Best Drafting Writing Apps in 2026

Cold Turkey Writer transforms your computer into a typewriter, which forces you to do nothing but write.

Platforms: Windows, Mac, PC

Best for: Drafting, Book, Story, and Free

Website: https://getcoldturkey.com/writer/

Also rated 4.0 ★ on TechRadar

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

Do you have a story to tell? Unlike conventional word processors, Storyist helps you track your plot, characters, and settings, and keeps all of your writing organized and accessible—so you can focus on telling your story.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, Book, and Story

Website: https://storyist.com/

Also rated 4.0 ★ on PC Magazine

A tool for thoughtful writing. See your work in new ways, think with an integrated concept map, and export with an automatic reference section, all in a distraction free environment.

Platforms: Mac

Best for: Drafting, Book, Story, Essay, and Free

Website: https://www.augmentedtext.info/author

Also rated 4.4 ★ on TechRadar

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

iWriter Pro is elegant and minimalist text editor with built-in MultiMarkdown support. Distraction-free and subscription-free.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Drafting, Book, Story, Blog, and Free

Website: https://serpensoft.info/

Also rated 4.8 ★ on the App Store

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

Write more than ever before! Your words have the power to defeat monsters! Discover over 500 unique monsters that will push your writing to the next level!

Platforms: Online

Best for: Drafting, Book, and Story

Website: https://4thewords.com/

Scrivener is the go-to app for writers of all kinds, used every day by best-selling novelists, screenwriters, non-fiction writers, students, academics, lawyers, journalists, translators and more.

Platforms: Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, PC

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, Editing, Publishing, Book, and Story

Website: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview

Also rated 4.0 ★ on Reedsy

Note down, shape, & share your ideas with the world's best loved digital paper. Fall in love with handwriting all over again with Goodnotes’ digital ink.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, Book, Story, Journal, and Poetry

Website: https://www.goodnotes.com/

Also rated 4.8 ★ on the App Store

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

Don't let your word processor drag your process down. Ironically enough, traditional word processors weren’t designed for writers. Dabble’s book-writing software was developed for writers, by a writer.

Platforms: Mac, Windows, Chrome, PC

Best for: Drafting, Book, and Story

Website: https://www.dabblewriter.com/