# Story Plotter vs Novelist

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Novelist at none against Story Plotter's 4. Novelist also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). Story Plotter's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Story Plotter sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Novelist asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Story Plotter against 4.4 for Novelist. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 193 and 209 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 80% and 79% positive.

Story Plotter ships an update every 2 weeks, Novelist every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Story Plotter | Novelist |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (193 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/story-plotter-idea-to-plot/id1491980862/reviews) | [4.4 (209 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novelist-write-novels/id1564737393/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 193 | **209** |
| Positive reviews | **80.2% of reviews** | 79.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 193 MB | 54 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Hajime Hata](https://appshunter.io/developer/1491980861) | [Alessandro Riperi](https://appshunter.io/developer/1564737395) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### Novelist

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novelist-write-novels/id1564737393)

This app provides a comprehensive suite of tools for authors to write, organize, and plot their novels. It offers features for scene creation, story structuring, goal setting, and manuscript export. The platform is designed to support the entire novel-writing process, from initial ideas to the final draft.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**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

**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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Story Plotter free?

Story Plotter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Novelist free?

Novelist is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Story Plotter or Novelist?

Story Plotter and Novelist are both rated 4.4 out of 5 on the App Store, from 193 and 209 ratings respectively.

### Do Story Plotter or Novelist have ads?

Neither Story Plotter nor Novelist shows ads.

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

Story Plotter ships an update every 2 weeks, and Novelist every 6 weeks. Most recently, Story Plotter was updated on September 23, 2026 and Novelist on September 17, 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.*