Comparison

Novelist vs Authora

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

Head to head
About

Novelist

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
Read full description

Join over 200k authors writing their next masterpiece with Novelist! Novelist is the all-in-one app for writing your novels—completely free with no ads or in-app purchases. We give you the freedom to create without limits. Whether you're plotting, outlining, organizing, or scheduling, Novelist provides powerful tools to help bring your story to life. Key Features: ▪ Plot: Organize your story elements like on a board. Easily edit, move, merge, reorder, and add notes, tags, metadata, or images. Everything is customizable. ▪ Write: Craft scenes directly in the app. Annotate or write with rich formatting tools. ▪ Organize: Structure your story into acts, chapters, or any format you like. ▪ Schedule: Set word count goals or deadlines to stay on track. Advanced Tools: ▪ Autosave, find/replace, add comments, and restore previous versions from history ▪ Mention story items directly in your text for quick reference ▪ Split your screen with reference panels to inspect items while writing ▪ Track your progress daily with detailed stats ▪ Real-time preview without leaving the app ▪ Export and share your manuscript in EPUB, ODT, or HTML formats ▪ Enjoy an interface optimized for large screens ▪ Write on any browser with the companion web app ▪ Create templates for book series to streamline your workflow ▪ Backup and restore locally or with Google Drive ▪ Switch to dark mode for comfortable writing during long sessions Your story, your way—with Novelist.

About

Authora

This writing companion helps aspiring authors reclaim lost minutes for their book projects. It offers tools for writing, storyboarding, and self-publishing directly from a mobile device, turning commutes and waiting times into productive writing sessions.

Highlights
  • Six writing format templates
  • Rich text editor optimized for mobile
  • Storyboard for characters, plot, and world-building
  • Export to EPUB/PDF for self-publishing
  • Speech-to-text dictation
  • On-device writing analysis
  • Encrypted cloud sync (Premium)
Features
Read full description

Turn waiting into writing. Most people who want to write a book never finish one - not for lack of ideas, but for lack of time to sit down. Authora is a mobile writing companion built for the life you actually have. Waiting rooms, commutes, flight delays, lunch breaks - the minutes that usually disappear into doomscrolling, reclaimed for the book you've always meant to write. WRITE ANYWHERE Six format templates - novel, journal, manuscript, academic paper, non-fiction, poetry collection. Rich text editor optimised for phones and tablets, not a desktop UI stuffed onto a small screen. Auto-save every two seconds. Focus mode for distraction-free writing. Preview mode to read your draft as a reader will see it. STORYBOARDING THAT MATCHES HOW WRITERS THINK Characters with bios, traits, and relationships. Plot arcs with scenes you can link to chapters. World-building notes. Colour-coded labels. Keep the people, places, and threads of your story organised without leaving your phone. FROM BLANK PAGE TO PUBLISHED BOOK Authora isn't just a writing app - it's a self-publishing pipeline. When your draft is done, add a cover image, and export as EPUB or PDF that's ready to upload straight to Amazon KDP, Apple Books, or Kobo. Front matter, back matter, TOC, metadata - all handled. Your finished book goes into your personal library inside Authora too, readable with a built-in ebook reader. No separate formatting tool. No desktop required. Draft to published, all on your phone. CAPTURE ON THE GO Speech-to-text dictation with live transcription. Chapter import from .docx, .rtf, and .txt - start with existing drafts, no retyping. On-device writing analysis flags passive voice, adverb overuse, clichés, and readability issues as you write. FREE FOREVER, PREMIUM WHEN YOU'RE READY Full writing experience, export, personal library, and a starter storyboard - all free, all local, no account required. Premium ($2.99/mo or $29.99/yr) adds encrypted cloud sync and backup across phone and tablet, unlimited storyboarding, inline figures with captions, and priority support. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT Free users never sign in. Premium users' chapters, world notes, character bios, and plot descriptions are encrypted at rest with AES-256, and in transit with TLS - even in a breach, your draft stays unreadable. Biometric app lock on both platforms. We never read your work, never train on your writing, never sell your data. BUILT FOR PHONES AND TABLETS Native iOS App. Dark and light theme. Responsive layout on tablets. Biometric unlock. Full offline support. Dashboard showing word count trends and your completion stats. The book is already in you. Authora is where you finish it.

Screenshots

Novelist4 screens
Authora4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Novelist at none against Authora's 2. Novelist also leads on ratings volume (214 vs 4) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Authora's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 79%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, ads and device support 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. Authora sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Novelist asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Novelist against 4.5 for Authora. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Novelist has 214 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 79% of Novelist's written reviews are positive against 100% of Authora's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Novelist ships an update every 6 weeks, Authora fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Novelist versus Authora: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNovelistAuthora
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (214 ratings)4.5 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings214 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlessandro RiperiRonan Campbell

Customer experience

Novelist

All ratings209 ratings
Positive84.2%
Neutral6.7%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews219 reviews
Positive79.5%
Neutral10.5%
Negative10.0%

Authora

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Novelist

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • 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

7 requests
  • 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
Show 2 more
  • Spell check and grammar tools
  • Customizable keyboard in dark mode

Authora

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Novelist

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Authora

Subscriptions2
  • Authora Premium (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • Authora Premium (Yearly)$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Novelist free?
Novelist is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Authora free?
Authora is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Novelist or Authora?
Authora is rated higher. Novelist averages 4.4 out of 5 from 214 ratings, while Authora averages 4.5 from 4 ratings.
Do Novelist or Authora have ads?
Neither Novelist nor Authora shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Novelist or Authora?
Novelist ships an update every 6 weeks, and Authora fortnightly. Most recently, Novelist was updated on October 24, 2026 and Authora on October 23, 2026.

Other comparisons