FocusWriter Alternatives for Linux

There are many alternatives to FocusWriter for Linux if you are looking for a replacement. The best Linux alternative is Zettlr, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to FocusWriter and many of them are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to FocusWriter are ghostwriter, QOwnNotes, Dendron and Heynote.

filter to find the best alternatives

FocusWriter alternatives are mainly Note-taking Tools, but if you're looking for Text Editors or Word Processors you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Linux, Android and iPad. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to FocusWriter.
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Alternatives list

  1. Zettlr icon
     245 likes

    Unified writing platform offering note-taking, easy citations with Zotero integration, LaTeX/Word templates, snippets, themes, dark modes, code highlighting, multi-language support, and knowledge management with Zettelkasten for seamless writing from notes to books.

    182 Zettlr alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
     
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    1
    Comments about Zettlr as an Alternative to FocusWriter
    liricospina
    Positive
    -2

    This program does not work in any other version of Mac OS but the very latest, which by all accounts is still to be avoided. (Apparently. working remotely has made the macsters overzealously productive in an attempt to remain useful and banish boredom, at mac users' expense.)

    Zettlr icon
    Zettlr icon
    • Zettlr is Free and Open SourceFocusWriter is also Free and Open Source
    • Zettlr is Privacy focusedFocusWriter is not according to our users
  2. ghostwriter icon
     109 likes

    ghostwriter is a feature-rich text editor using Markdown syntax which makes it suitable for note-taking, document redaction, simple HTML website creation and much more.

    139 ghostwriter alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
     
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    2
    9
    Comments about ghostwriter as an Alternative to FocusWriter
    javillalba
    Positive
    0
    • Full screen distraction-free.
    • Open Source license.
    • Word count and progress stats.
    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Krakra
    Positive
    0

    very nice tool - i like it much more than Write and use it as alternative to it.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    ghostwriter icon
    ghostwriter icon
    • Most users think ghostwriter is a great FocusWriter alternative.

    • ghostwriter is Free and Open SourceFocusWriter is also Free and Open Source
    • ghostwriter is Privacy focusedFocusWriter is not according to our users
  3. QOwnNotes icon
     96 likes

    Plain text notepad with markdown support and todo list manager for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows, that works together with the notes application of ownCloud.

    266 QOwnNotes alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Qt
     
  4. Dendron icon
     71 likes

    Dendron is an open-source, local-first, markdown-based, note-taking tool built on top of VSCode. It supports all the usual features you would expect like tagging, backlinks, a graph view, split panes, and so forth.

    207 Dendron alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Visual Studio Code
     
  5. Heynote icon
     19 likes

    Heynote is a dedicated scratchpad for developers. It functions as a large persistent text buffer where you can write down anything you like. Works great for that Slack message you don't want to accidentally send, a JSON response from an API you're working with, notes...

    57 Heynote alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  6. Carnet icon
     43 likes

    Carnet is a complete and rich note taking app for Android and Linux that can be synced with NextCloud (selfhosted) or the official Carnet server.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid
    • Snapcraft
    • Mac
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Carnet as an Alternative to FocusWriter
    Crystale
    Positive
    0

    It has a great UI and it is Open Source.

    Carnet icon
    Carnet icon
    • Carnet is Free and Open SourceFocusWriter is also Free and Open Source
    • Carnet is Privacy focusedFocusWriter is not according to our users
  7. novelWriter icon
     25 likes

    novelWriter is a Markdown-like text editor designed for writing novels and larger projects of many smaller plain text documents. It uses its own flavor of Markdown that supports a meta data syntax for comments, synopsis and cross-referencing between files.

    67 novelWriter alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Qt
    • Python
     
  8. Notepack icon
     16 likes

    Privacy oriented, without vendor lock in note organizer, todo list desktop application. Work offline with text, markdown and pdf files.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  9. Daino Notes icon
     8 likes

    Offers fast, distraction-free note-taking via a high-performance editor with real-time Markdown, local-first storage, image support, Kanban task boards, intuitive drag-and-drop, keyboard shortcuts, configurable themes, fast search, and cross-platform access.

    78 Daino Notes alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  10. Ferrite icon
     4 likes

    Fast, native text editor supporting Markdown, JSON, YAML, and TOML with live preview, syntax highlighting, Mermaid diagrams, CSV/TSV viewing, collapsible trees, Git integration, regex find/replace, customizable themes, zen mode, and multi-language support.

    51 Ferrite alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
     
  11. Haroopad icon
     69 likes

    Haroopad is a markdown enabled document processor for creating web-friendly documents. You can author various formats of documents such as blog article, slide, presentation, report, and e-mail as if experts did.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  12. Quilter icon
     1 like

    Quilter is a minimalist, focused writing app for elementary OS .

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • elementary OS
     
12 of 30 FocusWriter alternatives