Comparisons, checked 17 October 2026

Onwarder vs Dabble

Q: What does Onwarder cost?

Writing is free. Cloud fixed prices: £8 a month or £79 a year in pounds sterling; €9 a month or €89 a year in euros; $10 a month or $99 a year in US dollars. Checkout confirms the currency.

A novel-writing app with a plot grid, story notes and goals, and co-authoring and editor review on its higher plans. It describes itself as AI-free.Source [1]Source [13]Source [15]

Dabble is a paid subscription with collaboration; Onwarder is free for writing and adds a continuity check and the ebook and paperback files.Source [1]Source [15]

Side by side.

Onwarder and Dabble, question by question
	Onwarder	Dabble
Price	Free for good, with no account. Cloud is $10 a month or $99 a year.	Writer $19, Author $29 and Bestseller $49 a month, or $699 once for lifetime Author access. A 14-day free trial.Source [1]
Runs on	On the web, Mac, Windows and Linux, with iPhone in beta, and Android coming.	Mac, Windows and Linux apps, and the browser; on phones it installs from the browser.Source [4]Source [5]Source [6]
Writing with no connection	Books kept on your device open and save with no connection in the desktop and phone apps.	Edits save on the device first and go up when you reconnect.Source [7]
Story bible linked to the book	Characters, places, factions and items, a click from the page.	Character profiles and story notes, linked from scenes with mentions.Source [9]Source [10]
Checks the book against your notes	Built in, no AI: warns when a dead character acts or a lost item turns up again.	No check of the manuscript against recorded facts found.Source [13]
Ebook and paperback files	EPUB, Word, Markdown and PDF, and paperback interiors at three trim sizes.	Word and Markdown export; PDF by printing from the browser. No ebook or print interior builder.Source [11]Source [16]
AI, and training on your writing	Optional and off for every book. Bring your own. Never used to train AI.	Dabble describes itself as AI-free and says content is not used to train generative AI models.Source [13]Source [14]
Getting your work out	Every book exports whole, at any time, on any plan.	Export a project or your whole local library; after a plan ends, work stays readable and exportable.Source [12]Source [1]

Where Dabble is better

Co-authoring, comments and tracked changes with editors and beta readers on its higher plans.Source [1]Source [15]
A plot grid with plot lines alongside the manuscript.Source [1]Source [15]
Optional author courses and workshops on the Bestseller plan.Source [1]Source [15]

Choose Dabble if

You co-write, or an editor reviews your draft inside the app.Source [1]Source [15]
You want a plot grid and story notes beside your draft and are happy to pay monthly.Source [1]Source [15]

Choose Onwarder if

You want the story bible, recorded story events and a continuity check beside the manuscript, with no AI needed.
You want everything for writing free, on any computer or phone, with no account and no time limit.
You want the ebook and the paperback interior from the same place you wrote the book.

Try it with one chapter, free

Questions.

Can I move my book from Dabble?

Export it as a Word document and import that into Onwarder; it keeps chapters, headings, bold and italics. Start with a copy of one chapter, and keep your original until you are happy. We do not promise to carry over every other tool's notes, links or formatting.

Do I need AI to use Onwarder?

No. Writing, planning, the continuity check and Finishing all work without AI. If you connect your own AI, it is off for every book until you allow it, and Onwarder never uses your writing to train AI.

What does Onwarder cost?

Free for good, with no account. Cloud is $10 a month or $99 a year.

Sources, all opened 17 October 2026

Competitor prices are as shown on the linked pages, in US dollars where stated, before tax. Product names identify the tools compared and do not imply endorsement.

Product names are trademarks of their owners. Facts are from each maker's own pages, checked on the date shown. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.