# Story Plotter vs SmartDictate

The clearest difference is price: Story Plotter at Free against SmartDictate's $3.99. Story Plotter also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). SmartDictate's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Story Plotter is free to download; SmartDictate costs $3.99 up front. Story Plotter sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. SmartDictate asks for nothing beyond the download.

Story Plotter ships an update every 2 weeks, SmartDictate every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Story Plotter | SmartDictate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $3.99 |
| Rating | **[4.4 (193 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/story-plotter-idea-to-plot/id1491980862/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **193** | — |
| Positive reviews | 80.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 5 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Size | 193 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Hajime Hata](https://appshunter.io/developer/1491980861) | [SmartMedTech](https://appshunter.io/developer/1885165903) |

## 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


### SmartDictate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartdictate/id6760583445)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Story Plotter free?

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

### Is SmartDictate free?

SmartDictate costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Story Plotter or SmartDictate have ads?

Neither Story Plotter nor SmartDictate shows ads.

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

Story Plotter ships an update every 2 weeks, and SmartDictate every 5 weeks. Most recently, Story Plotter was updated on October 6, 2026 and SmartDictate on October 5, 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.*