The short answer
Four things set Scriptopus Free apart from most free versions.
- No limits. As many projects and pages as you like, for good, on a free account.
- No watermark. The PDF you send to a contest is the PDF you would get on a paid plan.
- Your script can leave. It saves as PDF, Final Draft and Fountain, so any other program can open it.
- Your script stays with you. The Free plan is the desktop app for Mac and Windows, and your scripts are kept on your computer.
We make Scriptopus, so weigh this page with that in mind. Every fact about the other programs below comes from their makers' own websites, read on 22 October 2026, and plans do change.
What Scriptopus Free gives you
The screenplay editor sets every line in standard format as you type, with Tab and Enter moving you between scene headings, action, characters and dialogue. Beside it are the Beat Board, the treatment and the Story Canvas, so the planning lives in the same project as the script. It opens Final Draft, Fountain and Celtx files, and saves as PDF, Final Draft and Fountain.
What Free leaves out: sync between devices, sharing, teams, and the dramaturg chat and reports. Those come with Pro, which also works in the browser and costs nothing while Scriptopus is in beta. The plans are on the home page.
What the other free versions hold back
| Program | What is free | The catch | Runs on | Saves your script as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scriptopus (ours) | The desktop app on a free account, for good | No sync, sharing or teams, and no dramaturg chat or reports | Mac, Windows | PDF, Final Draft, Fountain |
| Fade In | The whole program, as a demo with no time limit | A watermark on everything you print or save as PDF until you buy a licence ($79.95), and no online real-time collaboration | Windows, Mac, Linux | PDF with the watermark, Final Draft, Fountain |
| WriterDuet | A free plan with no time limit | Three projects, one document in each; no desktop app and no revision tracking | Browser | PDF, Final Draft, Fountain |
| Arc Studio | A free plan | Two scripts; a watermark on the PDF; browser only | Browser | PDF with a watermark, Final Draft, Fountain |
| Celtx | A free plan | One project; no episodic scripts, drafts or revision mode | Browser | Not listed for the free plan |
| Starc | A free plan with unlimited projects | The corkboard, timeline, cloud storage and live collaboration are for paying plans | Mac, Windows, iPhone and more | Import and export, formats not listed |
| StudioBinder | The screenwriting part, online | It reads Final Draft, Fountain, Word and PDF files in, but saves only as PDF and its own format | Browser | |
| Slugline 2 | The app, up to six pages | From page seven it costs $49.99, which also adds Final Draft export | Mac, iPhone, iPad | PDF, Fountain |
| Highland Pro | A 30-day trial | After the trial, its makers say it still opens, prints and exports your scripts; the subscription is $59.99 a year | Mac, iPad, iPhone | PDF, Final Draft, Fountain |
Final Draft, the program much of the American industry uses, has no free version, only a five-day trial. You don't need it to send a script out: readers and contests ask for a PDF. When a producer later asks for a Final Draft file, Scriptopus Free saves one.
What a free version usually costs you
A watermark
A line of text across every page, or a stamp in the corner. It's harmless in a draft and a bad look in a contest entry. Make a one-page PDF on the first day, so you find out before you have written a hundred pages.
A limit you'll reach
One project, two scripts, three projects: enough for the first script, and tight once you keep old drafts or start a second idea. Page limits are stricter. Six free pages will show you how a program feels, and run out long before your first act does.
A script you can't take with you
This is the one that matters most. If a program can't save your script as Final Draft (.fdx) or Fountain, the only way out is a PDF, and turning a PDF back into an editable script is guesswork. Our screenplay formatter does a good job of it, but it's better never to need it.
A script that lives on someone else's server
Browser programs keep your script online, which is handy across computers and a problem without a connection. It also means the script is only as safe as the company's servers. Export a copy now and then, whatever you use.
Five checks before you start writing
- Make a PDF of one page and look at it closely: margins, font, any watermark.
- Save as Final Draft or Fountain, then open that file in a second program. If it opens with the scene headings and dialogue intact, you can always leave.
- Find out where the file lives, on your computer or on the company's server, and whether the program works without the internet.
- Count the limits: projects, pages and days. Think about where you'll be in six months, not this week.
- Look for a recent update. A program nobody maintains may stop working after your next system update.
Put Scriptopus Free through the same five and it comes out clean: a PDF with no watermark, Final Draft and Fountain files that open elsewhere, scripts kept on your own computer, no limits to count, and a desktop app that keeps getting updates.
Fountain deserves a word. It's a plain text format, so a Fountain file opens in any text editor, now or in twenty years. Keeping a Fountain copy of each draft is cheap insurance.
Questions
Is Scriptopus really free?
The Free plan is, for good. It is the desktop app for Mac and Windows on a free account, with no card needed. Pro adds the browser, sync, sharing, teams and the dramaturg, and it costs nothing while Scriptopus is in beta.
Is Final Draft free?
No. It is a paid program with a five-day trial. You can open a Final Draft file without it, though: Scriptopus Free opens .fdx files and saves them too.
Can I write a screenplay in Word or Google Docs?
Yes, with a template that sets the margins and styles for you. It works well for a short. Over a feature it gets fiddly, because a word processor won't add (MORE) and (CONT'D) when a speech breaks across pages, and every page break needs checking by eye. Our screenplay template comes in Word for both paper sizes.
What file do contests and readers want?
A PDF, almost always. A Final Draft file is something a production asks for later, once the script is being made. Read each contest's rules; our screenwriting events list links to them.
What happens to my script if the program shuts down?
If you have a Final Draft or Fountain copy, nothing much: open it in another program and carry on. If all you have is the program's own format, you may be left with a PDF. Export a copy of every draft you care about.
Sources
The facts about other programs come from these pages, read on 22 October 2026.
- Fade In, purchase and download pages.
- WriterDuet, Choose the best subscription for you.
- Arc Studio, pricing.
- Celtx, pricing.
- Starc, pricing.
- StudioBinder, screenwriting software.
- Slugline, home page.
- Quote-Unquote Apps, Highland Pro, and its App Store listing.
- Final Draft, free trial.
Write it formatted from the first line
Scriptopus sets every line as you type, keeps the beat board and the treatment beside the script, and exports the PDF and Final Draft file you will need. The editor is free on Mac and Windows.
- Every element in its place, with Tab, Enter and Ctrl+1 to 6.
- Beat Board, Treatment and Synopsis in the same project as the script.
- Six title page layouts, Industry Standard first.
- PDF, Final Draft, Fountain and Celtx exports.