Want to get right into it? Our top pick for the best screenwriting software at the moment is Final Draft. It is one of the most suitable choices for individuals who want to keep up with the industry standards when it comes to writing great television shows and more.
Are you interested in writing for screens and looking for a career in an entertainment industry or movie industry? You just need a good screenwriting app for Windows or Mac, whichever platform you use. A perfect software will help you blend your thoughts in a perfect screenplay. These screenwriting tools are for both amateur storytellers and professional screenwriters.
While looking for the best screenwriting apps, be wise as they cost a lot and you should not put yourself forward to a path that is full of holes. Therefore, buy a perfect screenwriting software keeping the important things in mind. Here are listed a few screenwriting apps for Windows and Mac to help you get started with your upcoming screenwriting project.
Best Screenwriting Software For Mac And Windows To Choose In 2024
Dipping your toes into screenwriting? Find the most suitable option among our list of Top 10 Screenwriting Software for Windows and Mac users.
1. Final Draft: The Best In Industry Standard Screenwriting Software
Final Draft screenwriting apps is the best screenwriting software and is prominently used in the industry of film and television. Even the networks like BBC, NETFLIX, etc. prefers screenplays written using Final Draft- the industry standard software for Screenwriting.
Final Draft is an expensive software for everyone to use. However, its price seems worth it due to the amazing features it offers.
- Over 300-templates to choose from.
- Includes templates for screenplays, teleplays, comics, stage plays etc.
- Offers features like SmartType Speech to Script, Alternate Dialogue Feature and more.
Here’s why you should/should not get your hands on the Final Draft software:
- Portable version available.
- Write & share scripts across multiple platforms.
- You can choose from over 300 templates.
- Work between your desktop and mobile via cloud syncing.
- Expensive
- A bit overwhelming at first
Download: Final Draft for Windows | macOS
Price: $249.99, free trial available
2. Movie Magic Screenwriter : Best Screenwriting Software For Novice Users
Movie Magic Screenwriter is yet another award-winning software that can be used to create an amazing screenplay, stageplays, teleplay, musical, comic book, or a novel. The Movie Magic screenwriter offers multiple brainstorming and outlining tools, 100+ templates and more such outlining tools to help you get started.
Movie Magic not only lets you write but also lets you hear your screenplay with its Text-to-speech feature.
- AutoBackup by Movie Magic lets you stay worry free for your work, it auto-save your work in real time.
- Connect with your writing partner online through iPartner.
- Helps you sort with everything you need from a story idea to spec to shooting script.
Here’s a list of benefits & downsides of using Movie Magic Screenwriter:
- Effective formatting options for film, television, plays, books,
- Lots of professionally authored templates.
- Revision tracking is supported.
- Includes organizational elements like outlines, scene cards & more.
- Dashboard can be improved.
Download: Movie Magic Screenwriter for Windows | macOS
Price: $249.95, free trial available
3. WriterDuet: Cloud-Based Screenwriting Software
WriterDuet is a cloud-based screenwriting app for Windows and Mac users. The best part of this tool is that it is built for collaboration along with integrated outlining, tagging, and filtering. WriterDuet as the name says gives you a space wherein you enjoy real-time co-writing, intuitive commenting, and in-app text and video chats and more.
Being cloud-based, WriterDuet projects can be accessed anytime and anywhere with an internet connection, on any of the platforms. WriterDuet allows you to use everything from outlining to rewriting, access its useful tools i.e. scene cards, tagging, and effortless formatting.
- Subscription-based pricing model.
- Provides you a space for writing your first three scripts for free.
- Signup WriterSolo, when needed.
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of WriterDuet Screenwriting software:
- Great option for remote writing partners.
- Offers real-time collaboration.
- Includes an in-app chat box & commenting functionality.
- Effective revision tracking feature.
- Receives infrequent updates.
Get WriterDuet premium subscription, starting at $7.99/month.
4. Celtx: The Complete Pre-Production Suite
Another amazing screenwriting app for the web, Celtx, lets you take your script ahead from pre-production to shooting. You can start from scratch and modify it as per your screenplay. Create story on the index cards, create screenplay, breakdown reports, narrators and a lot more using this worthy software. Not only this, Celtx lets you compile all your shot lists, and print out a shooting script as per your convenience.
With this handy tool, you can proceed forward with the entire process easily by collaborating with your team across multiple documents and editing together with your team in real-time.
- Unlock the premium version of Celtx for more features and unlimited project
- Collaborate with your team in real-time.
- No hassle of losing your documents with Celtx secure backup.
Let’s take a look at the advantages & disadvantages of using Celtx:
- Drag and drop to easily navigate & arrange scenes.
- Compatible with iPhones and tablets.
- Offers real-time collaboration options.
- Connected workflow ensures that every member stays organized & informed.
- Sometimes the margins are set wrong after exporting into PDF.
Visit the Celtx website for more information.
5. Trelby: Free Screenwriting Software For Windows
Trelby is the best option when it comes to a tool that is fast, simple, and reliable screenwriting software for Windows. This amazing free tool for screenwriting works on both Windows and Linux machines. The only drawback is that Trelby is not available for macOS.
Trelby provides you an access to its database wherein 200,000 names from across the world have been stored. Also, you can choose from its prominent features like draft view or What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) mode.
- Advanced features like auto-complete, spell check, smart formatting to easily finish your screenplay.
- Choose from Draft View, What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) modes.
- Ease to choose character names from its library of over 200,000 names.
Let’s take a look at the advantages & disadvantages of using Trelby:
- Fast and simple dashboard.
- Import and export the most popular file formats.
- Loaded with Starting guide to help newbies.
- Open-source and free screenwriting software.
- Not available for Mac users.
Download: Trelby for Windows (Free)
6. StudioBinder: Modern Design & easy-to-use Interface
If you are looking for free and professional screenwriting software, StudioBinder is a top-notch option to choose. To get started with the program, you just need to sign-up with the tool and start writing your screenplay without any hassles. Similar to all the aforementioned best screenwriting software for Mac and Windows, it’s intuitive, easy-to-use & industry-approved.
StudioBinder is an end-to-end production management platform and allows users to effortlessly write and format scripts according to their needs and preferences. The program is well-suited for large-scale companies and professionals working on high-profile motion pictures and projects.
- Allows you to start pre-production earlier so you can plan your shoot faster.
- Auto-formats margins, fonts, and screenplay elements according to industry standards.
- Features like auto-complete , keyboard shortcuts, and auto-save let you focus in a better way.
Now let’s take a look at some of the major pros & cons of this script- writing tool:
- Drag-and-drop interface to arrange scenes.
- Helps to manage photo, video, film, and TV production processes in one place.
- Teams can share calendars and collaborate on a unified dashboard.
- Cloud-based screenwriting software.
- Poor customer support.
Price: Starting at $29/Month, free version available
Download: StudioBinder for Windows & Mac
7. Arc Studio Pro: The Most Well-Designed Screenwriting Software
Talking about the best screenwriting software for Mac and Windows and not mentioning Arc Studio Pro is certainly not possible. The program is well-designed and is quickly growing to become the latest industry standard. Arc Studio Pro is one of those programs, which are used by professionals, writers, and filmmakers.
- Provides distraction-free writing mode, so that you can focus on your ideas in a better way.
- Offers tons of creative story- building tools, so that you can easily visualize the storyline.
- Supports real-time capabilities with Cloud, so that you can access your screenplays anytime, anywhere.
Check out the upsides and downsides of Arc Studio Pro script- writing tool:
- Effortless collaboration in real-time.
- Ability to add notes to the script.
- Comes with industry- standard formatting.
- Quickly glance at your script as you write.
- Free version of the service is browser only
- Limited number of scripts allowed.
Price: Starting at $69/Year, Free version available
Download: Arc Studio Pro for Mac, Windows, and iOS
8. Causality Story Sequencer: Best Software To Draft Your First Story
Causality is a well-known and free script-writing software designed for Mac users. It provides complete freedom to visualize your storyline and easily structure the same without putting much effort. It is one of the most suitable choices for writing complex stories, as it gives an overview of the events via its Story Sequencing Engine.
Writing novels, general screenplays, non-fiction books, and graphic novels is a super convenient process with Causality, screenwriting software for Mac. With this script writing tool, you can easily turn multiple layers of a story into one linear story conveniently.
- The screenwriting software for Mac runs well on anything from laptops to multi-monitor setups
- Using Causality is a super-easy process, just move your beats & the script automatically rearranges.
- It has both free and paid versions to offer, you can choose any of them accordingly.
Check out the upsides and downsides of the Causality script writing tool:
- It supports writing in 100+ languages.
- Comes with a spelling checker.
- Provides support for innumerable fonts.
- Helps to plot as well as write your story at the same time.
- The Dashboard can be improvised.
Price: $5.99/Month, free version available for saving & exporting your script under 10 pages.
Download: Causality Story Sequencer for Windows, Mac & Linux
9. Fade In: Multi-platform & Affordable Screenwriting Software
Next on our list of Best Screenwriting Software or Mac and Windows (2024 Edition) includes Fade In. It is one of the most affordable alternatives to Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriting programs. It is a robust tool, packed with plenty of customization features, so that you can easily alter margins, spacing and other elements.
Not only this, with Fade In software you can take advantage of a variety of options like in-built autocomplete typing feature, image support, distraction-free, full-screen & page-only modes. It even provides the cloud-storage service, which makes the entire process of accessing files anytime, anywhere.
- Has a universal, state-of-the-art application interface.
- Provides automatic script formatting features that saves your time & efforts while writing screenplays.
- With this screenwriting software you get an action-to-dialogue calculator and it supports multiple languages.
Check out the major benefits and downsides of using Fade In software:
- Supports multiple file formats.
- Users get free software updates.
- Provides complete image support.
- Enjoy real-time collaboration.
- Poor customer support.
Download: Fade In for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone/iPad
Price: $79.95, free trial available
10. Squibler: Top Screenwriting Software For Mac & Windows With Collaboration Capabilities
Squibler is known for making the screenwriting process an effortless one; all credit goes to its easy-to-use editing and project management tools. No matter what kind of screenplay you wish to write, be it Comedy, Adventure, Action, Drama or any other genre, chances are that you will find a suitable template for your choice.
The screenwriting software simplifies the overall process of creating your own team, sharing your work and collaborating with other writers, proof-readers or anyone from your production team. Specifically, for the night owls out there, Squibler offers Night Mode to reduce eye strain and help you focus better.
- The screenwriting tool comes loaded with 30+ screenplay templates to get started.
- Features a drag and drop interface which makes adding heading, beat boards and other interactive elements an effortless process.
- Has a powerful built-in collaboration feature and other handy tools for writers like plot generator and so on,
Now let’s dive into the advantages and disadvantages offered by Squibler.
- Lots of customizable features to make your screenplay stand out.
- Split-Screen mode to easily view different parts of your script together.
- Map out characters, add various elements using advanced features.
- The screenwriting software is not only a desktop solution but also a cloud solution.
- The screenwriting software is relatively slow.
Price: $9.99/Month, 14-days free trial
Download: Squibler for Windows, Mac and Mobile
For the Screenwriters….!
The screenwriting apps listed above are the top picks amongst hundreds of available ones. Each one of these apps helps a beginner or a pro artist create screenplays in easy to understand and a proper script format. Having these amazing tools by your side will ease the process of formatting screenplay texts. You can however use MS Word, Google Docs for writing scripts if you love to put manual efforts. All you need to have is a basic know-how of how to format a screenplay.
These apps are just an alternative to the features you get along with industry-stated screenwriting software. But, you can always rely on them to get sorted with your creatives and these formats are acceptable in the entertainment industry.
Liked this article? Drop us your feedback or suggestions in the comments section below.
What is the Best Screenwriting Software for Mac?
Arc Studio Pro is one of the best well-designed tools for screenwriting. It goes beyond the industry standard formatting and provides a distraction-free writing experience. Not only this, it offers top-notch autocomplete and intuitive shortcuts to ease the overall process.
What Software Do Most Screenwriters Use?
Well, there are a plethora of options, but one of the most prominent choices among the glut for Filmmakers and Writers is Final Draft. It has been in the market for decades and it is used by over 90 percent of Film and TV Productions.
Can You Write A Screenplay On Microsoft Word?
Yes! Microsoft Word has a ‘Screenplay Template’ that you can download for free of cost from the official website of Microsoft Office. As soon as you add the template to your Word, simply open the new ‘Screenplay Template’ and start writing.
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Gajendra singh
Does Writer duet is available for Mac also