Scrivener Alternatives for Windows

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

filter to find the best alternatives

Scrivener alternatives are mainly Novel Authoring Tools, but if you're looking for Note-taking Tools or Text Editors you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Linux, Android, Free, Online, Windows, Open Source and Mac. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Scrivener.
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Alternatives
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Alternatives list

  1. Manuskript icon
     176 likes

    Open-source software offering a hierarchical outliner, distraction-free editor, character management, plot tools, Snowflake method support, section multi-organization, customizable writing workflows, cross-platform availability, and export to standard formats.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Good alternative?
     
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    10
  2. yWriter icon
     70 likes

    yWriter is a writing tool that uses "scenes" as a unit of text and allows you to associate that text with all manner of story elements (characters, locations, items) as well as place it and rearrange it within the context of chapters.

    112 yWriter alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    Good alternative?
     
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    8
  3. Zettlr icon
     267 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.

    248 Zettlr alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    Good alternative?
     
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    3
  4. Quoll Writer icon
     43 likes

    Focus on your words not the interface. Quoll Writer is a writing application that helps you focus on your words. Clean and uncluttered. Feature rich. Features are where you would expect them to be.

    108 Quoll Writer alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
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    6
  5. Dendron icon
     72 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.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Visual Studio Code
    Good alternative?
     
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    1
  6. A smooth yet powerful writing experience for devoted authors. With only wanted features and native workflow it runs faster than all your previous apps combined.

    71 Story Architect (STARC) alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • AppImageHub
    • Flathub
    • Android
    Good alternative?
     
  7. novelWriter icon
     33 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.

    101 novelWriter alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Qt
    • Python
    Good alternative?
     
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    1
  8. Lore Forge icon
     27 likes

    The only app you'll need to write your novels and build your worlds. Organize your thoughts and cross-reference anything at any time.

    81 Lore Forge alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    Good alternative?
     
  9. Free offline worldbuilding and story creation tool with dozens of templates, complex tagging options, document linking, and project-wide search. Template examples: characters, places, events, religions, currencies, magic, species, languages.

    59 Fantasia Archive alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  10. MyInfo icon
     40 likes

    MyInfo is a personal information manager for Windows. It will help you capture, organize, edit and share ideas, documents, tasks, and web pages.

    328 MyInfo alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Good alternative?
     
  11. Daino Notes icon
     10 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.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  12. oStorybook icon
     28 likes

    oStorybook is a free, open source novel-writing software for creative writers, novelists and authors which will help you to keep an overview of multiple plot-lines while writing texts.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
12 of 88 Scrivener alternatives