set to another - Track key information with Cast Reports, Scene Reports, Location Reports, and more - iPhone Scene Navigator allows you to easily jump to different scenes in your script - Access all of the tools you need while maintaining context in your script in the iPhone Tools Menu - Edit your Header and Footer TESTIMONIALS: “Where has this been all my career?!? I put it through its paces doing a rewrite on the go-go-go. Does a great job. This is a real step forward! What more do you need on the road? (Maybe a chauffeur?).” David Seidler – Writer/Academy Award® winner The King’s Speech, By Dawn’s Early Light, Tucker: The Man and His Dream.

Screenshots

Storyist 44 screens
Final Draft Go4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Storyist 4 at free with in-app purchases against Final Draft Go's subscription. Storyist 4 also leads on review sentiment (44% vs 10%) and rating (4.3 vs 4.0). Final Draft Go's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (1.7K vs 394). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Storyist 4 sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Final Draft Go sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Storyist 4 holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 394 and 1.7K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Storyist 4's written reviews are positive against 10% of Final Draft Go's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Storyist 4 ships an update every 4 months, Final Draft Go every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Storyist 4 versus Final Draft Go: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStoryist 4Final Draft Go
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (394 ratings) — better4.0 (1.7K ratings)
Positive reviews44.3% of reviews — better10.4% of reviews
Number of ratings3941.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB195 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStoryist SoftwareCast & Crew Production Software, LLC

Customer experience

Storyist 4

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

Final Draft Go

All ratings1,661 ratings
Positive72.7%
Neutral3.9%
Negative23.4%
Written reviews384 reviews
Positive10.4%
Neutral6.3%
Negative83.3%

User reviews

Storyist 4

From 394 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

Final Draft Go

From 1.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Decent for on-the-go ideas
  • 👍 Don't be scared of the bad reviews
  • 🚀 Saved my life!

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and annoying
  • 🐛 Crashes constantly
  • 🐛 Unusable, unprofessional
  • 🐛 Scrolling issues
  • 🐛 Typing and formatting problems

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

Final Draft Go

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Constant login issues
  • Crashes and freezes
  • Scrolling and cursor problems
  • Formatting and editing bugs
  • Sync and file management issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add Dropbox support
  • Improve Magic Keyboard integration
  • Add Beat Board and other advanced features
  • Unify account system with desktop version

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Storyist 4

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

Final Draft Go

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Annually$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Storyist 4 free?
Storyist 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Final Draft Go free?
Final Draft Go is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Storyist 4 or Final Draft Go?
Storyist 4 is rated higher. Storyist 4 averages 4.3 out of 5 from 394 ratings, while Final Draft Go averages 4.0 from 1.7K ratings.
Do Storyist 4 or Final Draft Go have ads?
Neither Storyist 4 nor Final Draft Go shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Storyist 4 or Final Draft Go?
Storyist 4 ships an update every 4 months, and Final Draft Go every 5 weeks. Most recently, Storyist 4 was updated on October 26, 2026 and Final Draft Go on October 27, 2026.

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