Storyist review
A Mac and iOS writing app with story-planning tools and extensive book exports.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Storyist is a creative writing app for novelists and screenwriters who want drafting and project planning in one workspace. Its rich-text editor supports stylesheets, comments, images, headers, footers, spelling, and smart quotes. For scripts, it includes screenplay templates and formatting, with Final Draft FDX and Fountain support. Outlines and color-coded storyboard index cards give authors ways to organize material, while customizable story sheets cover plot, characters, settings, and sections. It is aimed at authors working on Mac or iOS rather than writers seeking a cross-platform app.
Planning and revision are central strengths. Project-wide organization and search help manage manuscript material, and daily and project word-count goals give writers a way to track progress. Automatic versions can be browsed and restored, a useful safeguard when revising drafts. The tools span both book and screenplay work, but the available platforms constrain who can make the most of that breadth: the product is offered as separate macOS and iOS apps. Authors who need Windows or another desktop platform should look elsewhere.
Pricing is a one-time purchase rather than a subscription, with a free trial available for each app. Storyist 4 for iOS costs $19 and requires iOS 14 or later; Storyist 4 for macOS costs $59 and requires macOS 10.14 Mojave or later. The iOS and macOS apps can work with local files and storage services including iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, and Apple Files. Book export includes ePub, Kindle, and PDF, while supported manuscript and script formats also include Word, RTF, HTML, Fountain, and Final Draft. Pick Storyist if you write on Apple devices and want planning, version restoration, and publishing tools together; skip it if your workflow depends on other platforms.
Storyist pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Combines rich-text editing with screenplay templates and formatting.
- Story sheets, outlines, and index cards support story planning.
- Exports books to ePub, Kindle, and PDF; supports multiple cloud services.
- Where it doesn't
- Available only as separate macOS and iOS applications.
- The macOS app costs more upfront than the iOS app.
- Each platform has its own purchase and minimum OS requirement.
Storyist fact sheet, pricing and score →
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