Best Drafting Writing Apps in 2026

Pages is a powerful word processor that lets you create stunning documents, and comes included with most Apple devices. And with real-time collaboration, your team can work together from anywhere, whether they’re on Mac, iPad, iPhone, or a PC.

Platforms: iPad, Mac, iPhone

Best for: Drafting, Book, Essay, Journal, Poetry, Story, Blog, and Free

Website: https://www.apple.com/pages/

Also rated 3.6 ★ on the App Store

Write without distractions. WriteRoom is a full screen writing environment. Unlike the cluttered word processors you're used to, WriteRoom lets you focus on writing.

Platforms: Mac

Best for: Drafting, Book, Story, Journal, Essay, Blog, and Poetry

Website: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/writeroom/id417967324?mt=12

Also rated 3.6 ★ on the App Store

Bear is a beautiful, flexible writing app for crafting notes and prose.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Note-taking, Drafting, Book, Story, Essay, Blog, and Free

Website: https://bear.app/

Also rated 4.3 ★ on the App Store

yWriter is a word processor which breaks your novel into chapters and scenes, helping you keep track of your work while leaving your mind free to create. yWriter was designed by an author, not a salesman!

Platforms: Windows, Android, iPhone, iPad, PC

Best for: Drafting, Book, Story, and Free

Website: http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter7.html

Also rated 3.5 ★ on PC Magazine

WriteItNow is designed to help anyone writing a novel. Keep the novel text and all the background information in one place. Each novel is saved in a single file, and the program has two main sections: one for chapters and scenes and the other for background details

Platforms: Windows, Mac, PC

Best for: Drafting, Book, and Story

Website: https://www.ravensheadservices.com/about.html

Writing can be so much fun when our creative juices are flowing. Cultivating this flow is why ilys exists -- to release within you a gushing torrent of latent creative-potential as your writing explodes through the box that once constrained it.

Platforms: Online

Best for: Drafting, Book, Story, and Poetry

Website: https://www.ilys.com/welcome

Zoho Writer is a fully-featured word processor on the cloud, designed for collaborative work that gives you everything you need to create powerful documents. With a clean UI, intuitive interface and document modes, it introduces you to a new way of writing.

Platforms: Android, Windows, PC, iPad, iPhone

Best for: Drafting, Book, Essay, Journal, Poetry, Story, Blog, and Free

Website: https://www.zoho.com/writer/

Also rated 3.4 ★ on Google Play

WPS Office is a lightweight, feature-rich comprehensive office suite with high compatibility. As a handy and professional office software, WPS Office allows you to edit files in Writer, Presentation, Spreadsheet, and PDF to improve your work efficiency.

Platforms: Mac, Windows, Android, iPad, iPhone, PC

Best for: Drafting, Book, Essay, Journal, Poetry, Story, Blog, and Free

Website: https://www.wps.com/

Also rated 4.0 ★ on TechRadar

Lists for Writers is a great addition to any writer’s toolbox. Helpful to both novice and expert writers alike, this app delivers list after list of prompts and ideas for your brainstorming sessions: names, character traits, plot lines, occupations, obsessions, action verbs, and much more!

Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Android

Best for: Note-taking, Outlining, Drafting, Book, Story, and Essay

Website: https://thinkamingo.com/lists-for-writers/

Also rated 4.7 ★ on the App Store

Mellel is a word processor designed from the ground up to be the ultimate writing tool for academics, technical writers, scholars and students. Mellel is strong, stable and reliable, and is the ideal companion for working on documents that are long and complex, short and simple, or anything in between.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, and Essay

Website: https://mellel.com/

Also rated 3.2 ★ on the App Store

Build your best ideas together, in Google Docs. Create, edit, and collaborate with others on documents from your Android phone or tablet with the Google Docs app.

Platforms: Online, Chrome, iPhone, iPad, Android

Best for: Drafting, Book, Essay, Journal, Poetry, Story, Blog, and Free

Website: https://www.google.com/docs/about/

Also rated 4.0 ★ on TechRadar

Writemonkey is a Windows zenware writing application with an extremely stripped down user interface, leaving you alone with your thoughts and your words. It is light, fast and free.

Platforms: Windows, PC, Mac

Best for: Drafting, Book, Essay, Journal, Poetry, Story, Blog, and Free

Website: https://writemonkey.com/

Also rated 4.0 ★ on TechRadar