May 31, 2016. If you’re stone broke, or simply rebelling against Final Draft’s dominance of the market, here are some completely free screenwriting software alternatives. While we generally advise screenwriters to purchase professional software such as Final Draft, Movie Magic or Fade In, the free screenwriting software market has made some tremendous gains in recent years. There are some 10 free script writing software gems down below, nearly, or just as professional as Final Draft.
Free Screenwriting Software 1.: A fantastic free screenwriting software program that allows real-time collaborative work in which the writers immediately see all edits. (Also has a paid version.) 2.: This popular browser-based screenwriting software has a paid and a free version. 3.: There’s a free version of this professional screenwriting software which allows you to write and analyze your screenplay at the same time. 4.: This software is great for outlining and has a free version with limited writing capabilities. 5.: Also available as free and paid version.
Fade In Professional Screenwriting Software. 1,881 likes 101 talking about this. Because you deserve better screenwriting software.
6.: A mobile-based free scriptwriting software reader and writer for Android operating systems. 7.: An open-source free screenplay software designed specifically for Windows users.
8.: A browser-based free screenplay software that’s great for collaboration with another writer. 9.: Another open source free screenplay software currently only available for Microsoft Windows and Linux, but a Mac version is said to be on the way. 10.: A free screenwriting software developed in Berlin for Microsoft Windows. ### Also be sure to check out our post on the. Thanks for reading and feel free to comment below with any free screenwriting software or screenwriting apps you think we’ve missed out. More screenwriting software posts. There’s a new resource out there, a desktop application put out by the guys at Hollywood Camera Work, called Causality.
It’s based more on the plotting out of your storyline – but it also lets you slowly write your script in nuggets of scriptlets as you develop your story. These nuggets are tied to your storyboard, which you can move around and rearrange at will – while still keeping your story logic intact. It’s not your expected scriptwriting software, and you’ll get frustrated if you think of it that way but it is free and it’s a fresh new approach to the story development/scriptwriting process that’s at least worth the look.
It’s free with a paid upgrade – I’ve only ever used the free version, and full-disclosure: I’ve never actually finished a project with it. I paid for a Final Draft years ago and used it successfully for a while but then they wanted more money or they wouldn’t update my software to use on my new computer! They actually locked me out of my own software that I paid for! I thought that was really bad on their part. Like I mean I understand charging more for a new version but if I already bought it and was happy with it, I should be able to keep using that as long as I want.
I decided to boycott Final draft. I don’t write full time so it wasn’t worth it to me to keep paying their new fees.
I have used “fountanize” in chrome. It’s very basic and I miss the extras that Final draft had but I don’t want to give them my money anymore. I am going to try writer duet that several people mentioned on this site. Thank you for the tips! I used Final Draft for several years and liked it, then lost my apartment and my desktop, leaving me with a Chromebook laptop — and to my dismay, FD was incompatible with Chromebook.
WriterDuet came to my rescue, so much so that I bought the paid (full, lifetime) version of WD, which runs beautifully and has several extras lacking in the basic free version. I’ve completed two feature romantic comedy screenplays with WD and am working on a third. Its scripts supposedly can be converted to FD, but I’ve yet to try that option.
Fade In is a fully featured professional screenwriting app for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux, and is priced affordably. It has all the features you’d find in the more expensive apps, such as and, and there’s even free and paid iPhone, and available.
As an independent filmmaker for many years who has written screenplays in AppleWorks, Word, Movie Magic Screenwriter and, for over a decade now, Final Draft. Fade In, from, offers many of the same features found in the pricier apps, and far more than the free and discounted ones, such as Celtx. Easily organize and keep track of scenes, characters, and more. Like all major screenwriting software, Fade In makes it easy to just write; it handles formatting of scenes, scene headings (such as INT. HOUSE - DAY), character names, dialogue and more, using the tab and return keys.
It keep track of character names and locations, so you don’t have to type them out completely—just the first couple of letters. Fade In also supports CONT’Ds and MOREs, has a pretty good spellchecker and dictionary. You can number scenes, and there is a full screen mode that keeps you focused on writing. They also provide several templates, including screenplay, stage play, television: half-hour sitcom, and television: one-hour drama.
If you’ve written a script, or read a book on screenwriting, such as Screenplay by Syd Field, you know it’s all about staying organized. Fade In offers the usual organizational tools, such as creating index cards, or a list of your scenes. What I really like is organizing by color, and not just all the scenes, but by entire sequences, or import plot points in the script. I really like this fully customizable way of organizing a script. The revision mode allows you to color code or lock pages. This is especially useful when it comes to revisions, whether you’re doing another draft to tighten the script, or on-set rewrites.
In the revision mode, you can lock pages or scenes, color code the latest scene rewrites, and manage everything. You can also create various reports and breakdowns that are needed for budgeting and scheduling. You’ll be able to export into a format that can be easily opened by a variety of pre-production software. A common and growing trend in screenwriting software is the use of different apps. Final Draft is the industry standard, but many filmmakers and writers are turning to a variety of apps, including Fade In, Celtx, Adobe Story, and more. This does have the potential to be difficult if your co-writer is using Celtx, while you write with Fade In.
The only unity when opening the script files is using Final Draft’s.fdx format, or.rtf. Fortunately, Fade In can open, edit and export RTF and FDX, along with.epub, PDF, XML, and more. You can import, edit, and export the Final Draft.fdx format.
In this age of cloud computing, it’s great that you can access your script online or from another computer via Dropbox. I like this, because Dropbox is proven, and I don’t have to pay a monthly or annual fee for a cloud service on top of the cost of the app. There are two Fade In Mobile apps, for iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android, one is free and the other is paid, but has many more features. You can import screenplays you’re working on in the desktop app via Dropbox, and work on more than one script at a time. I recommend going with the paid app. Bottom line With all the major features—and then some—found in industry standard Final Draft, but at a quarter of the price, GCC Productions' Fade In is a great and affordable screenwriting app.
![Screenwriting Screenwriting](http://img.brothersoft.com/screenshots/softimage/s/script_it-427595-1287108482.jpeg)
It's ability to import, edit, and export in the common.fdx format, is a huge plus. But what passes the big test for me is that the program gets out of my way and lets me be creative, while handling the chores formatting, organization, autocomplete typing, and more.