Growing an audience
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Both cover self-publishing and writing & scripts. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Dabble | Novlr | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $19 | From $8 |
| Pricing model | Free trial, then paid | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Not stated |
| Free trial | 14 days | None |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Everything, in an open format | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web, iOS, Android | Web |
| Covers | Self-Publishing, Writing & Scripts | Self-Publishing, Writing & Scripts |
| 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.
A writing app with a free plan that writes
Novlr is a distraction-free place to write a book, with goals, streaks and version history around the page rather than on top of it. The free plan is a working writing tool rather than a locked demo. Paying adds the proofreader and the longer history, and it is billed yearly.
Our note
Start on the free plan and only pay when version history or the proofreader becomes the thing you miss. At $8 a month the Starter tier is the cheapest serious writing subscription in the catalog.
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.