Missa publishes this guide, and Missa Docs is one of the tools in it. We checked each price on the maker’s own page on 11 November 2026. Final Draft was running a sale that week, so we give its usual prices too.
Final Draft is a desktop screenwriting app, and many producers and contests ask for its .fdx file. It isn’t cheap, and it only runs on a Mac or a Windows computer. If you want industry-standard script formatting for free, in a browser, here’s what to check and how the options compare.
What a script needs from any screenwriting app
A script reader cares about the page, not the app. Whatever you write in, check that it can do these five things:
- Format scene headings, action, character names, dialogue, parentheticals and transitions as you type, in 12-point Courier.
- Give you a Final Draft file (
.fdx) and a PDF, because that’s what producers, contests and coverage services ask for. - Open the scripts you already have, from Final Draft, Fountain or another app.
- Keep scene numbers and revisions straight once a script goes into production.
- Let you plan scenes and beats away from the page.
Final Draft alternatives compared
| Tool | Price | Where it runs | Opens | Saves as | AI writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missa Docs | PriceFree on every Missa plan | Where it runsAny browser, including phones | OpensFinal Draft, Fountain, Fade In, Highland, Celtx, PDF, Word, text | Saves asFinal Draft (.fdx), Fountain, PDF through print | AI writingNone |
| Final Draft 13 | PriceUS$249.99 one-time (on sale for US$199.99), or the Suite from US$99.99 a year | Where it runsmacOS 12+ and Windows 11+ | OpensPDF, text, RTF, Final Draft files | Saves as.fdx, PDF, RTF, text and more | AI writingNone |
| Google Docs | PriceFree with a Google Account | Where it runsBrowser, plus phone apps | OpensWord, PDF | Saves asWord, PDF, EPUB | AI writingGemini on paid plans |
Final Draft’s product page lists Final Draft 13 for Mac and Windows and says it isn’t available on Chromebook. Its help center says Final Draft can’t open Fountain files. It also says Final Draft doesn’t use your screenplay for AI.
Google Docs has no screenplay format of its own. Writers who use it add a formatter from the Workspace Marketplace, and the result is usually a Word file, not an .fdx.
Write a screenplay in Missa Docs
Open New document and choose Screenplay, or another script format. Missa Docs sets the page in Courier Prime at 12 points, with standard margins, and moves you to the next element as you type: Enter after a scene heading gives you action, Tab gives you a character name, and Enter after a character name gives you dialogue.
It has nine script formats:
- Feature screenplay
- TV, single-camera and multi-camera
- Animation
- Stage play, US and UK layouts
- Audio drama
- Comic script
- Two-column script, with picture and sound side by side
The Plan panel holds a card for every scene, so you can reorder scenes away from the page.
Cast and Places list every character and location with their scenes. Once a script is locked, Revisions keeps scene numbers like 12A, marks changed lines with stars and lets you print sides for a day’s shoot.
Read aloud plays the script with a different voice for each character. It’s the one feature that sends text out of your browser, and only when you press play.
Move your scripts out of Final Draft
You can keep every script you wrote in Final Draft.
- In Missa Docs, choose Import.
- Drop in a
.fdxfile. Fountain, Fade In, Highland, Celtx and PDF scripts come in the same way. - Check the first pages: scene headings, a dual-dialogue scene and the title page.
- When you send the script out, open the More menu (⋯), choose Export…, then Download Final Draft for an
.fdx, or Print / PDF.
Scene numbers, revision marks and dual dialogue go back out to Final Draft with the file. Keep your original .fdx until you’ve checked a round trip.
When Final Draft is still the right choice
Buy Final Draft if your show or studio asks for it by name. Some productions want the whole writers’ room in the same app, and some scheduling tools read Final Draft’s own formats. If you only need to hand in an .fdx and a PDF, a free app that writes both covers you.
Whatever you use, send a PDF unless someone asks for another format. A PDF looks the same on every computer.
Calls closing soon
Questions people ask
Yes. Missa Docs writes screenplays in standard format for free, in a browser. It opens and saves Final Draft (.fdx) files, so you can send a producer the file they ask for.
Yes. Import the .fdx into Missa Docs. Scene numbers, dual dialogue and the title page come with it.
Yes. It runs in any modern browser. On a phone, the script elements sit in a row above the keyboard.
Contests judge the PDF, not the app. Check the contest’s own rules for page count and format, then send a PDF in standard screenplay format.
Check the fee and deadline on the organizer’s page before you pay or apply.
- product page · finaldraft.com
- can’t open Fountain files · kb.finaldraft.com
- doesn’t use your screenplay for AI · kb.finaldraft.com
Tell us if anything in this guide has changed.