Speaker 1: In today's video, we're going to be talking about my top 10 screenwriting software programs for 2023. And as always, the best software program is the one that you will actually use. Now some questions to ask yourself as you figure out what type of software that you want should include something like, am I going to write alone? What is my budget? Am I new to the screenwriting game? Do I want to use some pre-work stuff like cards or outlining? Is there a particular feature that is very important to my writing process? Am I willing to invest in the time to learn the software or do I just simply want to plug and play? Do I want to be involved in the production process? Now I hope you realize it doesn't matter whether it's the most expensive software on the list or the least expensive software on the list. The most important thing again is for you to use it. Also, there are other programs out there besides these top 10, so keep your eyes peeled. Unlike my 2021 video, I'm going to go in the reverse order for pricing this year from most expensive to least expensive. So stick around to the end to see what cool writing software you can get for free. Yes free. I mean there's some pretty good doozies out there too. So you can also go by chapters as well which are located in the description of this video. Now the first one I'd like to start with is the industry standard of all screenwriting software programs which is Final Draft. Co-founded in 1990 by Mark Midnick and Ben Kahan, these two visionaries created a word processing software program in a time when Hollywood hadn't even thought about it. Now because they did this, Final Draft was able to corner the market share of the screenwriting software for such a long time and make it itself the gold standard for Hollywood. This is why you see so many other software products say they can spit out their final product in Final Draft format. If you can't do this, most people will not even look at your script. Now due to the fact that this is such an industry standard, it is priced accordingly. Thankfully it does have a free tryout where you can try it out, but if you're buying Final Draft for the first time it's going to set you back about $250. Now there are sales though and I think I saw it going for about $159 recently around Christmas. Now for full disclosure they seem to have a new version every two to three years which costs about $75 to $100 for an upgrade which normally has some new bells and whistles. Though you don't have to upgrade to be honest if you're content with the version of the software that you have. Now Final Draft could be happy soaking up the Cadillac rates it charges for and leave its users with a poor product. Instead I think it leaves us with a world-class product. It has some of the best brainstorming and story playing software on the market. Now Final Draft also has an app you can buy for your phone and tablet. Note this is not the full version of the software but allows you to write on the go and and upload it back to the full version of the software. Now this app isn't free but I think it's around 10 bucks so it's not too costly. Now Final Draft probably has one of the best systems for doing this type of work. I haven't touched on the blog and podcasting resources that you can find on the webpage as well as their YouTube channel and personally I have used Final Draft to write my audio drama called Dagon and I've also been using it for my screenplay that I'm creating for one of the classes that I'm in. It works well for me and my writing style. Bottom line it's expensive but you get a good bang for your buck. Our next bit of software is an oldie but goodie as well movie magic screenwriter. This is one of the only software programs to get an academy award for technical achievement back in 1994. I will note that there was not a lot of softwares out at the time. Final Draft was still getting going by itself but this is still a pretty cool accomplishment and movie magic claims to fame is that they have software for all phases of the writing process from creativity, brainstorming, outlining, and formatting. And back in the day when I first started screenwriting I used a lot of these programs. This is something I need to emphasize they are different programs and they each have a cost and they ain't cheap. Movie magic costs about $250. This is the screenwriting program. The other ones which you don't have to buy but help in other phases of writing are Dramatica Pro for $150 which I was my favorite of the programs I'd buy. Outline 4D which is 100 bucks and Story Expert for $200. Number three, Fade In, created by Kent Tessman who wrote and directed Bull and The Apartment Story, is the next entry on our screenwriting tour. Priced at $79.95, at least at the time of this video, it's a good workhorse for writing scripts. And here's the thing I like. More about this price is that you don't have to pay for upgrades. That's right, pretty cool right? And I will link my full review of it on the comment section below. Now if you're thinking of making the leap from hobby to side hustle and don't have a ton of money yet, I would definitely take a look at this one. Number four. Up next is Scrivener. Priced at $59.99, yep, it just went up 10 bucks from my last video. You do pay for upgrades for Scrivener but unlike Final Draft which pushes out a big version update about every two years whether you like it or not, Scrivener doesn't do that. They have a lot of small updates which come with their current version. Now one of the things I like about Scrivener is that you can also use it to write novels. I did a pretty in-depth review of Scrivener as well as a video about why you might like it. I will link those in the comment section below. For its price point, Scrivener is like the little engine which could. If you're thinking of doing some side hustle writing, give this one a look-see. Number five. Celtic is on deck now. Incidentally, I've never used this software before. I know, shocking since I seem to have used most of every other software on the list so far. The reason for this is because it has a monthly subscription. And I am not a big fan of monthly subscriptions. There are three tiers but the two I will look at are just for individuals and not for teams. If you want to get into this program, it costs about $13.49 and $22.49 per month for a year subscription. If you just pay monthly, they jack up the price of course to $14.99 and $24.99. Basically, you could buy Final Draft for what you're paying for Celtic for a year. Now personally, I feel that Celtic is a little high on their pricey model versus their features. However, it isn't what I think but what you think. Does it fit your needs? Number six. Rider's Duet is next. Incidentally, I just did a review on it not that long before this video. You can find it in the link in the description below. Rider's Duet's big claim to fame was the ability to collaborate with others. It was so big that it actually forced Final Draft to get its rearing gear and get its features into its own software. Pricing is a little harder for this one. You can pay a monthly price from $9.99 to $13.99 if you're paying monthly. If you buy the software on a yearly basis, the price lowers to $7.49 to $10.49. The initial price point is lower but if you have the software for several years, it will cost you about what you would pay for Final Draft or even Movie Magic. Now, are you a writer who has several writing partners? Then this software might be a good one for you to invest in. Number seven. Next on our list is ARC Studio Pro. I have used ARC Studio Pro when it first came out and I loved it. This is an outdated video but you can see what five things I thought were really cool about this particular software and I'll link that in the description below. Now, ARC Studio Pro also uses a subscription model. It's a little cheaper than Rider's Duet, definitely less than the overpriced Celtics. It has a two price tier, one at $69 a year and the second at $99 a year. I think a lot of people have been really enjoying these features and ease of use for this product and I know I'm interested in revisiting it and I will link my review video for it when it's finished. So what about you? Would you give ARC Studio Pro a try? The last three I have on here are all free software. Now, many of the previous software I've mentioned before have free versions of their software but they're only good for a certain time period or they restrict some of the features. Not with these last few. The reason I like putting free software out here is for folks who want to see if they even like to do script writing. Now, these three have some good features and they help novice screenwriters see if they would like to go from hobbyist to professional. Number eight, StudioBinder is our first free software. I really like this one because it is a no-thrill script editor but easy to use. Now, my review for StudioBinder is in the description of this video. Now, if you want to write, love graphical interfaces and are curious about screenwriting, give this one a look-see. Number nine, Skrit is our second free software that I'm highlighting on this list. On my community tab, this has the most votes on what software people want me to look at. When I have this video done, I will put it in the description below. Now, for a free program, Skrit has a lot of cool features. Now, one of the things I think is neat is that it comes from India. Now, Skrit has some neat features regarding this and ones I think my Indian subscribers should take some notice of. And this is all for free too. Pretty cool. Number 10, Kitsunaris is the last software we're going to look at for today but last doesn't mean least. Kitsunaris has a pretty good following. Now, I have created several videos about Kitsunaris as well and I'll leave those in the description below. Did I miss your favorite? Questions about any of these? Leave them in the comment section below. Do you want some free help finding software? Send me an email at coachingforthescreenatgmail.com and I will help get you set up. I have a further video that I'll link in the description below that helps ask some other important questions about what type of software would work best for your working process. So feel free to look at that video below as well too. Until the next video, write well and live well.