# A Scrivener alternative that works in your browser > Compare Scrivener with Missa Docs and Google Docs on price, platforms and export, then move your Scrivener project into a free writing app in your browser. Canonical: https://www.usemissa.com/guides/scrivener-alternative Last updated: 2026-11-11 By Adedayo Agarau, Founder, Missa. ## Short answer Missa Docs is a free Scrivener alternative that runs in any browser, including on phones. It keeps chapters as separate documents with cards, an outline, a corkboard and book export to DOCX and EPUB. Zip your .scriv project to import it. Scrivener costs US$59.99 per desktop platform and has no web version. - Scrivener is a desktop and iOS app with a license per platform; it has no web version. - Missa Docs is free, runs in a browser and imports a zipped Scrivener project. - Neither Scrivener nor Missa Docs has AI writing. > [!NOTE] > 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. Prices change, so check again before you buy. Scrivener is a desktop writing app for long projects. It gives you a binder for chapters and scenes, a corkboard of index cards and a compile step that turns the whole project into a book. If you want those things in a browser, on more than one computer, or without paying per platform, here’s how the options compare. ## What Scrivener does well, and where writers look elsewhere Scrivener breaks a long project into small pieces you can move around. You write each scene in its own document, see them all in the binder, plan on index cards and compile the lot into one manuscript or ebook. Its [compile settings](https://www.literatureandlatte.com/blog/compiling-your-scrivener-project-the-basics) can produce Word, PDF, EPUB, Final Draft and Fountain files. It’s also a desktop app with a one-time license. On its [store page](https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store/scrivener/), Scrivener 3 costs US$59.99 for macOS, US$59.99 for Windows and US$23.99 for iPhone and iPad, and each license covers one platform. Its [overview](https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview) lists Mac, Windows and iOS versions, with no web, Android or Linux version. Writers usually look for an alternative for one of four reasons: - They write on a Chromebook, a borrowed laptop or a phone, and need a browser. - They switch between a Mac and a Windows machine and don’t want two licenses. - They want to share a draft with an editor or a writing group without sending files. - They find the compile settings hard and want export to be one step. ## Scrivener alternatives compared | Tool | Price | Where it runs | Binder and cards | Book export | AI writing | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Missa Docs | Free on every Missa plan | Any browser, including phones | Projects with nested documents, cards, an outline and a corkboard | DOCX, standard manuscript, EPUB, text and print | None | | Scrivener 3 | US$59.99 per desktop platform, US$23.99 for iOS | macOS, Windows, iOS | Binder, corkboard, outliner | Compile to DOCX, PDF, EPUB and more | None in Scrivener itself | | Google Docs | Free with a Google Account; Gemini needs a paid plan | Browser, plus phone apps | Headings and tabs, no cards | DOCX, PDF, EPUB | Gemini on eligible plans | Scrivener’s makers say [Scrivener contains no AI](https://www.literatureandlatte.com/blog/scrivener-and-ai-why-do-i-see-ai-prompts-in-my-scrivener-projects-on-mac). Any writing prompts you see on a Mac come from macOS. Missa Docs has no AI writing either, and its spelling, grammar and style checks run on your device. See [how Missa keeps your writing](https://www.usemissa.com/doc/promise). ## Move a Scrivener project into Missa Docs You don’t have to start again. Missa Docs reads a zipped Scrivener project and keeps its structure. 1. In Finder or File Explorer, find your `.scriv` project and make a zip of it. Keep the original where it is. 2. In Missa Docs, choose **Import** and drop the zip in. 3. Check what it found: each document in your binder becomes a tab, and each folder a tab with tabs inside it. Nothing is saved until you choose **Open project**. 4. Open the project and check a few chapters: the first, one in the middle and the last. Check your notes and cards came across. 5. Keep using Scrivener until you’re happy with the copy. ![Missa Docs importing a zipped Scrivener project called The Salt Road: the Import panel lists 6 documents from the binder and 1 from Research, then the project opens with Part One, Part Two and their chapters as tabs](/media/guides/scrivener-alternative/01-import-a-scrivener-project.webp "Import a zipped Scrivener project, check what it found, then choose Open project. Your binder comes in as tabs.") Missa Docs also opens Word files, PDFs and plain text, so a manuscript you already exported from Scrivener comes in too. A whole book in one Word file can be cut into chapters with **Split here**. ## Plan a novel in Missa Docs A Missa project works like a binder. Each chapter or scene is its own tab, and tabs can sit inside parts and folders three levels deep. You can read the whole book in one long view, find and replace across every chapter, and split or merge chapters as the draft changes. The Plan panel holds cards for characters, places and scenes, an outline and a corkboard you can drag cards around. Set a daily goal in words and see how far you got. ![The Corkboard in the Missa Docs Plan panel: a writer opens the card for Chapter 2, types a one-line synopsis, saves it and moves the card one place earlier](/media/guides/scrivener-alternative/02-plan-on-the-corkboard.webp "Open Plan, then Corkboard. Each chapter has a card with its synopsis, and the arrows move it.") When the draft is ready, open **Plan**, choose **Export**, keep **Whole manuscript** and choose **Export**. Add a title page, chapter titles and a print layout in a common trim size under **Options and preview**, then download it as DOCX, standard manuscript format or EPUB. ![The Export panel in Missa Docs for The Salt Road, with Download DOCX, Print / PDF, Download EPUB and Download text, and Options and preview open to show the title and print layout](/media/guides/scrivener-alternative/03-export-the-book.webp "Export the whole manuscript in binder order. Research and planning notes stay out of it.") You can also download everything at any time as one ZIP, with each document as DOCX and plain text. ## When to stay with Scrivener Stay with Scrivener if you already know its compile settings and mostly write on one computer. You can work there without an internet connection, and you’ve already paid for it. If you only want a backup or a way to share chapters, export from Scrivener and keep your project as the master copy. Try Missa Docs if you want the binder and cards in a browser, on any device, at no cost. Bring one project across, write in it for a week, and decide then. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is there a free alternative to Scrivener? Yes. Missa Docs is free on every Missa plan and runs in a browser. It has projects with nested documents, cards, an outline, a corkboard and book export to DOCX and EPUB. ### Is there a web version of Scrivener? No. Scrivener’s own pages list macOS, Windows and iOS versions only. To work in a browser, use a web tool such as Missa Docs or Google Docs. ### Can I import my Scrivener project into Missa Docs? Yes. Zip your `.scriv` project and import the zip. Missa shows what it found before it saves anything, and your original project stays untouched. ### Does Missa Docs use AI on my writing? No. Missa Docs has no AI writing, and its checks run on your device. Read aloud is the one exception you choose: it sends the passage you play to a speech service. ## Related - [A Google Docs alternative made for writers](https://www.usemissa.com/guides/google-docs-alternative-for-writers) - [A free Final Draft alternative for screenwriters](https://www.usemissa.com/guides/free-final-draft-alternative) - [How to keep a submission tracker and find literary magazines](https://www.usemissa.com/guides/submission-tracker)