Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover self-publishing. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Dabble | Draft2Digital | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $19 | From $20 |
| Pricing model | Free trial, then paid | One-time purchase |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | One-time purchase |
| Free trial | 14 days | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Everything, in an open format | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | 10% of what you earn |
| Runs on | Web, iOS, Android | Not stated |
| Covers | Self-Publishing, Writing & Scripts | Self-Publishing, Digital Products & Storefronts |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
A novel manuscript, its plot grid beside it
Dabble holds a manuscript, its outline and its story notes in one place, with a plot grid you can open alongside the chapter you are writing. It syncs to a phone, which matters more than it sounds when the useful idea arrives away from the desk. Everything you wrote stays readable and exportable after you stop paying.
Our note
Dabble is the pick if you outline before you draft, because the plot grid is genuinely good and genuinely central. Novlr is cheaper and has a free plan; Plottr does the planning better and does not want to be your editor.
Only on this side
One upload, every ebook store
Draft2Digital takes one manuscript and lists it at Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Amazon and a long tail of libraries, which is the alternative to keeping an account at each. Its formatting and print-on-demand are included rather than sold. The commission is on top of whatever the store already takes.
Our note
Going wide through Draft2Digital and staying in KDP Select are mutually exclusive, and that is the actual decision. Select pays page reads from Kindle Unlimited; wide distribution pays from stores Amazon does not own. Do not start both.
Only on this side
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.