Scrivener

What Scrivener does

Scrivener, developed by privately-held UK company Literature & Latte Ltd., is a long-form writing application launched in 2007 that combines a typewriter, ring-binder, and scrapbook metaphor into a unified desktop and mobile writing environment. The core product uses proprietary organizational tools — the Binder metaphor for manuscript navigation, Corkboard for visual section planning, Scrivings mode for editing disjoint sections as a single document, an Outliner for hierarchical restructuring, Snapshots for version control, and a Compile/Export system supporting Word, PDF, RTF, OpenOffice, Final Draft, ePub, and Kindle formats — alongside Dropbox-based cross-device sync and Pandoc/MultiMarkdown support. The technology stack is platform-native across macOS, Windows, and iOS, with no developer-facing API and no documented AI/ML components.

The company's go-to-market is direct-to-consumer with a freemium trial model, monetizing through one-time perpetual licenses sold separately per platform via its own e-commerce storefront and the Apple App Store. It serves primarily novelists, with secondary segments including screenwriters, academics, non-fiction writers, lawyers, journalists, translators, and biographers. A complementary product, Scapple, extends the portfolio with freeform mind-mapping functionality. The company is bootstrapped, has no external funding, no disclosed parent or subsidiary structure, and reports millions of downloads and hundreds of thousands of users since launch, supported by a community forum, blog, affiliate program, and multi-channel social presence.

Name

Scrivener

Legal name

Literature & Latte Ltd.

Website

https://scrivener.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Literature & Latte Ltd.'s Scrivener is a long-form writing application for novelists, screenwriters, academics, and other writers, sold as one-time perpetual licenses across macOS, Windows, and iOS platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Writing Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Publishing & Submission Prep Workshops (Query Letters, Agents, Journals) (EDAMAMAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Writing Skills & Composition Enrichment (EDAMAJAC)

Keywords

• Novel writing software
• Book writing app
• Screenwriting software
• Manuscript organization
• Long-form writing tool

Headquarters

HQ city

Bath

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses: Scrivener sells perpetual one-time licenses for its software across three platforms: macOS, Windows, and iOS. Each platform license is sold separately, meaning users who want to use Scrivener on multiple devices must purchase separate licenses for each operating system.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Scrivener is a desktop and mobile writing application that combines a ring-binder interface, corkboard planning, outliner, and scrivenings mode to help writers organize long-form manuscripts such as novels, screenplays, non-fiction books, and academic papers. It is sold as a one-time perpetual license per platform (macOS, Windows, iOS) directly to consumers, with companion product Scapple offering freeform mind-mapping for brainstorming and plot development.

Product overview

Scrivener by Literature & Latte is a single, unified desktop and mobile writing application focused on novel and book writing software. The product portfolio consists of two complementary tools: Scrivener (the core product)—a comprehensive writing environment that integrates typewriter, ring-binder, and scrapbook functionalities in one application—and Scapple (a companion mind-mapping tool) for freeform brainstorming and idea exploration. Both products are available across macOS, Windows, and iOS platforms, with Dropbox sync enabling cross-device workflow continuity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Scapple: A freeform mind-mapping tool that helps writers brainstorm and connect ideas visually. Perfect for planning a novel's structure and exploring plot and character relationships.

Products and services

• Scrivener Scrivener is a comprehensive novel and book writing application that combines a ring-binder interface, corkboard planning, outliner, and full manuscript management. It enables writers to compose in any order, organize research, track word counts, and export to multiple formats including Word, PDF, Final Draft, Epub, and Kindle. Available as a one-time perpetual license for macOS, Windows, and iOS (separately), targeting novelists, screenwriters, non-fiction writers, students, academics, lawyers, journalists, and translators.
• Scapple Scapple is a freeform mind-mapping tool that helps writers brainstorm and visually connect ideas. It complements Scrivener by enabling writers to plan a novel's structure, explore plot and character relationships, and organize thoughts before or during writing. Targeted at writers using visual brainstorming alongside manuscript work.

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature12 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Novlr: Novlr is a focused novel-writing SaaS aimed at fiction writers, offering chapter organization, progress tracking, and goal-setting. It targets the same primary use case as Scrivener (novel drafting) but via a cloud-based subscription model — directly challenging Scrivener's positioning.
• Final Draft: Final Draft is the industry-standard screenwriting software and is directly supported by Scrivener's export to Final Draft format. It is a comparable specialized writing tool serving overlapping screenwriter customers, with a deeper domain specialization in script formatting.
• Ulysses: Ulysses is a subscription-based writing app for Mac and iOS targeted at long-form writers, with a similar single-user, distraction-free, manuscript-focused approach. It is the most direct paid competitor to Scrivener in the Mac writing tools category and competes head-to-head for novelists and essayists.

Emerging players

• Notion: Notion is a flexible workspace that many writers use to combine outlines, research, drafting, and project management. While not purpose-built for novel writing, its document model and templates attract users who might otherwise use Scrivener, particularly younger and tech-adjacent writers.
• Sudowrite: Sudowrite is an AI-native fiction writing assistant offering brainstorming, prose generation, and revision tools. It targets the same novelist persona as Scrivener but competes on a fundamentally different axis — generative AI assistance — and represents the most strategically important emerging threat.
• Atticus: Atticus is a newer cross-platform writing and formatting tool that explicitly targets Scrivener users with comparable manuscript organization, formatting, and now AI features. It is a direct emerging competitor in the novel-writing niche with a more modern, subscription-based and AI-enabled offering.
• ProWritingAid: ProWritingAid is a writing analysis and editing tool that complements or replaces a writer's editing workflow. It overlaps with Scrivener at the manuscript-improvement stage and is increasingly bundling AI-assisted suggestions, posing competitive pressure on Scrivener's editing features.

Broad incumbents

• Grammarly: Grammarly is a widely used AI-powered writing assistant integrated across platforms and browsers. It addresses part of the writing-improvement workflow (grammar, style, now generation) and competes with Scrivener's editing and revision features at a much broader scale.
• Microsoft Word: Microsoft Word is the dominant general-purpose word processor and serves as the indirect competitor that most writers consider alongside Scrivener. Despite lacking Scrivener's manuscript organization features, Word's ubiquity, collaboration, and ecosystem make it the default baseline for the writing category.
• Google Docs: Google Docs is the free, cloud-based collaboration default for many writers and competes with Scrivener for long-form drafting, especially among professional and academic users. Its free price point and real-time collaboration present ongoing competitive pressure on Scrivener's consumer model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/scrivenerapp.bsky.social
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@scrivenerapp
• Facebookfacebook.com/scrivenerapp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scrivenerapp
• Instagraminstagram.com/scrivenerapp
• TikToktiktok.com/@scrivenerapp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Scrivener