Comparison

Final Draft Go vs Astren

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

Head to head
About

Final Draft Go

Write, edit, and read screenplays on your mobile device. Seamlessly sync scripts between your desktop and mobile devices, and utilize industry-standard formatting tools for professional results. Offers enhanced UI, zoom capabilities, and integration with proofreading tools.

Highlights
  • Write and edit screenplays
  • Sync scripts across devices
  • Industry-standard formatting
  • SmartType for quick entry
  • ScriptNotes for annotations
  • Grammarly integration
  • Pinch-to-zoom and night mode
Read full description

Final Draft Go Final Draft™ – the #1-selling screenwriting software in the world – brings you Final Draft Go for iPhone and iPad. With this convenient, subscription-based app, you can write, edit and read Final Draft scripts on your iPhone or iPad. Go paperless and carry all your scripts with you everywhere you go, create new scripts or edit existing ones with easy-to-use features such as Tab and Enter navigation, ScriptNotes, SmartType, and more. Easily move your Final Draft scripts from desktop to iPhone or iPad and back again via iCloud, Dropbox, or email. Your scripts will appear perfectly paginated and formatted to industry standards every time. NEW FEATURES INCLUDE: ENHANCED UI New and improved user interface PINCH TO ZOOM Use multi-touch gestures to zoom in and out and customize the text size of your script view IMPROVED NIGHT MODE Change from day to night mode easily without having to leave the app UNIVERSAL CONTROL SUPPORT Work seamlessly between your iPad and Mac, using your Mac keyboard, mouse, or trackpad GRAMMARLY INTEGRATION Use the Grammarly app with FD Go to edit and proofread your work Creativity is truly portable with Final Draft Go. - Send or share your Final Draft FDX file between all your devices and computers and always be on the same page with Dropbox, OneDrive, or iCloud - Easily change script elements with classic Tab and Enter functionality or through the Elements bar (iPad) or Menu (iPhone) - Use SmartType to remember your character names, scene headings and more - Multi-language support – Write in over 95 different languages - Bluetooth keyboard support - Character Highlighting allows you to keep track of your characters for table reads or character development - Add, color-code, label, and edit ScriptNotes - Perfectly paginates to US Letter and standard European (A4) page sizes - Send feedback directly through the app - Professionally formatted TV, Film, and Stage Play templates to help get you started - Search your entire script for characters, locations, or other script elements - Export scripts to PDF via Dropbox, iCloud or email - Saves the last page you’re working on to get back to work quickly - iPhone Page View shows 100% accurate Final Draft pagination, formatting and line breaking - Automatic More’s and Continued’s - Multi-page Title Pages are supported for TV production scripts - Includes production features like Scene Numbering, Omit Scenes, Colored and Locked Pages - Shows Active or Collated Revisions with Colored Pages - Quickly switch from one revision set to another - Track key information with Cast Reports, Scene Reports, Location Reports, and more - iPhone Scene Navigator allows you to easily jump to different scenes in your script - Access all of the tools you need while maintaining context in your script in the iPhone Tools Menu - Edit your Header and Footer TESTIMONIALS: “Where has this been all my career?!? I put it through its paces doing a rewrite on the go-go-go. Does a great job. This is a real step forward! What more do you need on the road? (Maybe a chauffeur?).” David Seidler – Writer/Academy Award® winner The King’s Speech, By Dawn’s Early Light, Tucker: The Man and His Dream.

About

Astren

This app combines notes, audio recordings, and guitar tabs into a single platform for songwriters. It offers a full text editor, in-note audio recording, and a built-in tab editor, keeping all your musical ideas organized and accessible.

Highlights
  • Text editing suite
  • Inline audio recording
  • Built-in guitar tab editor
  • Local and iCloud file storage
  • Share notes, recordings, or tabs
  • Light and dark mode
Features
Read full description

A notes app built for songwriters. Most songwriters work out of multiple apps. A notes app for lyrics and ideas, a recorder for audio, a second note or audio file to notate the music. It works, but it's messy, and keeping everything organized is a job in itself. Astren brings your notes, your recordings, and your guitar tabs into one place, so your ideas and the music behind them are always together. WRITE • A full text editing suite for capturing ideas the moment they show up • Headers, bold, italic, checklists, and hyperlinks RECORD • Record audio directly within your notes • Recordings live as inline tokens, right next to the lyrics or arrangement they belong to • Loop a riff and write to it NOTATE • A built-in guitar tab editor for notating exactly what you just played • Fast, intuitive, and stored right alongside everything else YOUR FILES, YOUR WAY • Astren stores everything in your phone's Files app, locally or in iCloud • Your work is yours, always SHARE ANYTHING • Share a full note, a recording, or a tab directly from the app • A collaboration tool as much as it is a writing tool NOT JUST FOR SONGWRITING Astren is a fully capable notes platform. Grocery lists, to-do lists, whatever you need. The songwriting tools are there when you need them, and out of the way when you don't. Light and dark mode supported.

Screenshots

Final Draft Go4 screens
Astren4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Astren at 100% against Final Draft Go's 11%. Astren also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). Final Draft Go's advantage is ratings volume (1.7K vs 5) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 5 months). On price, 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. Final Draft Go sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Astren asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Astren holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Final Draft Go has 1.7K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 11% of Final Draft Go's written reviews are positive against 100% of Astren's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Final Draft Go ships an update every 6 weeks, Astren every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Final Draft Go versus Astren: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFinal Draft GoAstren
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1.7K ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews11.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.7K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size194 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCast & Crew Production Software, LLCJUSTIN ALEXANDER WEISS

Customer experience

Final Draft Go

All ratings1,724 ratings
Positive72.8%
Neutral3.9%
Negative23.3%
Written reviews452 reviews
Positive11.3%
Neutral6.4%
Negative82.3%

Astren

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Final Draft Go

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Constant login issues
  • Crashes and freezes
  • Scrolling and cursor problems
  • Formatting and editing bugs
  • Sync and file management issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add Dropbox support
  • Improve Magic Keyboard integration
  • Add Beat Board and other advanced features
  • Unify account system with desktop version

Astren

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Final Draft Go

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Annually$19.991 Year
None

Astren

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Final Draft Go free?
Final Draft Go is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Astren free?
Astren is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Final Draft Go or Astren?
Astren is rated higher. Final Draft Go averages 4.0 out of 5 from 1.7K ratings, while Astren averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Final Draft Go or Astren have ads?
Neither Final Draft Go nor Astren shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Final Draft Go or Astren?
Final Draft Go ships an update every 6 weeks, and Astren every 5 months. Most recently, Final Draft Go was updated on November 12, 2026 and Astren on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons