Not all software is the same. Examine the features important to your writing success.
Overall Features.
| Feature: | Ease of writing | Novel writing | Non-fiction writing | Print-ready formatting | File type | Overall Rating | Comments |
| Apple Pages (Mac) |  |
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15 | Not easy for long documents |
| Google docs | |
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8 | Simple writing | |
| Microsoft Word | |
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17 | Not easy for long documents |
| Overleaf (LaTeX) | |
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9 | Science focus, need to learn LaTeX | |
| PressBooks | |
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13 | Heavy use of CSS |
| Reedsy | |
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18 | Novels only |
| Scrivener (Mac) | |
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16 | Mac only, download |
| Vellum (Mac) | |
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16 | Novels only, download | |
| Write.Studio | |
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23 | Cloud-based |
Easy Writing Features.
| Feature: | Cloud-based | Real-time collaboration | Ease of Writing | Custom Style Guide | Reusable library | Rating |
| Apple Pages (Mac) | No | Yes | WYSIWYG | No | No | |
| Google docs | Yes | Yes | WYSIWYG | No | No | |
| Microsoft Word | Yes | Yes | WYSIWYG | No | No | |
| Overleaf (LaTeX) | Yes | Yes | LaTeX | No | No | |
| PressBooks | Yes | No | WordPress | Preset themes | No | |
| Reedsy | Yes | No | WYSIWYG LeTex | Pre-set theme | No | |
| Scrivener (Mac) | No | No | WYSIWYG | Some items during export | No | |
| Vellum (Mac) | No | No | WYSIWYG | Pre-set designs | No | |
| Write.Studio | Yes | Yes | WYSIWYG | Yes | Yes | |
Novel Writing Features.
| Novel writing feature: | Part number | Chapter number | Insert scene break | Apply drop cap | No header on first page of chapter | Auto paragraph format | Rating |
| Apple Pages (Mac) | Yes | Yes | Manual | Yes | Different first page | Manual | |
| Google docs | No | No | Manual | No | No | Manual | |
| Microsoft Word | Yes | Yes | Manual | Yes | Different first page | Manual | |
| Overleaf (LaTeX) | Yes | Yes | Manual | No | No | No | |
| PressBooks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Reedsy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Scrivener (Mac) | Yes | Yes | Manual | No | Yes | No | |
| Vellum (Mac) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Write.Studio | Yes | Yes | Yes | todo | Yes | Manual | |
Non-fiction Writing Features.
| Non-fiction feature: | Outline numbering | Caption numbering | Right-Left Header & Footer | Footnotes & Endnotes | Tables | Citations & References | Rating |
| Apple Pages (Mac) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Use plugin app | |
| Google docs | No | No | No | No | Yes | Use plugin app | |
| Microsoft Word | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Use plugin app | |
| Overleaf (LaTeX) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | BibTeX | |
| PressBooks | No | No | Yes | Footnote or Endnotes | Yes | No | |
| Reedsy | No | No | No | Footnote or Endnotes | No | No | |
| Scrivener (Mac) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tags | Yes | Use plugin app | |
| Vellum (Mac) | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| Write.Studio | Yes | Yes | wip | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Print-ready Features (POD).
| Print-ready feature: | PDF-print | Trim (page) size | Different page number for front matter | No header on first page of chapter | No header or footer on section | Start chapter on RHS | Rating |
| Apple Pages (Mac) | No | Standard + Custom | Yes | Yes | Hide | No | |
| Google docs | No | 11 | No | No | No | No | |
| Microsoft Word | No | 14 + custom | Yes | Different first page | Different first page | No | |
| Overleaf (LaTeX) | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
| PressBooks | Yes | 5 US | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Reedsy | Yes | 5 US | No | Yes | Based on page type | Yes | |
| Scrivener (Mac) | No | Standard + custom | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| Vellum (Mac) | Yes | 14 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Write.Studio | Yes | 47 by specific supplier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
File Types Available.
| File type: | PDF-Print | PDF-Digital | ePub | Kindle | MS Word | Rating |
| Apple Pages (Mac) | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Google docs | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
| Microsoft Word | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
| Overleaf (LaTeX) | No | Yes | No | No | No | |
| PressBooks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Reedsy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Scrivener (Mac) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Vellum (Mac) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Write.Studio | Yes | Yes | wip | wip | Yes | |