Author Sweets vs Scrivener
Scrivener: the desktop binder for research-heavy drafting. Side by side with Author Sweets on the things that decide a choice, read from Scrivener's own site on October 15, 2026. If something has changed, tell us and we will correct it.
| Feature | Author Sweets | Scrivener |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free for one book; paid plans from $7 a month | $59.99 once per desktop system; $23.99 on iOS |
| Runs in | Any browser; installs as an app; writes offline | Mac, Windows and iOS apps |
| Free plan | Yes, one book, no card | 30-day trial |
| Versions with compare and restore | Yes | Yes (snapshots) |
| Outline, characters and places | Yes, beside the draft; the board adds chapters and scenes | Corkboard and sheet templates |
| Style and readability check | Built in, runs on your device: reading grade, passive voice, adverbs, filler words, clichés, long sentences | Not stated |
| Import a manuscript | Word, a zipped Scrivener project with its binder as the outline, EPUB, Markdown and plain text | Word and many more; it is Scrivener |
| Exports | Word, EPUB and PDF with front and back matter, plus Markdown and plain text | Word, EPUB, PDF and more |
| Print trim sizes | Trim size, font and size in the PDF settings | Compile presets |
| Share with readers who have no account | Read-only links with margin comments, reader codes, three questions per reader and how far each reader got | No |
| Read aloud | On your device, with its voices | Yes, with the system voices |
| Co-writing | Not yet | No |
| AI | None inside; your writing is never used to train AI models | None |
Which one to choose
Author Sweets
Choose it if you want the draft to follow you to any browser and keep working offline, versions you can compare and restore, read-only links with reader comments that show how far each reader got, and Word, EPUB and PDF exports, for a free book or a monthly plan instead of a licence per machine.
Scrivener
The desktop binder for research-heavy drafting
Choose it if you want an app you buy once and keep on one machine, with research files inside the project and deep compile options, and you do not need versions, sharing or syncing through a browser.
Moving a book from Scrivener
Zip the .scriv folder (or use Scrivener's own zipped backup) and choose it in Import a book: the binder becomes parts, chapters and scenes, each scene keeps its synopsis, and chapters unticked for Compile are kept but left out of exports. Research, notes and labels stay in Scrivener.
Nothing is saved until you confirm the preview, and the file is read in your browser. Not sure yet? Try the editor without an account first.