The cheapest AI story tool here is NovelCrafter at $4 a month. The best known is Sudowrite, whose entry plan is $10, not the higher figure often quoted.
The question that separates these tools is whether the AI remembers your story. A general chatbot forgets your characters the moment the tab closes. Most of the tools below are built so it does not.
How this list is ordered, and what it leaves out
Ordered by our editorial rating, then by free access, then by starting price. The rating is editorial, drawn from published feature, plan and pricing data. Every listing is verified live before publishing and carries a last-reviewed date.
Grammar and editing tools are a different job and sit in our writing assistants roundup. Marketing copy sits in our content writing guide.
Character roleplay chat is also excluded. It looks adjacent and is a different product with a different audience.
Plan, draft or publish: pick the stage you are stuck at
These ten tools do not compete on the same ground. Plot Factory is a story planner for organising characters and fictional universes before a word is drafted.
Sudowrite, NovelCrafter and Book Witch sit in the drafting seat. Laterpress and Storyloft run past the draft into publishing, and Laterpress advertises monetising the result.
Buy for the stage you are stuck at. A planner will not fix a stalled first draft, and a drafting tool will not tell you where the plot went wrong.
The 10 tools, compared
| Tool | Rating | Free | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| NovelCrafter | 4.4 | 21-day trial | $4 |
| Sudowrite | 4.4 | Trial | $10 |
| Type.ai | 4.3 | Yes | $8 |
| NovelAI | 4.2 | See note | $10 |
| Squibler | 4.1 | Yes | $16 |
| Laterpress | 4.0 | Yes | Free |
| Ella by Novella | 4.0 | Yes | $32 |
| Storyloft | 4.0 | Yes | $39 |
| Plot Factory | 3.9 | Yes | $9 |
| Book Witch | 3.7 | Yes | $19 |
1. NovelCrafter, rated 4.4, from $4
NovelCrafter is the cheapest paid tool here and leads with writing without restriction, claiming a community of more than 200,000 authors. It runs in the browser, so there’s nothing to install.
Its free access is a 21-day trial rather than a standing free tier, so plan the evaluation rather than drifting into it.
2. Sudowrite, rated 4.4, from $10
Sudowrite is the best-known name here and the only one running a model it says was built specifically for fiction, called Muse. It describes itself as the non-judgemental writing partner, and its pages carry coverage from Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and The Atlantic.
Its plans are metered in credits rather than seats: Hobby and Student at $10, Professional at $22 and Max at $44. Our listing records $19, which sits between the first two and matches neither.
3. Type.ai, rated 4.3, from $8
Type.ai calls itself the intelligent editor for storytellers and aims at finishing a book, screenplay or story rather than starting one. It offers a free start.
4. NovelAI, rated 4.2, from $10
NovelAI is two products in one subscription: story writing and anime art generation. If you only want prose, you are paying for half a toolkit.
Its site invites you to start for free, while our listing records no free plan. Check which applies to your region before subscribing.
5. Squibler, rated 4.1, from $16
Squibler works as a conversation: describe the idea and it drafts books, novels and screenplays back. Its page claims more than twenty thousand writers.
6. Laterpress, rated 4.0, free
Laterpress is the only tool here that carries a book past the manuscript. Its own pipeline runs brainstorm, plot, draft, edit, publish, grow and monetise.
That makes it the pick for a self-publishing author rather than someone who wants help with prose alone.
7. Ella by Novella, rated 4.0, from $32
Ella by Novella pitches cinematic storytelling and ships a browser extension, so it works where you already write rather than asking you to move.
8. Storyloft, rated 4.0, from $39
Storyloft is the most expensive entry here and splits its product by audience: fiction authors, nonfiction authors and worldbuilders each get a different workspace.
It positions itself as one platform from first draft to finished book, which puts it alongside Laterpress rather than the drafting tools.
9. Plot Factory, rated 3.9, from $9
Plot Factory is a planner rather than a writer: organise characters, build fictional universes and outline before drafting. It runs in the browser, including on a phone.
10. Book Witch, rated 3.7, from $19
Book Witch is the lowest-rated tool we list, and it states the category’s central problem most plainly: generic AI forgets your story the moment you close the tab.
It keeps characters, plot and voice in memory and uses them in every line, and offers a magic-link login with no card.
Memory is the feature to test first
Anything can write one good paragraph. The difficulty in a novel is chapter forty sounding like chapter one, with the same character voices and no contradicted facts.
That is why these products exist rather than a general chatbot. Book Witch names it outright, NovelCrafter and Storyloft build a workspace around it, and Plot Factory solves it before drafting starts.
When you trial one, do not judge it on the first page. Write a scene, close it, come back tomorrow, and see how much it still knows.
How to choose
To pick one quickly, match your stage to the line below.
- You have an idea, not an outline: Plot Factory at $9.
- You are drafting and stalling: Sudowrite at $10, or NovelCrafter at $4.
- You want the cheapest way in: Laterpress, free to start.
- You are self-publishing: Laterpress or Storyloft.
- Continuity keeps breaking: Book Witch, built around remembering.
- You want art with the prose: NovelAI, which does both.
The full category sits in our writing tools catalogue.
Common questions
Can an AI write a novel for me?
Not one worth reading end to end. These tools draft scenes, suggest continuations and hold your world in order. The structure, the judgement and the revision stay yours.
Which AI story tool is free?
Laterpress starts free, and Type.ai, Squibler, Plot Factory and Book Witch all offer free access. NovelCrafter and Sudowrite give trials rather than free tiers.
Do publishers accept AI-assisted fiction?
Policies vary by publisher and by platform, and some now ask authors to disclose AI use at submission. Check the specific submission terms before you rely on any of these.
