Scrivener vs Final Draft

by Gralio Mar 11, 2025

Scrivener is better for writers who need powerful organizational tools and flexibility for diverse projects. Final Draft is best for screenwriters who require industry-standard formatting and specialized scriptwriting features.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 326 reviews and 60 websites, saving 2 hours, 18 minutes of reading.

Scrivener

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Final Draft

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About

Scrivener is writing software designed for books, articles, and scripts. It helps you organize research, structure your writing with outlines and index cards, and format for different document types. It also provides tools for tracking progress and exporting to popular formats like Microsoft Word and PDF. While it has a learning curve, its many features make it popular for writers who need more than a basic word processor.

Final Draft is the industry-standard screenwriting software used by professionals in film and television. It helps writers format scripts to industry standards, brainstorm ideas, and organize their writing. Final Draft offers various tools to streamline the writing process, from outlining to character management. It's a comprehensive solution designed specifically for screenwriters to create professional-level scripts.

Summary

Main difference

Scrivener is a versatile writing tool for long-form projects across various genres, offering robust organization and research features. Final Draft is the industry standard for screenwriting, specializing in script formatting and tools specific to the film and television industry.

Relative strengths of Scrivener (compared to Final Draft)

Stronger organizational tools for research, outlining, and note-taking.
More affordable with a one-time purchase option.
Versatile export options, including Word and PDF.

Relative weaknesses of Scrivener (compared to Final Draft)

Steeper learning curve and less intuitive interface.
Lacks specialized screenwriting features like Final Draft.
Exporting can sometimes introduce formatting inconsistencies.

Who should use Scrivener VS. Final Draft

Scrivener empowers authors, screenwriters, and content creators to manage complex writing projects. Users praise its organizational tools and distraction-free mode, while some find the learning curve challenging. Its flexible features cater to diverse writing needs, from research to formatting.

Final Draft is the industry-standard screenwriting software for film and television, used by professionals to format scripts, brainstorm, and organize their writing. Users love its intuitive interface, automatic formatting, and helpful tools for outlining and character management. However, some dislike the high price and limited collaboration features. Best for established screenwriters and production companies seeking professional-grade tools.

Ideal for businesses of all sizes seeking long-form writing tools.
Best fit for media, entertainment, education, and publishing, but adaptable to various sectors.

Best for medium to large businesses (101+ employees).
Ideal for film and television.

Scrivener and Final Draft features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Offline writing

Supported

Scrivener supports offline writing and editing.

Supported

Final Draft supports offline writing in the desktop and mobile app versions.
Scrivener export

Not supported

Scrivener projects cannot be exported to other Scrivener projects.

Not supported

Final Draft does not support exporting to Scrivener.
Chapter Organization

Supported

Scrivener provides a binder system for organizing chapters and scenes within a writing project.

Not supported

Final Draft lacks dedicated chapter organization tools, focusing on screenplay structure instead.
Formatting features

Supported

Scrivener supports text, paragraph, font, style, heading, and list formatting.

Partially supported

Final Draft supports text, fonts, styles, and headings, but not lists, tables, or images.
Notes Organization

Supported

Scrivener offers features for organizing notes, research, and character details.

Supported

Final Draft supports notes organization with features like ScriptNotes, Beat Board, and Index Cards.
Scene Cards

Supported

Scrivener supports scene detailing and arrangement through its Corkboard mode.

Supported

Final Draft supports scene cards for outlining and reordering scenes.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

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Customer Service

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Ease of Use

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Reliability and Performance

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Ease of Implementation

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Scalability

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Scrivener and Final Draft Pricing

No data

We couldn't find a pricing page for Scrivener.

Final Draft offers software licenses for individual users and volume licensing options for organizations. Individual users can choose from options like "Personal", "Upgrade", and "Educational Edition," while organizations can explore packages tailored for studios, production companies, education, and nonprofits.

Plans

See full Pricing page

Scrivener and Final Draft review insights

Users love

Excellent organizational tools for research, outlines, and writing.
Flexible project management with "binder" and "corkboard" views.
Ability to break down writing into manageable chunks (scenes/chapters).
Distraction-free writing mode and customizable interface.
One-time purchase with free updates (unlike subscription models).

Industry-standard scriptwriting software, widely used in film and television.
Intuitive and easy-to-use interface for script formatting.
Automatic formatting and templates for various script types.
Helpful tools for outlining, character management, and brainstorming.
Useful features like Navigator, reports, and revision mode.

Users dislike

Difficult compiling process, especially for ebooks and specific formats.
Steep learning curve and overwhelming number of features.
Lack of seamless integration with some reference managers.
Occasional bugs and freezing issues reported.
Inconsistent formatting when exporting to other platforms.

High price point, especially with recurring costs for new versions.
Limited collaboration features compared to modern tools.
Mobile app requires separate purchase.
Occasional software bugs and compatibility issues after updates.
Some advanced features can be overwhelming for new users.

Scrivener and Final Draft Ratings

G2

4.5/5

(84)
Capterra

4.7/5

(199)

G2

4.5/5

(43)

Company health

Employee growth

No change in the last year

15% increase in the last year

Web traffic

6% increase in the last quarter

2% increase in the last quarter

Financing

No data

How do Scrivener's organizational tools compare to Final Draft's for screenwriting?

Scrivener offers a wider array of organizational tools compared to Final Draft. While Final Draft focuses primarily on script formatting and scene cards for organization, Scrivener provides a more comprehensive system including a binder for chapters and scenes, outlining tools, index cards, and features for organizing research and character notes. This makes Scrivener potentially more suitable for complex screenwriting projects requiring extensive planning and organization, whereas Final Draft's organizational features are more streamlined and geared towards the specific needs of script formatting.

Which product better supports collaboration for film/TV production teams?

Final Draft is better suited for film/TV production team collaboration. While Scrivener is a powerful writing tool, Final Draft is the industry standard for screenwriting, offering features specifically designed for film and television productions. Its widespread use within the industry facilitates easier sharing and collaboration on scripts, and its formatting tools ensure everyone works with the same professional standards. Though Final Draft has been criticized for limited collaboration features compared to newer tools, its position as the industry standard makes it more likely to be integrated into existing production workflows.

What are the advantages of Scrivener?

Scrivener offers superior organization and project management tools for long-form writing projects, including research management, outlining, and "corkboard" and "binder" views. It also provides a distraction-free writing mode and a one-time purchase option, unlike subscription-based models. While it has a steeper learning curve, its flexibility and comprehensive features make it advantageous for writers needing more than basic word processing.

What are the disadvantages of Scrivener?

Scrivener's disadvantages include a steep learning curve due to its extensive features, a sometimes difficult compiling process, particularly for ebooks, a lack of seamless integration with some reference managers, occasional bugs and freezing issues, and inconsistent formatting when exporting to other platforms.

Alternatives to Scrivener and Final Draft

Plottr

Plottr is a software designed for authors to visually plan and organize their books. It allows you to create visual timelines, develop character profiles, and generate outlines. Plottr offers templates based on common storytelling structures and integrates with writing software like Microsoft Word and Scrivener. It is available as a one-time purchase (Plottr) and a subscription service with cloud features (Plottr Pro).

Boords

Boords is online storyboarding software that helps video teams plan their projects. It goes beyond basic scriptwriting by providing AI-powered scriptwriting tools, storyboarding features, and the ability to create animatics. This combined functionality streamlines the video creation process, keeping everything in one place. Boords offers a free trial and a subscription-based pricing model.

Trelby

Trelby is a free screenwriting program available for multiple operating systems. It helps you write scripts with correct formatting, pagination, and auto-completion features. It offers multiple views to suit different writing styles and includes tools like a name database and reports to analyze your script. Trelby can import and export files in various formats, including Final Draft and PDF. Being open-source software, users are welcome to contribute to its development.

Pages

Pages is Apple's word processor for creating professional-looking documents. It offers templates, custom color palettes, and collaboration tools. Businesses can use it to create marketing materials, internal documents, and even interactive publications. Pages is known for its user-friendly interface and focus on design, making it a good choice for creating visually appealing documents. It's exclusively available on Apple devices.

Foxit PDF Editor Suite

Foxit PDF Editor Suite is a software solution for businesses to create, edit, manage, and securely share PDFs. It offers e-signature capabilities, integrates with popular platforms like Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace, and boasts AI-powered features for document analysis and generation. Foxit is known as a cost-effective alternative to Adobe Acrobat, recognized for its speed and innovative features.

PDFgear

PDFgear is a free software suite offering a variety of tools for working with PDFs. It allows you to edit, convert, sign, annotate, and merge PDFs, among other features. PDFgear offers both online tools and desktop software available for Windows, MacOS, and iOS. The company emphasizes its AI-powered features that simplify working with PDFs.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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