# CardBeat vs Story Plotter

The clearest difference is rating: Story Plotter at 4.4 against CardBeat's 3.5. Story Plotter also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 46%) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. CardBeat sells 1 one-off in-app purchase 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.

Story Plotter holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Story Plotter has 193 ratings behind it against 33, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of CardBeat's written reviews are positive against 80% of Story Plotter's.

CardBeat ships an update every 2 months, Story Plotter every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on August 15, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | CardBeat | Story Plotter |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.5 (33 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cardbeat-plot-your-story/id1488252091/reviews) | **[4.4 (193 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/story-plotter-idea-to-plot/id1491980862/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 33 | **193** |
| Positive reviews | 45.8% of reviews | **80.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 4 MB | 193 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Stefan Stuckmann](https://appshunter.io/developer/1434238274) | [Hajime Hata](https://appshunter.io/developer/1491980861) |

## What reviewers say

### CardBeat

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cardbeat-plot-your-story/id1488252091)

This app provides a digital cork board for writers to plot novels, screenplays, or short stories. It allows users to break down stories into acts, sequences, and scenes, and rearrange them freely. Users can customize cards with colors, lines, or grids, and choose from various drawing tools or keyboard input.

**Highlights:** Digital cork board for story plotting, Structure stories into acts, sequences, and scenes, Rearrange plot elements freely, Customizable cards with colors and backgrounds, Multiple drawing tools and keyboard input, Export boards as PDF, iCloud syncing

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Upgrade | $19.99 | one-time |


### Story Plotter

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/story-plotter-idea-to-plot/id1491980862)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Data Sync(half price) | $1.99 | per month |
| Device Synchronize | $3.49 | per month |
| Number of Image Generations | $0.49 | one-time |
| Releasing AI Limitations | $2.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CardBeat free?

CardBeat 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, CardBeat or Story Plotter?

Story Plotter is rated higher. CardBeat averages 3.5 out of 5 from 33 ratings, while Story Plotter averages 4.4 from 193 ratings.

### Do CardBeat or Story Plotter have ads?

Neither CardBeat nor Story Plotter shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, CardBeat or Story Plotter?

CardBeat ships an update every 2 months, and Story Plotter every 2 weeks. Most recently, CardBeat was updated on August 15, 2026 and Story Plotter on September 23, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*