Comparison

Save the Cat! vs Castability Actors

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Save the Cat!

This app helps writers structure stories for screenplays, novels, and TV episodes using a proven methodology. It guides you through developing loglines, genres, beat sheets, and scene organization with features for emotional arcs and character development.

Highlights
  • Develop logline and title
  • Choose from 10 story genres
  • Complete Blake Snyder Beat Sheet (BS2)
  • Organize scenes with 'the Board'
  • Track character arcs
  • Create emotional changes per scene
  • Sync files across devices
Features
Read full description

All new version, built from the ground up using Apple's standard, master-detail style for full compatibility with iOS functionality including Dark Mode. Even if you don't own the desktop version of Save the Cat!®, you can still use this amazing tool, touted as the "secret weapon" of the working writer, to help build better, more powerful stories, with greater resonance and emotional impact. Whenever your creative juices start flowing you'll have this revolutionary app, which is based on Blake Snyder's best-selling books and software, at your fingertips. You'll delight in the ability to structure your screenplay, teleplay, stageplay or novel the Save the Cat!® way. By incorporating the methods, tips and tactics found in the Save the Cat!® series of books on story structure, this application will help you to: * Develop a powerful Logline and Title * Choose one of the 10 unique Save the Cat!® Genres * Complete a Blake Snyder Beat Sheet (BS2) with variations for screenplays, novels, and 1/2 hour and 1 hour tv episodes. * Use “the Board” to create cards for each scene and arrange them in the perfect order and to track character arcs and other important aspects of your story. Just long-press on a scene or other element in the Board then pick what you want to insert at that point. * Add sequences to combine multiple scenes. * Add labels to the Board to keep track of important points. * Create Emotional Changes for each and every scene * Create Set-ups and Payoffs as your protagonist progresses through the story Sync your files across devices. This is a manual process so you're in complete control as to when you post and download your changes. Just create an account and login on all your devices. If you had a Save the Cat! account for the website or for when you purchased STC, that will not work here. You'll need to create a new account. You can even add one or more writing partners to your project and sync your changes with them if you have the Premium or Pro level. Enter the username for their new STC account. The free version allows you to add projects and work on your title, logline, genre, and the beat sheet. Many of the features listed below require an in-app purchase. Essentials has all the basic functionality you need to develop a screenplay, novel, or tv episode with characters, locations set-ups, and pay-offs. Premium adds the ability to track things or objects, and relationships. You'll also be able to develop a novel by chapters instead of using a beat sheet. Pro adds the ability to develop an entire series of movies or novels that use all the same characters, locations, things, and relationships and to track their stories across the entire series. You can also develop an entire tv series with multiple seasons. Other cool updates include the ability to have multiple versions of your beat sheet and multiple versions of your board for each beat sheet. Much improved script typing. And, if you're working on a novel, just type in your manuscript with proper formatting. All new facts section keeping track of important facts ("Bible" for tv writers) for characters, locations and other entities. Add important elements for characters, locations and other entities that you need to track through the story. Add the character or entity to the Board and track those items through the story. As always you can add attachments such as photos, pdf's, and other important research documents so you have everything at your fingertips.

About

Castability Actors

Actors can hone their skills by taking on genre-specific challenges and receiving feedback from industry professionals. Submit your performances for evaluation and compete to be featured in a curated gallery.

Highlights
  • Genre and character type challenges
  • In-app scene partner
  • Performance submission
  • Professional casting director feedback
  • Actor ranking metrics
  • Castability Gallery competition
Features
Read full description

Find out how casting sees your work. Every week Castability gives you new scenes to film. Record one on your phone, submit it, and an established casting director scores your work alongside every other actor who filmed the same scene. You see where you placed, how you scored, and what to work on next. New members get 2 weeks free. HOW IT WORKS • Pick a scene. New original scenes go live every week. Each is about 90 seconds, written in the style of TV and film you know, across drama, comedy, thriller, procedural, horror and more. • Film it. Record in the app with the teleprompter and in-app reader, or upload a take from your camera roll. Save up to three takes and submit your best. • Get scored. After the scene closes, an established casting director scores your work. • Read your report: your placement in the scene, your overall Castability score, your scores for Technique, Believability and Creativity, and the "What Worked" and "Things to think about" tags from casting. Casting may also add an optional short note. WHAT YOU GET • Scores from established casting directors. • Your data over time: your strongest genres and character types, and your trend in every metric. • The Gallery: watch winning tapes and see what casting chose. • The Castability List: see where your scores rank. • A daily practice quiz that sharpens how you read a script. • Points and achievements as you keep filming. WHO SCORES YOUR WORK Every casting director who scores on Castability has either worked at Director or Associate level for a studio, network or production company, or has cast principal roles in film, TV or theatre for at least 100 weeks in the last five years. Your report doesn't name who scored you, so the focus stays on your work. YOUR TAPES ARE YOURS TO USE Every scene is an original script, so you can post your tapes and use them in your reel. BUILT BY ACTORS, FOR ACTORS Castability is an actor-run company. We built it to give every actor, everywhere, a clear path to discover their potential. MEMBERSHIP Filming, scoring and the daily quiz are part of Castability Membership, an auto-renewing subscription. New members get 2 weeks free. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when the trial ends. Membership renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel any time in your App Store account settings. Castability is an education and feedback platform. This is not an audition for employment or for obtaining a talent agent or talent management. Castability is for actors 18 and over. Terms of Use: https://www.castability.actor/terms-of-service Apple EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy: https://www.castability.actor/privacy-policy Questions? Email admin@castability.actor

Screenshots

Save the Cat!4 screens
Castability Actors4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Castability Actors at 100% against Save the Cat!'s 38%. Castability Actors also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). Save the Cat!'s advantage is ratings volume (473 vs 8) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Save the Cat! sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Castability Actors sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $35.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Castability Actors holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Save the Cat! has 473 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of Save the Cat!'s written reviews are positive against 100% of Castability Actors's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Save the Cat! ships an update every 2 months, Castability Actors every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Save the Cat! versus Castability Actors: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSave the Cat!Castability Actors
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (473 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews37.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings473 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB76 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperBlake Snyder EnterprisesCastability

Customer experience

Save the Cat!

All ratings471 ratings
Positive91.1%
Neutral3.0%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive37.8%
Neutral15.6%
Negative46.7%

Castability Actors

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Save the Cat!

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • App crashes when opening Board feature
  • Beat selection stuck in window mode
  • Login credentials rejected on website
  • Crashes every 10-15 minutes
  • Unable to upload attachments
Show 7 more
  • Text field entrapment - unable to exit beat field
  • Work disappears without explanation
  • iPad version won't sync to desktop version
  • App not available in certain countries/regions
  • Glitchy and unresponsive desktop version
  • Manual save required - no auto-save on crash
  • UI labels cut off in both orientations

Requested features

11 requests
  • Monthly subscription or free trial option
  • Spanish language support
  • Downloadable desktop app with same login credentials
  • Printable outline/board export
  • Scrivener export functionality
Show 6 more
  • Larger font size adjustment
  • Actual board layout with pinch-to-zoom on mobile
  • Auto-save functionality like Google Docs
  • Automatic app access with book purchase
  • Desktop version for Mac with full feature parity
  • Genre description snapshots in selection

Castability Actors

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Save the Cat!

Subscriptions6
  • Essentials Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Premium Monthly Subscription$3.991 Month
  • Pro Monthly Subscription$4.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Essentials Subscription$21.991 Year
  • Premium Subscription$29.991 Year
  • Pro Subscription$39.991 Year
One-time4
  • Upgrade Premium to Pro$9.99
  • Unlock Essentials$21.99
  • Unlock Premium$29.99
Show 1 more
  • Unlock Pro$39.99
2 purchases

Castability Actors

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Plus14 Days trial$35.001 Month
  • Annual Plus14 Days trial$191.991 Year

Questions

Is Save the Cat! free?
Save the Cat! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Castability Actors free?
Castability Actors is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Save the Cat! or Castability Actors?
Castability Actors is rated higher. Save the Cat! averages 4.7 out of 5 from 473 ratings, while Castability Actors averages 5.0 from 8 ratings.
Do Save the Cat! or Castability Actors have ads?
Neither Save the Cat! nor Castability Actors shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Save the Cat! or Castability Actors?
Save the Cat! ships an update every 2 months, and Castability Actors every 2 weeks. Most recently, Save the Cat! was updated on November 3, 2026 and Castability Actors on November 5, 2026.

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