# Story Plotter vs NovelShaft

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Story Plotter at 79% against NovelShaft's 0%. Story Plotter also leads on rating (4.4 vs 1.0) and ratings volume (195 vs 1). NovelShaft's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Story Plotter sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and NovelShaft sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $18.00 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 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Story Plotter has 195 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Story Plotter's written reviews are positive against 0% of NovelShaft's.

Story Plotter ships an update every 2 weeks, NovelShaft every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Story Plotter | NovelShaft |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.4 (195 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/story-plotter-idea-to-plot/id1491980862/reviews)** | [1.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novelshaft-novel-writing/id6796708818/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **195** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | **78.6% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 193 MB | 88 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Hajime Hata](https://appshunter.io/developer/1491980861) | [Yutaro Amano](https://appshunter.io/developer/6796708970) |

## 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


### NovelShaft

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novelshaft-novel-writing/id6796708818)

This app assists writers by providing AI-powered chat for plot and character development, story note organization, and manuscript writing. It keeps all your creative assets, from conversations to drafts and reference materials, consolidated for each novel.

**Highlights:** AI chat for plot and character discussion, Organize story notes and reference materials, Write and edit manuscripts, Cross-platform access (web and mobile), Export to multiple formats (Word, PDF, EPUB), Voice input for capturing ideas

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Light Monthly Plan | $18.00 | per month |
| Standard Monthly Plan | $36.00 | per month |
| Pro Monthly Plan | $105.99 | per month |
| AI Allowance 1,000 | $6.00 | one-time |
| AI Allowance 3,000 | $16.00 | one-time |
| AI Allowance 10,000 | $48.00 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Story Plotter free?

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

### Is NovelShaft free?

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

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

Story Plotter is rated higher. Story Plotter averages 4.4 out of 5 from 195 ratings, while NovelShaft averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Story Plotter or NovelShaft have ads?

Neither Story Plotter nor NovelShaft shows ads.

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

Story Plotter ships an update every 2 weeks, and NovelShaft every 5 days. Most recently, Story Plotter was updated on November 3, 2026 and NovelShaft on November 6, 2026.

---

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