Sudowrite vs NovelCrafter: two ways to pay for AI fiction help
Both are writing apps built for novelists, with a story bible, planning tools and AI drafting. The biggest difference is how you pay for the AI. Sudowrite includes a monthly allowance of credits in each plan. NovelCrafter charges for the app and, on its AI plans, has you connect your own AI account and pay that provider separately.
Quick answer
- You want AI that works out of the box, with one bill: Sudowrite. Every plan includes credits and access to its own fiction models.
- You want to use your own AI provider account or API key, or run a model on your own computer: NovelCrafter. From its Hobbyist plan up you connect a provider such as OpenRouter or OpenAI, or a local model. (Sudowrite also offers a choice of models, paid for through its own credits.)
- You want a planning and writing app with no AI at all: NovelCrafter's cheapest plan, Scribe, has no AI features. Sudowrite is built around AI.
- You co-write or work with an editor inside the app: NovelCrafter has collaboration features (inviting others to your novels needs its Specialist plan).
Plans and pricing (as of Oct 2026)
| Sudowrite | NovelCrafter | |
|---|---|---|
| Plans listed | Hobby & Student $10/month; Professional $22/month; Max $44/month, billed annually (per Sudowrite's pricing page as of 2026-10-17). The page's Monthly/Yearly switch says yearly billing is "up to 50% off", so monthly billing costs more; check the page for monthly prices. | Scribe $4; Hobbyist $8; Artisan $14; Specialist $20 (USD per month, billed monthly). Annual billing gives "2 months off". The page says prices are localized by region. |
| How AI is paid for | Monthly credits included. Hobby & Student lists 225,000 credits a month; Max lists 2,000,000. On Max, unused credits roll over for 12 months. | Bring your own key (BYOK) from Hobbyist up: you pay the AI provider you connect, at that provider's rates. NovelCrafter's help page shows example per-prompt costs by model. |
| Free trial | Free trial, no credit card. | 21 days with all features, no credit card. |
| Free plan | None listed. After cancelling you keep access to your projects but not the AI features. | None. After cancelling you keep read-only access and can export. |
| Discounts | Yearly billing discount as above. | Says it runs no sales or holiday promotions and offers no student discounts. |
Features that differ
Sudowrite
- Its own fiction models, called Muse and Ballad, plus "+30" other models listed on the pricing page. Its FAQ says it uses Claude models by Anthropic, OpenAI models and open-source models.
- Named tools for each stage: Brainstorm, Canvas (plot points, character secrets, twists), Story Bible (idea to outline to chapter beats to prose), Write, Describe, Expand, Feedback, and user-built Plugins.
- The Professional and Max plans add what Sudowrite calls developmental edits, line edits and beta reads.
- Its FAQ says Sudowrite claims no rights over what you write or what it generates for you, and does not use your writing to train its or OpenAI's models.
NovelCrafter
- The Codex: a story wiki for characters, places and lore that links entries automatically and can be shared across the books in a series.
- Unlimited books on every plan, with series support.
- From Hobbyist: AI scene summaries, character extraction and generating prose from scene beats. From Artisan: Workshop Chat. On Specialist: inviting collaborators and creating teams.
- You can pause a subscription, and upgrades are prorated.
Which costs more?
It depends on how much AI text you generate, and we can't predict that for you. With Sudowrite the monthly price is the whole bill until you run out of credits. With NovelCrafter the plan price is fixed, but your AI provider bills you per use; NovelCrafter's own example table (dated November 2024) shows a single sample prompt costing from a fraction of a cent to about 31 cents depending on the model. Light users may spend less with NovelCrafter. Heavy users should compare their likely usage against Sudowrite's credit allowances before choosing.
Who each suits
Sudowrite suits writers who want AI suggestions inside the draft with no setup and a predictable bill, and who like a tool tuned for fiction prose. It is a poorer fit if you want to use your own AI provider account or a local model, or want a plan with no AI features.
NovelCrafter suits planners who want a strong story bible, series tracking and control over which AI model they use, or none. It is a poorer fit if setting up an API key with a separate provider sounds like a chore.