# Novelist vs Concise

The clearest difference is rating: Concise at 5.0 against Novelist's 4.4. Concise also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 79%). Novelist's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ratings volume (214 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Concise sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Novelist asks for nothing beyond the download.

Concise holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Novelist has 214 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Novelist's written reviews are positive against 100% of Concise's.

Novelist ships an update every 6 weeks, Concise monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Novelist | Concise |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (214 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novelist-write-novels/id1564737393/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/concise-hemingway-editor/id6783388958/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **214** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 79.5% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 54 MB | 48 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Alessandro Riperi](https://appshunter.io/developer/1564737395) | [Starter Studio, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/6777063892) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### Concise

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/concise-hemingway-editor/id6783388958)

Enhance your writing with private, on-device analysis. Get instant feedback on readability, sentence structure, passive voice, and word choice to create clearer, sharper text.

**Highlights:** On-device writing analysis, Readability grade and reading time, Detection of hard sentences and passive voice, Suggestions for adverbs and complex words, Highlights wordy phrases, Local saved drafts, Offline analysis

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Concise Pro+ Weekly | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Concise Pro+ Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Concise Pro+ Yearly | $39.99 | per year |
| Concise Pro Lifetime | $14.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Novelist free?

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

### Is Concise free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Novelist or Concise?

Concise is rated higher. Novelist averages 4.4 out of 5 from 214 ratings, while Concise averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Novelist or Concise have ads?

Neither Novelist nor Concise shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Novelist or Concise?

Novelist ships an update every 6 weeks, and Concise monthly. Most recently, Novelist was updated on November 3, 2026 and Concise on October 31, 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.*