Fountain · easy screenwriting vs Open Draft Screenwriting
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Fountain · easy screenwriting
This app provides a native writing and editing experience for screenplays on Apple devices. It utilizes a simple, natural writing language that handles formatting automatically, allowing users to focus on their story. Export scripts in various formats with ease.
- Native screenplay editor
- Fountain screenwriting language
- Automatic formatting
- Outlining tools
- Script exporting
- Plaintext documents
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Fountain is a fully native screenplay editor purpose-built for iOS, iPadOS and macOS, loaded with deceptively powerful editing, viewing, outlining and exporting tools. It uses the Fountain screenwriting language, a flavor of Markdown which lets you write naturally, without worrying about formatting. FAST · Fully native, from parser to editor. Translation? No slowdowns or hiccups. Just you and your script. FOCUSED · The tools you need to hit your flow without clutter. LEAN · Sips battery life thanks to a custom parser built on the latest macOS, iOS & iPadOS technologies. PORTABLE · Uses standard plaintext documents which you can read from (or write to!) with any text editor. Your data is yours. I'm an indie developer and fellow screenwriter, so your feedback is super important! Reach out to me at fountainappdev@gmail.com anytime with feedback, questions or ideas.
Open Draft Screenwriting
This free, open-source application offers professional screenplay formatting, real-time collaboration, and visual planning tools. It supports multiple export formats and is available across all major operating systems, providing a privacy-first writing experience.
- Professional screenplay formatting
- Real-time collaboration
- Beat boards and index cards
- Version history tracking
- Character profiles and production tools
- Export to PDF, FDX, Fountain, and TXT
- Cross-platform availability
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OpenDraft is a free, open-source screenwriting application — a modern alternative to Final Draft. PROFESSIONAL SCREENPLAY FORMATTING Write in industry-standard format with automatic element formatting for scene headings, action, character names, dialogue, and parentheticals. What you see is what you export. REAL-TIME COLLABORATION Co-write with your writing partner in real time with live cursors, just like Google Docs. No account required — just share a link and start writing together. BEAT BOARDS & INDEX CARDS Plan your story visually. Drag and drop scene cards, color-code acts, and restructure your screenplay without losing a single word. VERSION HISTORY Every save is tracked with Git-based version control. Compare drafts side by side, see exactly what changed, and restore any previous version instantly. CHARACTER PROFILES & PRODUCTION TOOLS Build character bibles, track dialogue stats, tag scenes for production, and manage your entire project from one place. EXPORT ANYWHERE Export to PDF, Final Draft (.fdx), Fountain, and plain text. Your work is never locked into a proprietary format. WORKS EVERYWHERE Available on macOS, iOS, Windows, Linux, and Android. Run it as a desktop app or self-host in your browser. WHY OPENDRAFT? - 100% free and open source (MIT license) - No subscription, no cloud lock-in - Works fully offline — no internet required - Privacy-first: no tracking, no analytics - Import from Final Draft, Fountain, and PDF
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Open Draft Screenwriting at free against Fountain · easy screenwriting's paid. Open Draft Screenwriting also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (100% vs 74%). Fountain · easy screenwriting's advantage is ratings volume (35 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Open Draft Screenwriting holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Fountain · easy screenwriting has 35 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Fountain · easy screenwriting's written reviews are positive against 100% of Open Draft Screenwriting's.
Fountain · easy screenwriting ships an update every 3 weeks, Open Draft Screenwriting every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Fountain · easy screenwriting | Open Draft Screenwriting |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (35 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 73.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 35 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alex Walker | Base Information Management Pvt. Ltd. |
Customer experience
Fountain · easy screenwriting
Open Draft Screenwriting
Bugs and requests
Fountain · easy screenwriting
Reported bugs
17 issues- Constantly changes file name back to Untitled
- Stopped saving
- Deleted work when changing document title
- No version history
- Text continues behind the keyboard and is inaccessible
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- Crashes frequently
- App closes unexpectedly while writing
- Loses progress after crashing
- Crashes when adding a period with double-tap space
- Formatting while writing not as pictured
- Boots user off the app
- Lyrics not handled well
- Last line on each page lost on PDF export
- Non-removable 'Made In Fountain' + QR Code watermark on exported PDFs
- No paginated view until PDF export
- Dialogue breaks lines unexpectedly in the middle of words
- Character names break lines unexpectedly
Requested features
13 requests- Autocomplete for commands (e.g., INT.)
- Light mode option
- See page breaks within the app
- Title page creation
- Option to change text size
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- Support for research notes
- Drag and drop for rearranging sections/beats
- Force a Slugline (e.g., with 'Intercut')
- Improve character name recognition
- Dual dialogue support (^)
- Custom default folder option
- Clarification on AI-generated icon
- Icon change
Open Draft Screenwriting
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Fountain · easy screenwriting
No in-app purchases
Open Draft Screenwriting
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Fountain · easy screenwriting free?
Is Open Draft Screenwriting free?
Which has better reviews, Fountain · easy screenwriting or Open Draft Screenwriting?
Do Fountain · easy screenwriting or Open Draft Screenwriting have ads?
Which is updated more often, Fountain · easy screenwriting or Open Draft Screenwriting?
Other comparisons
