Comparison

Novel Writing vs Linking Lists

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

Head to head
About

Novel Writing

This writing companion offers a rich text editor and organizational tools for fiction writers. It provides tiered AI assistance, from manual outlining to full novelette generation, allowing users to choose their preferred level of creative support.

Highlights
  • Manual outline and Story Bible
  • Rich text editor
  • PDF export
  • Chapter organization
  • AI-powered narrative autocomplete
  • Full novelette generation
Read full description

Write works of fiction with the help of Ember Glow. This app aims to respect writers who just want to write, no AI bells and whistle, but also creatives who want to explore and tinker with AI for themselves. With an aim of respecting the various styles of writing, this app incorporates three methods of using AI: Level 1: None. You still get (free): * An outline you can fill out manually to brainstorm and keep track of your thoughts, the Story Bible. It has sections for characters, themes, world building, plot outlines, and more. * A fully-featured rich text editor. * The ability to transform your book into a PDF. * Organization of your work into chapters or sections that you can rearrange. * You can remove the sidebars for a focused, full-screen writing experience. Level 2: Some AI: * Each section of the Story Bible lets you provide a prompt where to generate that portion of the core. And it's all editable afterwards, of course. * You also get a section of the app that provides narrative autocomplete, meaning the app understands the whole context of all you have written, including the Story Bible and summaries of your writing thus far, to help unblock you or give you ideas of what to write (or if you please, ideas of what not to write; doing the opposite of generative suggestions is very much an option). Level 3: Full * Create an entire novelette for you to either enjoy on your own, or to flesh out into a richer story. * Generate in one shot, or create the draft based on your Story Bible. For in-app purchases and subscriptions, see https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-serivces/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Linking Lists

Features
Read full description

Linking Lists is a personal, fully customizable, relational database, used to help manage your world. Features include images, charts, email and text templates and most importantly, relational lists for easy navigation.

Screenshots

Novel Writing4 screens
Linking Lists1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Linking Lists at none against Novel Writing's 2. Linking Lists also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Novel Writing's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 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. Novel Writing sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Linking Lists asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Novel Writing ships an update every 3 weeks, Linking Lists every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Novel Writing versus Linking Lists: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNovel WritingLinking Lists
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB63 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperCephalopod StudioJames Welch

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Novel Writing

Subscriptions2
  • Premium monthly3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Premium Annual3 Days trial$39.991 Year
None

Linking Lists

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Novel Writing free?
Novel Writing is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Linking Lists free?
Linking Lists is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Novel Writing or Linking Lists have ads?
Neither Novel Writing nor Linking Lists shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Novel Writing or Linking Lists?
Novel Writing ships an update every 3 weeks, and Linking Lists every 3 months. Most recently, Novel Writing was updated on November 5, 2026 and Linking Lists on November 9, 2026.

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