Ulysses is described as 'Text editor for creative writers. Used by bloggers, poets, students and published novelists all over the world, it offers an integrated environment to brainstorm, draft, revise and even submit text on a professional level' and is a popular Novel Authoring tool in the news & books category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Ulysses for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Windows, Web-based, Linux and iPhone apps. The best Ulysses alternative is Zettlr, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Ulysses are Typora, Microsoft Word, CherryTree and Scrivener.
Looking for a suite of tools for writing your book? This is not just a text editor it does so much more. Organise your story using timelines, planning boards and the snowflake tool, all integrated to make writing intuitive and fun.
United Kingdom
Cloud-based novel writing platform with tree-structured binder, corkboard, outliner, detailed character sheets, mind mapping, DOCX import with auto chapters, PDF/DOCX/EPUB export, built-in encyclopedia, distraction-free writing, and multilingual support.
Italy
EU
Skribisto is born from the ashes of Plume Creator , keeping the goals while adopting more recent ways to think an application.
FranceEU
Privacy oriented, without vendor lock in note organizer, todo list desktop application. Work offline with text, markdown and pdf files.
Use Notes to capture a quick thought, create checklists, sketch ideas, and more. And with iCloud, you can keep your notes up to date across all your devices.
United States
Untold Novel is a fresh new approach to planning your next bestseller. It helps you keep all your notes, ideas, characters, locations, and much more organized in one convenient place.
Q is a writing and memory tool that uses semantic search instead of folders. It allows markdown formatting on any device, provides math evaluations, and adds punctuation.
Aevon is the all-in-one workspace where authors manage manuscripts, characters, maps, lore, and items — all connected and always in sync. Now with comics!!!
United States
Free, open-source writing app for plotters. Import your outline from Scrivener, Plottr, yWriter, or Obsidian — then draft with your scene beats, character notes, and story structure visible alongside your prose. No AI, no subscription, no cloud.
Canada
Prime Draft helps writers maintain focus by using a distraction-free fullscreen interface, automatic goal tracking, customizable writing environment, and limited text view, preventing edits once a sentence is finished. Supports backup creation and secured progress tracking.
Inspire is a clone of Ulysses for Windows, with many of the core features but not all.
China
Effie is a light, clean, yet powerful markup-based writing and mind-mapping software that works across devices/platforms to capture your thoughts and help you write immersively and productively anywhere, anytime.
United States
