Comparison

Writing Challenge vs Novelist

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

Head to head
About

Writing Challenge

Overcome writer's block with creative story prompts. Generate new ideas, embrace freewriting, and build a consistent writing habit. Perfect for aspiring authors and creative individuals seeking inspiration.

Highlights
  • Tap for new story prompts
  • Customizable prompt settings
  • Daily writing challenges
  • Home screen widgets for challenges
  • Share challenges with others
  • Freewriting exercises
Features
Read full description

Stuck in front of a blank page? Need a boost of inspiration? Join us to overcome blocks and push your creativity to the max. With Writing Challenge, you will brainstorm new and fresh ideas and embrace freewriting in the funniest way ever. *** TAP AND SPARK *** · Get new prompts to start writing your story with just a touch on your screen. · Pick the prompts that better suit you from our mix of trigger words, characters, actions, settings, sentences, items, and dialogue. · Take control of your experience with the prompt settings. · Set the number of prompts for each writing session to get an ending for your story. · Add a timer between prompts if you wish for an extra challenge. *** THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX *** · Check the Daily Challenge Prompts that encourage you to create original stories and keep the writing habit alive. · Get the Daily Challenge on your home screen with the app widgets. · Mark the challenge as completed for a more engaging experience. · Schedule up the reminder to keep up the challenge every day. *** SHARE YOUR CREATIVITY *** · Share the Daily Challenges with friends and colleagues. · Increase fun & engagement in your writing classes, workshops, and writing group sessions. Whether you are a writer looking for ideas or just want to have fun, this app will help you out. Dare yourself to experience freewriting, and express your creativity without restrictions. —— —— ——  *** DOUBTS? *** Please visit the site writingchallengeapp.com for more information. You can also contact us via info@liternauts.com. We are happily awaiting your feedback and will get back to you! Thank you, and happy writing!

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.

Screenshots

Writing Challenge4 screens
Novelist4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Novelist at Free against Writing Challenge's $2.99. Novelist also leads on review sentiment (79% vs 50%) and ratings volume (214 vs 60). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Novelist is free to download; Writing Challenge costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Writing Challenge against 4.4 for Novelist. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 60 and 214 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Writing Challenge's written reviews are positive against 79% of Novelist's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Writing Challenge versus Novelist: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWriting ChallengeNovelist
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (60 ratings) — better4.4 (214 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews79.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings60214 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB54 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperBartolome Masco LopezAlessandro Riperi

Customer experience

Writing Challenge

All ratings60 ratings
Positive85.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral9.4%
Negative40.6%

Novelist

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

Bugs and requests

Writing Challenge

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or 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

In-app purchases

None

Writing Challenge

No in-app purchases

None

Novelist

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Writing Challenge free?
Writing Challenge costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Novelist free?
Novelist is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Writing Challenge or Novelist?
Writing Challenge is rated higher. Writing Challenge averages 4.4 out of 5 from 60 ratings, while Novelist averages 4.4 from 214 ratings.
Do Writing Challenge or Novelist have ads?
Neither Writing Challenge nor Novelist shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Writing Challenge or Novelist?
Writing Challenge ships an update every 6 weeks, and Novelist every 6 weeks. Most recently, Writing Challenge was updated on November 1, 2026 and Novelist on November 3, 2026.

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