Comparison

Novel Writing vs BYOK Studio

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

BYOK Studio

This app provides a dedicated writing environment for authors and creators. It allows users to draft content, organize notes, plan chapters, and build manuscripts in a structured, purpose-built space. Visualize ideas, manage project details, and capture quick thoughts all in one place.

Highlights
  • Focused writing editor
  • Manuscript building from scenes
  • Card and outline planning
  • Visual idea mapping
  • Project wiki for reference
  • Scratchpad for quick notes
  • Organized project drawer
Features
Read full description

Studio is a writing space built for writers and writing projects. Draft scenes, organize notes, plan chapters, build manuscripts, map ideas, and keep your work together in one purpose-built environment. Whether you are writing a novel, memoir, essay, screenplay, journal, research project, or long-form draft, Studio gives you a flexible place to move from first idea to structured work. Write in a focused editor Draft chapters, scenes, notes, essays, and long-form projects in a clean editor designed to keep the work in front of you. Build manuscripts from scenes Bring separate files, chapters, and sections together into a larger manuscript so your project can take shape piece by piece. Plan with cards and outlines Capture scene ideas, research, structure, notes, and beats using flexible cards and hierarchical outlines. Map your ideas visually Use the Grid Map to create mind maps, flow charts, relationship maps, timelines, and visual plans with shapes and connection lines. Create a project wiki Keep track of characters, places, concepts, research, worldbuilding, and other reference material in a living wiki for your project. Use the Scratchpad for quick ideas Capture loose thoughts, reminders, and checkable tasks before they disappear. Scratchpad entries can also be created from your BYOK device. Keep every project organized Use the Project Drawer to store and organize files, folders, drafts, notes, cards, outlines, grids, wiki entries, and other project materials. Connect with BYOK Studio is designed to work alongside the BYOK writing device, giving you a place to continue organizing, editing, and shaping the drafts you start elsewhere. Studio is more than a blank page. It is a writing environment for the whole project behind the words. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Novel Writing4 screens
BYOK Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Novel Writing at every 3 weeks against BYOK Studio's every 2 months. BYOK Studio's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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 and BYOK Studio sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Novel Writing against 5.0 for BYOK Studio. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Novel Writing ships an update every 3 weeks, BYOK Studio every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Novel Writing versus BYOK Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNovel WritingBYOK Studio
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings7 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB47 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperCephalopod StudioBYOK LLC

Customer experience

Novel Writing

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

BYOK Studio

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Novel Writing

Subscriptions2
  • Premium monthly3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Premium Annual3 Days trial$39.991 Year
2 purchases

BYOK Studio

Subscriptions2
  • Standard$9.991 Month
  • Standard1 Year trial$82.991 Year

Questions

Is Novel Writing free?
Novel Writing is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BYOK Studio free?
BYOK Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Novel Writing or BYOK Studio?
Novel Writing and BYOK Studio are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 7 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Novel Writing or BYOK Studio have ads?
Neither Novel Writing nor BYOK Studio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Novel Writing or BYOK Studio?
Novel Writing ships an update every 3 weeks, and BYOK Studio every 2 months. Most recently, Novel Writing was updated on November 5, 2026 and BYOK Studio on October 31, 2026.

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