We stand with Ukraine to help keep people safe. Join us
All Apps
Best AppsReviewsComparisonsHow-To
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission

Scrivener for Mac

Project management and word processing tool for writers.

$59.99
In English
4.6
Based on 153 user rates

Scrivener overview

Scrivener is a project management and writing tool for writers of all kinds that stays with you from that first unformed idea all the way through to the first - or even final - draft. Outline and structure your ideas; take notes; storyboard your masterpiece using a powerful virtual corkboard; view research while you write; track themes using keywords; dynamically combine multiple scenes into a single text. Scrivener has already been enthusiastically adopted by best-selling novelists and novices alike.

Outline... Edit... Storyboard... Write.

What’s new in version 3.4

Writing Tools Support
  • Improved support for Apple Intelligence Writing Tools. On systems where Writing Tools are available, a new “Writing Tools” menu appears in the Edit and contextual menus, allowing you to use Apple Intelligence to proofread, summarise, and make rewrite suggestions. Note that Writing Tools are a system feature provided by Apple. Scrivener itself contains no AI. At the time of writing, Writing Tools are only available for US English.
  • Writing Tools suggestions now appear in a panel.
  • To avoid confusion with this new macOS feature, Scrivener’s own erstwhile “Writing Tools” menu has been renamed Edit ▸ Reference Tools. “Linguistic Focus” has been moved into Edit ▸ Spelling and Grammar. With this reshuffle, the selected word and character counts have been removed from the contextual menu, as the footer bar now shows these selection stats anyway.
Export
  • Improved right-to-left text support in ebook export.
  • Updated the built-in version of MultiMarkdown to 6.7.0.
  • Updated the Basic Pandoc compile format to use ePub version 3 by default.
  • Pandoc export now uses the Pandoc 3 --split-level command to split ePub files rather than the old Pandoc 2 --epub-chapter-level.
  • The Pandoc Compile setting “Split chapters at level” can no longer be set to anything less than 1.
Miscellaneous Enhancements
  • The “Superscript ordinals” setting now works for French as well as English. The option is hidden for other languages, where superscript ordinals are either not used or not available.
  • Writing history is now saved during manual saves if any text has changed. (Previously it was only saved on project close or when the date changed.)
  • Copying text now includes style information in RTF pasteboard data.
  • Added a little extra padding around text in the format bar buttons.
  • Updated the .scriv project thumbnail generation code for macOS 15, so that icons continue to display as expected in the Finder.
  • Added 0x7F to characters affected by Zap Gremlins.
  • Minor updates to the tutorial project.
  • Improved documentation in the General Non-Fiction (LaTeX) project template.
Bugs Fixed: Major (Stability)
  • Fixed a bug whereby an exception would be thrown if you closed a Copyholder while an inspector or footnote was being edited.
  • Fixed bug whereby opening a PDF from project search could cause a spike in RAM usage and hang the app because search highlights were being applied inefficiently.
  • Fixed bug whereby editing image names in Scrivenings wouldn’t trigger an autosave and such changes would be lost.
Bugs Fixed: Minor (Usability)
  • Worked around a bug in the NaNoWriMo word count APIs which resulted in the word count updater showing the old word count in the success dialogue after updating the NaNo servers.
  • Fixed a bug whereby if you collapsed a folder in the binder that contained an item whose title you were editing, the new title could be assigned to an item below the folder.
  • Fixed bug whereby the style to delimiter in Script Settings wouldn’t work correctly with auto-complete.
  • For instance, in Stage Play UK formatting, hitting tab after a character name inserts a colon and a tab, and the colon should be bold like the preceding character name. However, the bug meant that the colon would not be bold.
  • Hopefully worked around a TextKit redrawing bug that could occur when hitting return or backspacing from an empty line in page layout mode (Text below the return character would not redraw in some circumstances.)
  • Fixed a bug whereby freeform corkboard coordinates could get messed up when duplicating folders or when switching between folders or groups using the freeform corkboard.
  • Fixed issue whereby not all MultiMarkdown formats were available in the Compile format editor.
Bugs Fixed: Export and Compile
  • Fixed a bug whereby recto and verso pages would be off if a cover page was inserted during PDF compile. A blank page is now inserted after the cover if any sections are set to start on a recto or verso page.
  • Fixed bug whereby descenders cut be cut off on some pages when printing or exporting to PDF.
  • Fixed bug whereby captions would not be converted to MultiMarkdown correctly when beneath a table whose last cell was blank.
  • Fixed an issue whereby the current UI language would determine the language used by certain export settings rather than the preferred system language.
  • Fixed a couple of bugs that could prevent new page headers from working correctly in RTF and DOCX export.
  • Fixed bug whereby a newline at the end of a footnote could cause an extra return character being inserted after the footnote marker in exported ePub files.
  • Fixed a bug whereby footnotes inside blocks such as block quotes would create unexpected HTML in ePub export.
  • Fixed bug in the MMD OpenOffice Document compile format whereby multiple indexing keys in one paragraph would be formatted incorrectly.
Bugs Fixed: UI
  • Fixed issue whereby constraints debug info could sometimes be shown (a purple border would appear around the affected window).
  • Fixed bug whereby text would be cut off when using page view with vertical text layout.
  • Fixed bug whereby “Words to ignore” list could use dark text against a dark background in dark mode, instead of using white text.
  • Fixed drawing issues in lined index cards in the inspector.
  • Fixed bug that could cause the full screen paper width and height to be wrong in new projects when set using the Use current composition settings for new projects button in Settings. (Note that if you have encountered this bug, you will need to click Use current… again to fix the underlying values.)
  • Fixed issue where Compile would allow you to add project styles such that duplicate style names could exist, when this should be prohibited.
  • Fixed layout issues and ghost controls in the Footnotes and Comments area of the Compile format editor for plain text.
  • Fixed a bug whereby dragging and dropping text could result in the text cursor being too tall.
  • Worked around a macOS bug whereby some of the content of the text image resizing panel would be blank in some circumstances if Keyboard Navigation was turned on in System Settings.
View older Scrivener versions

Scrivener for Mac

$59.99
In English
Version 3.4

What users say about Scrivener

inbeijing
By inbeijing on Oct 4 2023 for v.3.3.3

Value: 5.0

Once upon a time, I wrote on note cards, which I shuffled, and sometimes taped on the wall. I don't write in a linear way, so Scrivener lets me work the way my mind works, gradually building structure out of chaos (the chaos is due to me, not Scrivener.) My one issue is that cooperative writing is not so easy. More importantly, while the compile options are all there, it is not easy for people like me (even though I have some out of date programming experience. I like to be able to output to HTML and Tex via Pandoc -- some third party tools like Scrivomatic, help a lot, but again it is not an easy thing to understand for most people. So the compile option is versatile but complex. If you want straight RTF output, then there is no issue at all. I author of the program is obviously one brilliant person, and I suggest he apply his considerable skill in making advanced compile options for the rest of us. By the way, the author, the support, and people on the forum are endlessly helpful.

Other user ratings:

Ease of use | 4.0
Features | 5.0
Reliability | 5.0
Customer support | 5.0
Write a detailed review about Scrivener

What customer like

Design
User Experience
Performance

What needs improvements

Value
Customization

Scrivener qualities

Value
3.5
Ease of use
3.0
Features
4.5
Reliability
4.0
Customer support
3.0

Write your thoughts in our old-fashioned comment

MacUpdate Comment Policy. We strongly recommend leaving comments, however comments with abusive words, bullying, personal attacks of any type will be moderated.
4.6

(147 Reviews of Scrivener)

  • Comments

  • User Ratings

Tulipa Armena
Tulipa Armena
Feb 2 2024
3.3.6
5.0
Feb 2 2024
5.0
Version: 3.3.6
Scrivener is one of the very, very few writing apps that does exactly what it says it will do, and does it well. There's a host of features you will likely be discovering throughout the weeks during use, and none of them are forced upon you. If you would like, you can use it as a simple place to write, and hide a lot of the U/I, take some buttons off of the menu, etc. Or, you can use this to outline your novel and make a cordboard for it, track keywords, and so much more! The app still receives stability updates and the company has been around for awhile now.
Derekcurrie
Derekcurrie
Mar 30 2022
3.2.3
5.0
Mar 30 2022
5.0
Version: 3.2.3
[v3.2.3 is from October 25, 2021. IOW: You probably have the update already.]
chestmeto
chestmeto
May 31 2021
3.2.2
2.0
May 31 2021
2.0
Version: 3.2.2
I used to like how it works, but stopped working after updating. I just can't open any projects. Reinstalled many times to no avail. Very disappointing
limies
limies
Dec 6 2020
3.2.1
4.0
Dec 6 2020
4.0
Version: 3.2.1
Excellent software. Better than Word!
lonewrite
lonewrite
Mar 15 2020
3.1.5
1.0
Mar 15 2020
1.0
Version: 3.1.5
Perfect software. Much better than Word. Great for books.
Marc-Antoine-Parent
Marc-Antoine-Parent
Dec 12 2024
3.4
5.0
Dec 12 2024
5.0
Version: 3.4
Tulipa Armena
Tulipa Armena
Feb 2 2024
3.3.6
5.0
Feb 2 2024
5.0
Version: 3.3.6
Derekcurrie
Derekcurrie
Oct 25 2021
3.2.3
5.0
Oct 25 2021
5.0
Version: 3.2.3
chestmeto
chestmeto
May 31 2021
3.2.2
2.0
May 31 2021
2.0
Version: 3.2.2
limies
limies
Dec 6 2020
4.0
Dec 6 2020
4.0
Version: null
lonewrite
lonewrite
Mar 15 2020
1.0
Mar 15 2020
1.0
Version: null
1920 Riverside
1920 Riverside
Dec 19 2019
5.0
Dec 19 2019
5.0
Version: null
DragonMaster
DragonMaster
Oct 28 2019
5.0
Oct 28 2019
5.0
Version: null
Hydester
Hydester
Oct 12 2019
5.0
Oct 12 2019
5.0
Version: null
purchasing-10
purchasing-10
Oct 7 2019
5.0
Oct 7 2019
5.0
Version: null
Johninsapporo
Johninsapporo
Sep 2 2019
5.0
Sep 2 2019
5.0
Version: null
kingjj
kingjj
Jun 27 2019
4.5
Jun 27 2019
4.5
Version: null
bobembry
bobembry
Feb 20 2019
5.0
Feb 20 2019
5.0
Version: null
sup3rny4nb0y2
sup3rny4nb0y2
Jan 12 2019
4.5
Jan 12 2019
4.5
Version: null
sbenitezb
sbenitezb
Apr 12 2018
5.0
Apr 12 2018
5.0
Version: null
Bento de Espinosa
Bento de Espinosa
Mar 20 2018
5.0
Mar 20 2018
5.0
Version: null
Guirou
Guirou
Mar 16 2018
4.0
Mar 16 2018
4.0
Version: null
Valdimar-Thor-H
Valdimar-Thor-H
Mar 7 2018
5.0
Mar 7 2018
5.0
Version: null
frank-007
frank-007
Mar 7 2018
5.0
Mar 7 2018
5.0
Version: null
williamreis8
williamreis8
Feb 10 2018
5.0
Feb 10 2018
5.0
Version: null
thosbsamsgom
thosbsamsgom
Feb 6 2018
5.0
Feb 6 2018
5.0
Version: null
CrèmeBrulée
CrèmeBrulée
Jan 9 2018
5.0
Jan 9 2018
5.0
Version: null
isdn
isdn
Nov 30 2017
5.0
Nov 30 2017
5.0
Version: null
nikolalek
nikolalek
Nov 27 2017
5.0
Nov 27 2017
5.0
Version: null
Petty-Evil
Petty-Evil
Nov 26 2017
5.0
Nov 26 2017
5.0
Version: null
Nontroppo
Nontroppo
Nov 21 2017
5.0
Nov 21 2017
5.0
Version: null
wuyangchenhf
wuyangchenhf
Mar 27 2017
5.0
Mar 27 2017
5.0
Version: null
Beto-Boton
Beto-Boton
Mar 6 2017
5.0
Mar 6 2017
5.0
Version: null
rmbg
rmbg
Nov 20 2016
2.5
Nov 20 2016
2.5
Version: null
Baerele
Baerele
Jul 18 2016
1.0
Jul 18 2016
1.0
Version: null
raodabing
raodabing
May 1 2016
5.0
May 1 2016
5.0
Version: null
sky2v
sky2v
Mar 29 2016
5.0
Mar 29 2016
5.0
Version: null
brsma
brsma
Mar 28 2016
5.0
Mar 28 2016
5.0
Version: null
JDMilstead
JDMilstead
Mar 26 2016
4.0
Mar 26 2016
4.0
Version: null
Leo127
Leo127
Mar 20 2016
5.0
Mar 20 2016
5.0
Version: null
adrianwilliams
adrianwilliams
Mar 19 2016
3.0
Mar 19 2016
3.0
Version: null
alyssonlago
alyssonlago
Mar 14 2016
5.0
Mar 14 2016
5.0
Version: null
MartaTessy
MartaTessy
Mar 14 2016
5.0
Mar 14 2016
5.0
Version: null
countzaroff
countzaroff
Feb 19 2016
5.0
Feb 19 2016
5.0
Version: null
LFKirsh
LFKirsh
Feb 13 2016
5.0
Feb 13 2016
5.0
Version: null