40 writing apps and writing software to help you write better
Are you are a blogger, author, content writer or student?
Subscribe for Free Essay Writing Tips & Updates! EssayJack is an interactive web platform with a patented solution that pre-structures student essays, reduces writing anxiety, and allows educator customization and feedback. Essay Punch takes users through the process of writing an essay. From pre-set writing prompts users learn to develop an idea and write their descriptive, informative and persuasive essays. The site provides online interactive exercises that guide users step by step through pre-writing, writing, organizing, editing, rewriting, and publishing.
Why should you pay out a lot of money just to write?
Well, you don’t need to spend a cent to get the best writing tools to help you write better and more accurately.
You can find so many fantastic free writing tools now.
You can get grammar checking apps, word processors, mind maps, index cards and productivity writing tools that will all let you get on with what you do best. Writing.
There are a lot of free versions of premium apps available too that offer you a host of features.
It can take a little time to find the best writing apps and writing software that will work for you and your writing process. So using a free version is always the best way to get you started.
Article ContentsYou have so much choice when it comes to apps for writing
There are now so many terrific free writing tools. Many of them are fully-featured, unrestricted and totally free for you to use.
It doesn’t matter if you are an author, a blogger or an article writer. Choosing the best tools for your writing needs will save you time, effort and a lot of money.
If you are a student, you have a choice of lots and lots of free writing software and apps. They will be a huge help and benefit to you at school, college or university.
It doesn’t matter what you write, or when you write or how you write. Anything that can help you write better and more accurately is always going to help you.
It’s a very long list for you to choose from
For every type of writer, here are 40 of the very best free apps for you.
There are productivity tools, blog tools, grammar apps and writing software aplenty.
All of them are either totally free for you to use or they have a perfectly functional free version.
Each of them will offer you something extra to help you when you are writing your blog posts, content articles, essays, short stories or even if you want to write a book. Maybe even a poem.
Scan through this list of writing programs below to see if you can find a few new favourite apps to download for your laptop or to use online.
I’m sure that a lot of these little apps and software packages will help you write better and more productively every single day of the year.
4 Free writing tools to help you write more accurately
The best writing software you need to start with is a reliable grammar and spell checker. There are a lot of online writing app choices to check, correct and improve your writing.Here are the top four and most popular free apps to get you on your way.Each one will help you improve the quality and accuracy of your writing.Try them all to see which one works best for you and your style or type of writing.1. Prowritingaid
This is one of my favourite writing apps. I use every single day of the week.
Prowritingaid is an online grammar and writing checker that has so many checks and reports to help you improve your writing.
It is a superb writing aid for authors and writers of long-form content articles. There are twenty different writing analysis tools and reports. These will give you a huge range of suggestions to improve your writing.
There are also easy to use extensions available for Chrome, Microsoft Word, Google Docs and Scrivener.
You can use the free version of ProWritingAid. It offers you a lot of functionality to help you write more accurately online using a simple Chrome extension.
Are you an author? Then you could consider the very reasonably priced premium version with all the editing and checking tools you could ever need.
It is my number one go-to editing tool when I need to work intensively on very long documents such as long-form articles or book manuscripts.
Take a look at how Prowritingaid can help you write better.
Related reading:Full Prowritingaid Review
2. Grammarly
Without a doubt, Grammarly is the number one online grammar checker for a lot of writers
I have used Grammarly for a very long time now. It is one online writing tool that I always have switched on in Chrome to use with WordPress.
It works with so many sites, platforms, software and applications. So it is always on and always helping me correct my writing in real time.
While Grammarly has its own desktop app, it also works with Word in Microsoft Office.
You can use it in any web browser, with WordPress and even on your social media sites. It also works on mobile devices as well as with an iOS Grammarly Keyboard app.
There is also support for Google Docs, but this feature is still in beta.
No matter what, when or where you are writing, Grammarly is always helping you write better and more accurately.
The free version of Grammarly works extremely well for most users. But for more advanced features to help you in your writing process, there is a premium version available.
Watch Grammarly in action.
Related reading:Full Grammarly Review
3. Ginger
Ginger is another very popular free grammar checker.
There is a free Chrome extension and it works in a similar manner to most of the other popular online checkers.
There is also a sentence rephraser and vocabulary enhancement tools.
But where Ginger really shines is in its ability to find and fix incorrectly spelled (or spelt) words depending on the context.
Try it to see how Ginger contextual correction works.
4. Hemingway Editor
I have a love-hate relationship with the Hemmingway Editor app.
The love is due to how quick and easy it is to check my readability score and grade.
The negative is that it always tells me to simplify my writing. It hates the passive voice.
But with that said, it is one of the handiest tools and grammar checkera writer can have at their fingertips.
You can choose which Hemingway mode to use – either write or edit.
The free online version is very convenient for checking up to a page or so of text. It gives helpful hints to improve your writing.
It’s free and one of the must-have grammar apps for writers.
Related reading:Full Hemingway Editor Review
The first name that writers tend to associate with writing software is almost always Microsoft Word
Word is very well-known as the word processing component of Microsoft Office.
While it is the default writing tool for many writers, bloggers and authors, it is certainly not cheap.
Depending on your country, the annual licence for Office 356 can range from $60 – $100.
If you want to buy the one-time purchase version, which is called Office Home & Student, it can cost you as much as $150.
Microsoft Office is as its name implies, is writing software for office use. It includes Outlook, Excel and Powerpoint and other programs. You will never use these for writing.
Do you really need to pay for all these extra programs just to have a word processor to write an article, short story or even a novel?
Is there a free word program or word processor that is equal to Word?
Yes. If you just want to write, you’ll almost always find writing software that is free and many other alternative tools for writers.
Most of them are more suitable for your writing goals and for any form of creative writing project.
12 Free writing software and word processor choices
1. Google Docs
Like Microsoft Office, Google Docs is a suite of office tools. The big difference is, of course, is that Google Docs is available for free online.
If you are familiar with Word, you will have no problem at all adapting to Docs, which is the word processor component.
All the formatting options are very similar, as is the user interface.
Unlike some free word processors, Docs does have a word count, so you can keep track of your word count goal.
I know that many writers, particularly content writers use Google Docs because of the simplicity of sharing documents online.
Writing projects can be quickly and easily shared using Google Drive, which comes with 5 gigabytes for free. This is normally plenty of storage space for writers. You can also use Docs offline.
If you are writing every day and working with other writers, content editors, proofreaders or editors, Google Docs allows you to collaborate with ease.
There is no need to know what file format or program others are using.
As long as each person has a Google account, and who doesn’t, working together is very easy.
2. Apple Pages for Mac Users
If all you need is a word processor, Apple Pages can handle everything you could possibly need to do.
Like Word, you can start with a blank document or use the template chooser.
The word processing in page layout document view is easy to work with, and all the text formatting, fonts and writing tools are easy to find and use.
There is a spell checker, word count and track change with an add comments option.
It also autosaves saves directly to your hard drive, or to your iCloud drive when you are online. There is also the file duplicate function. It gives you very easy version control of your revisions and edits.
It is difficult to think of a common feature or function in Word that is not available in Pages documents.
There is one other area where Pages really shines. It has a lot more control over images compared to Word.
One other big plus with Pages for authors is that you can export directly to epub. You don’t need to convert your file formats in another program.
Pages is a terrific writing software option for all Mac, iPad and iPhone users. You can download it from the Mac App Store.
Related reading:Is Apple Pages A Good Replacement For Microsoft Word For Mac?
3. MS Notepad and Mac TextEdit
These two writing software programs are already under your noses. They are installed by default on Windows and Apple computers.
They are both ideal little apps for writing blogs or short articles.
However, they are both worthy of a mention because of their usefulness in converting to plain text.
Most word processors can add a lot of background code over the time you take to write a long document.
Cut and pasting, saving, deletions, forgotten tabs and spaces and formatting changes or inconsistencies all up add to a lot that can go wrong.
Because of all this code, there is the chance that the text might have issues when you use it online. This can be especially true if you use WordPress and also in publishing in ebooks.
The quickest and easiest way to clean a document, big or small, is to copy all the text into a basic text editor such as Notepad or TextEdit and then convert everything to plain text.
Then you can copy back the clean text into your blog editor or word processor for ebook formatting.
4. Libre Office
I used Open Office for many years. It is an open source project and is still available.
However, Libre Office is now favoured by many writers.
In fact, these two free office suites branched from the same development stable, so they have a lot of similarities.
Learning to work with Writer, which is the word processor, is easy.
However, it uses simple and traditional menus, toolbars and icons, but does not have the ribbon function found in Word.
In some ways, this is a good thing because it lets you get on with the writing process instead of hunting in ribbons for buttons.
If you want a word processor, and that’s all, Writer in Libre Office won’t disappoint you.
5. AbiWord
If you want simplicity, AbiWord is well worth trying.
It has been around for a long time now, and while it might look a little outdated, its functionality is definitely not.
The best way to describe AbiWord is uncluttered. This is ideal if you are looking to write distraction free.
It has all the basic, such as spelling and grammar checking and auto-saving.
It also works with most common file types including docx.
Abiword is definitely not fancy, but it’s free and it works. It’s ideal for writing blog posts or article content.
However, due to its print limitations that require an external program to see a print preview, it might not be the best alternative to write your book.
6. WPS Office
If you have used Microsoft Word or Google Docs, then you can work with WPS Office immediately.
Similar to other alternative word processors it has all the standard features you would expect and works with most file types.
One of its key features is that it allows drag and drop paragraphs, which can at times be practical.
Another simple yet time-saving feature of WPS is tabbed documents.
While Excel has had this for years, Word never has, so working on two documents at the same time is much more efficient in WPS.
WPS also has a cloud storage service with 1G free space for PC and iOS.
7. SoftMaker Free Office
Free Office gets a mention because it can export .epub. This is a very handy tool for self-publishers.
TextMaker is the free word processor in this office suite.
But it doesn’t come with the ability to save in docx format unless you opt for the premium version.
But you can open and edit docx files.
Apart from that inconvenience, it has all the advanced features you would expect in a modern word processor.
It comes with advanced formatting options, the ability to create databases for bibliographies and footnotes, as well as track change.
8. iA Writer
If you want a web app for clean no-fuss writing, iA Writer might be just what you are looking for.
Forget about fancy keyboard shortcuts and menus.
All you do with this app is to write.
The NYT says it creates a clean, simple and distraction-free writing environment for when you really need to focus on your words. It’s delightful to use.
For long-form writing, it is one of the best free word processors and will suit any writing style.
It is available for Windows, Mac, and apps for Android and iOS.
9. Focus Writer
FocusWriter is a simple, distraction free writing environment.It uses a full screen hide-away interface that you access by moving your mouse to the edges of the screen.It allows the program to have a familiar look and feel to it while still getting out of the way so that you can immerse yourself in your work.It’s available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X.10. Calmly Writer
Calmly Writer has been designed to help you focus on writing.As you start typing, all the distracting options disappear from the interface.Calmly also includes “focus mode” option, which highlights only the paragraph you are editing at the time.If you are a writing minimalist, it could be a good choice for you.
It is a browser-based app and there is a Chrome extension available.
11. Zoho Writer
Zoho Writer is a free online alternative to Microsoft Word.
You can sync between your PC or Mac, iPhone, Android or iPad.
Almost everything you do in Word, you can do with this word processor. There are even collaboration tools.
You can import your existing Word documents and get to work.
There is also a plugin to link your Zoho documents to Word.
Not a bad deal for at all a free online writing tool.
12. Scibus
Scribus is an open source program for desktop publishing.
It gets a mention here because it is free, but also because it is such a feature-rich cross-platform program.
Scribus is a page layout and desktop publishing program for Linux, FreeBSD, PC-BSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, OpenIndiana, Debian GNU/Hurd, Mac OS X, OS/2 Warp 4, eComStation, Haiku and Windows.Scribus supports professional publishing features, such as CMYK colours, spot colours, ICC colour management and versatile PDF creation.Perhaps it is not a choice for most authors and bloggers. But you might have a desktop publishing need one day.
4 Free book writing apps and software for authors
Are you about to start writing a book? You need to hunt a little to find good book writing apps for books and novels.
Here are four of the best author apps to help you write and publish your books or ebooks.
There are also seven more story writing app free choices for you at the end of this list.
1. Shaxpir
For a dedicated book writing app, Shaxpir gives you a lot of features in its free version.The Manuscript Builder uses drag-and-drop tools to rearrange your manuscript. You can change the order and hierarchy of chapters and scenes. So you can find a structure that works for you.You can set goals and track your progress and keep detailed notes about your characters, places and events.It also allows you to add margin comments as well as collect concept art.There is also an in-built spellchecker.As far as free book writing software goes, Shaxpir offers you ahuge range of features.It is available for Mac and PC with offline plus cloud access.2. Scrivener (Free Trial)
While not a free writing tool, I have to include Scrivener in this list because there is a generous free trial available.
It is one of the best book writing software tools for authors and screenwriters.
With an outliner, chapters and scenes, corkboard and index cards, side by side viewing, word count targets and a full-screen editor along with print, export and publishing tools, it has everything any writer could ever need.
There is a 30 day free trial period offered by Scrivener.
But it is counted by the days that you use the software. So if you use it every second day, your trial period will last you for 60 days.
If you only write at the weekend, it will you for a good few months.
Scrivener is available for download for both Windows and Mac. There are also iOS apps for iPhone and iPad.
To access your free trial of this writing software, click the Download Free Trial link.
You can watch this video to see how Scrivener will help you write your new book.
3. Kindle Create
If you are self-publishing author on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Kindle Create is a must-have free software app for you to use.
The program has improved a lot over the last couple of years. Initially, it was a little unstable and its basic function was to help you format a Kindle book.
But stability is much better now and Amazon has been slowly adding new features since it merged Createspace into KDP.
Kindle Create can now format not only ebooks but paperback books as well. But this latest option is still in beta.
Take a look at how easy it is to format beautiful ebooks using Kindle Create.
4. Kindle Previewer
Kindle Previewer is another free desktop application for authors from Amazon.
It lets you upload and preview how your ebooks will appear when read by Amazon Kindle customers.
It makes it easy to check your books on different screen sizes and in various fonts. You can check how your book will look on a Kindle, tablet or phone.
There is also an enhanced view option that will automatically scroll through your book so you can check for correct formatting.
It is the best way to check your ebook formatting before you publish your ebook on Amazon.
As an extra bonus, you can also convert epub files to mobi so you can read epub ebooks on your Kindle.
The free program is available for both Windows and Mac users.
But wait, there are more free choices for authors!
Seven more free book writing software programs for writing a novel
Seven more free book writing software programs for writing a novel
Are you are looking for free book writing software that is much, much better than a standard word processor like Microsoft Word or Google Docs?
Do you want to try the best apps for writing a book?
Do you want the best novel writing software that can help you work on individual chapters and scenes?
Here are seven choices for open source free book writing software and apps for you that are specifically designed for writing a book.
Read more: Seven free book writing programs for authors.
7 Free apps to help bloggers and content writers
If you are a blogger or content writer, you need to work with ideas, keywords, data, headlines and images.
You also need to stay one step ahead of your competition and continually work on improving your content and search engine ranking.
Here is a choice of the best free blogging apps for busy content writers and bloggers that can save you hours of work every day.
1. Semrush
Semrush is a premium pro SEO suite of tools for serious bloggers and content marketing writers.
The subscription price is often too steep for many new bloggers. But did you know that you can use Semrush for free?
To start your free level subscription, just enter a query such as a domain or a keyword in the SEMrush search bar and you will automatically be prompted to register for your free account.
You can then perform 10 searches a day from the Domain Analytics and Keyword Analytics databases.
As a free user, you can create and manage one Project and also conduct a Site Audit for 100 crawled pages.
You can track 10 keywords in the Position Tracking tool. For On-Page SEO Checker, you are given a total of 10 SEO Idea units.
You can also create 1 list in the Keyword Magic Tool.
All the tools you need to start writing high ranking keyword-rich SEO content articles.
If you want to get to work on improving your blog’s SEO or become a content writer, this is a great way to start on the learning curve, and all for free.
2. Hubspot Blog Ideas
Hubspot’s blog topic generator is an old favourite for many writers. Simply enter a few nouns and it will produce a list of blog title ideas for you.
It is such a handy tool to have when you are looking for new writing ideas.
3. Portent’s Idea Generator
Do you need a cure for writer’s block?
I adore this free blog topic generator app.
Portent is an easy and clever way to find new writing ideas.
Even though it is an app primarily designed for bloggers to find headlines and titles, and not a genuine headline analyzer, writers can use it to discover new ideas for any piece of writing.
All you have to do is input your base word or words and then you can select a working title for a new writing prompt.
4. Sharethough Headline Analyser
How engaging is your headline?
This must be my absolute favourite little blog post writing app. Once you have a blog or article title idea, run it through this app to see how effective it will be in attracting readers’ attention.
You can edit as you go and the app keeps a record of your variations so you can choose the best one.
The app’s blurb says: “Like the lead paragraph in a news story or thesis in an essay, your headline is your one true sentence: the single most important asset for capturing attention in the feed.”
I agree.
5. Website Grader
Website Grader is a quick an easy app to help you improve your blog.
Checking and optimizing your blog’s performance is essential if you want to increase your site traffic.
You should make sure that your website is easy for users to discover and easy for search engines to understand. This is a quick app to check your page titles, headings, and meta descriptions.
It only takes a few seconds to run this performance check of your blog to see if you need to make any improvements.
6. Privacy Policy Generator
Privacy Policy Generator is a totally free app to help you write your privacy policy page for your blog. You don’t even need to register or give your email address.
It is a huge time and money saver for all bloggers.
Just add your basic information and the app will create the full text for your privacy terms.
All blogs should have a policy page about privacy to make sure that your site is GDPR compliant.
7. Canva
Now, this is not an article writing app so it might not really belong in a list of writing programs and author apps.
But Canva is a fantastic free tool for promoting your writing.
Canva is a free online tool for creating images.
Because using Internet images you find on Google images are very often copyright protected, it is a much better idea to create your own unique images.
You can find and use free stock images to upload to Canva that you can then design and transform into a unique image.
You can use Canva to make images for social media promotion, images for your blog posts, Facebook headers and even for quick and dirty ebook covers.
While there is a paid option, the free version offers more than enough free images, graphics, icons, shapes and backgrounds for almost any image creation project.
It’s so useful, I sometimes feel a bit guilty, because I use this app almost every day.
10 Free writing productivity apps
There are so many facets to writing.
Staying organised, collecting and collating your ideas and saving time are all a big plus.
It would be great if there was an all in one help for writers app. But until it ever eventuates, here is a selection of the best productivity apps for writers.
1. Trello
Trello must be one of the most popular free apps for writers.
There is so much you can do to organise your writing projects, notes and to-do lists. You can collaborate and assign tasks, start discussions and so much more.
Trello is a beautiful as well as highly functional app. It is available for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, iOS and Android.
2. Evernote
Evernote is a favourite application for lots of writers. It is one of the most popular note-taking apps but it is much more.
Never let an idea escape when you are not at your keyboard. You can organise your ideas, create checklists and to-do lists.
There is also a handy web clipper that lets you save parts of web pages to help you with your writing research.
The free version comes with more than enough storage memory to suit most writers.
3. OneLook
OneLook lets you describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept.Your description can be anything at all: a single word, a few words, or even a whole sentence.Type in your description and hit Enter to see all the related words.This little writing app is a thesaurus on steroids.
4. Free Pomodoro Timer
If you are a fan of the Pomodoro technique to improve your productivity, then you will need a free timer.
There are many to choose from but I like this one because it’s easy to set and to read. Nothing fancy, but effective.
5. Read-O-Meter
How long will it take to read your article? Find out with this simple free writing app and then you can add a reading time to your blog post or article.
6. Wordcounter
Wordcounter ranks the most frequently used words in your text. You can use this browser app to see what words you are repeating too often and then make changes.
All you need to do is paste your text in the box, and this little app will go to work and list all your repetitions.
7. Quetext
Quetext is a free online plagiarism checker. Many paid apps feature checking plagiarism as a premium option.
But with this browser app, you can check your documents for free.
8. Otter V0ice Notes
Otter is a free dictation to text app for iOS and Android.
All you need to do is hit the record button, start speaking, and watch your words appear in the app. It even adds in punctuation.
There are many paid and premium dictation apps, but Otter offers a generous free option of 600 minutes a month.
9. Freemind
If you are into mind maps to develop story ideas, here is a free. software download for you.
Many authors use mind map apps to help write a book by keeping their ideas connected and logical.
Freemind is open source mind mapping software built in Java.
It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
It has a wide variety of features, including location-based mind mapping, collaboration tools, restore sessions and more.
10. DiffChecker
Do you sometimes get into a tangle when editing different versions of a text?
What and when did you make a change? It’s nearly impossible to remember every edit you make?
Well, with DiffChecker it is easy to compare two versions of a text and find the differences between them.
It is a free to use browser app, but if you want to save your revisions (Diffs), you will need to create an account to log in.
3 Free fun writing apps
1. Hipster Sound
Do you have time to go to a café to relax and write?
If you don’t, you can bring the sounds of a Texas or Paris café to you with this cute little app.
Click play and you will have all the ambient sounds you need to get your creative juices flowing.
2. FlipText
Okay, you are not going to use Fliptext often. But it is a fun little free writing tool.
¡uoıʇuǝʇʇɐ ʇɔɐɹʇʇɐ oʇ ǝɹns sı ʇı ˙uʍop ǝpısdn buıʇıɹʍ ʎɹʇ ʇou ʎɥʍ ‘uoıʇuǝʇʇɐ ʇɔɐɹʇʇɐ ןןıʍ ʇɐɥʇ buıɥʇǝɯos op oʇ ʇuɐʍ noʎ uǝɥʍ
Yes, you can write upside down. Did you have to turn your screen or twist your neck to try to read it?
3. The Most Dangerous Writing App
The Most Dangerous Writing App is a fun little writing tool with a nasty side.
You start by setting yourself a writing time of say five minutes. Then you start writing. But if you stop writing for more than five seconds, you lose everything you wrote.
However, if you get through your allotted time without stopping, your reward is that you can save your work.
Yes, that’s a seriously mean little app. It is a brutal yet brilliant idea.
If you treat it like a game, it is a fun challenge and a clever way to help you overcome writer’s block.
Summary
For writers, there are plenty of free apps, writing software and tools. There are also book writing software choices that work extremely well for any writing process.
There is no need to spend a lot of your money if you don’t have to on apps for writing.
There are so many open source and free alternatives for a word processor, book writing software, a short story writing app and spelling and grammar correction tools.
If you are ready to write your book or get started as a content writer or blogger, the writing tools listed above will be more than enough to get you off on the right foot, and all for free.
All of them are user-friendly and are quick and easy to learn how to use.
Best Essay Writing Software
Make your choices based on what you need and want to achieve as a writer, and what you think you will need to succeed.
Then head off to the coffee shop with your laptop, or pump up Hipster Sound at home, and start writing.
Best Free Essay Writing Software
More free apps for writers:The 13 Best Free Grammar Check And Grammar Corrector Apps