NovelCrafter pricing has four plans: Scribe at $4 a month, Hobbyist at $8, Artisan at $14 and Specialist at $20. Paying yearly costs $40, $80, $140 and $200, which is two months free. Every plan starts with a 21-day free trial, and none includes AI usage.
Every figure below comes from NovelCrafter’s official pricing page, checked on 6 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars, and the page shows localized prices (with tax) in some countries, so confirm there before you buy.
In this breakdown, you’ll get:
- Every plan with monthly and annual prices side by side
- Which plan you actually need to use AI at all
- The AI provider bill that sits on top of the subscription
- An honest section on where NovelCrafter beats Chapter, and where it doesn’t
Here are the plans.
How Much Does NovelCrafter Cost per Month?
NovelCrafter costs $4, $8, $14 or $20 per month in USD. Annual billing drops those to $40, $80, $140 and $200 a year, the “2 Months off” deal on the pricing page. That works out to roughly $3.33, $6.67, $11.67 and $16.67 a month.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | AI features | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scribe | $4 | $40/yr | None | Writing and planning only |
| Hobbyist | $8 | $80/yr | Bring your own key | Drafting with AI |
| Artisan | $14 | $140/yr | BYOK plus Workshop Chat | AI brainstorming |
| Specialist | $20 | $200/yr | Everything | Co-writing and teams |
The page marks Artisan as “Most popular.” Every plan includes unlimited books, series and the Codex story bible.
A note on how we got the annual figures. The page renders them in your local currency, and ours showed Canadian dollars. The USD amounts above come from the same pricing request the page makes to its payment processor, with the country set to the US.
What Does Each NovelCrafter Plan Include?
Each tier adds one layer to the one below it. The jump that matters most is Scribe to Hobbyist, because Scribe has no AI at all.
Scribe ($4/mo) gives you the editor, unlimited books, series, the Codex and basic review tools. It’s a cheap, focused novel-writing app. If you want AI, it’s the wrong plan.
Hobbyist ($8/mo) adds bring-your-own-key AI. That unlocks AI scene summarization, character extraction and generating prose from scene beats. It also adds live chat support.
Artisan ($14/mo) adds Workshop Chat, where you talk to the AI about your story with your Codex as context. The page lists advanced review features here, though its comparison table marks them as “planned.”
Specialist ($20/mo) adds collaborative writing: you can invite people into your novels and series, and create and manage teams. It also gets priority support.
Our NovelCrafter review covers how the Codex and scene beats work in practice.
Does NovelCrafter Have a Free Plan or Free Trial?
NovelCrafter has no free plan, but it offers a 21-day free trial with all features unlocked and no credit card required. If you continue, you’re billed the monthly or yearly price you chose when the trial ends.
One useful detail: collaborators who only need to view your book can use a free account. Anyone who adds or edits content needs their own paid plan, because NovelCrafter doesn’t sell team-based pricing.
The FAQ also states there are no discounts at all. That means no student or educator pricing, no purchasing-power adjustments and no Black Friday sales. The price you see is the price.
What Does “Bring Your Own Key” Cost You?
NovelCrafter’s subscription does not include any AI usage. On Hobbyist and above, you connect your own account with an AI provider and pay that provider separately for every request.
The AI connections documentation walks you through linking providers. You can connect OpenAI directly, and NovelCrafter recommends OpenRouter for Claude and many other models.
We can’t give you a reliable per-book figure for this bill. It depends on which model you pick, how much prose you generate, and how much Codex context each request sends. Check your provider’s live per-token rates, and set a spending limit when you connect (OpenRouter lets you set a credit limit during setup).
So budget two lines: the NovelCrafter plan, plus a variable AI bill that only you can estimate.
What Does It Really Cost to Write a Novel With NovelCrafter?
The real cost depends on how long your book takes, because a subscription bills for time, not finished pages. The table below shows subscription costs only, using the 6 October 2026 prices. Your AI provider bill comes on top.
| Scenario | NovelCrafter (plan only) | Chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Try it before paying | $0 (21-day trial) | $97, 30-day money-back guarantee |
| One novel in 6 months, Hobbyist monthly | $48 + AI fees | $97 (includes a second book) |
| One year on Hobbyist annual | $80 + AI fees | $97 |
| One year on Artisan annual | $140 + AI fees | $97 |
| Two years on Artisan monthly | $336 + AI fees | $97 |
| Two years on Specialist annual | $400 + AI fees | $97 |
If you finish fast, NovelCrafter is clearly cheaper. Most first novels aren’t fast, though. Our guide to how long it takes to write a book shows drafts often stretch across many months.
You can pause a NovelCrafter subscription without being charged, which softens that. If you cancel, you keep read-only access to your data but can’t add or edit anything.
For a wider view of the category, see what AI book writing software costs in general, plus Sudowrite’s pricing and NovelAI’s pricing for comparison.
Where NovelCrafter Beats Chapter
We build Chapter, so read this with that in mind. Here is where NovelCrafter genuinely wins.
1. You can try it free. You can’t try Chapter free. Chapter has no free tier and no free trial. NovelCrafter gives you 21 days with everything unlocked and no card on file.
2. The entry price is far lower. Scribe at $4 a month, or Hobbyist at $80 a year, costs less than Chapter’s $97. If you write mostly yourself and use AI lightly, NovelCrafter is the cheaper tool.
3. Unlimited books. Every NovelCrafter plan includes unlimited books. Chapter’s $97 covers two. If you’re writing a long series, that matters.
4. You choose the model. Bring-your-own-key means you can pick any model your provider offers and switch whenever you like. Chapter makes that choice for you.
5. The Codex suits sprawling series. NovelCrafter’s story bible, series and planned universes are built for writers managing big worlds across many books. If you love hands-on worldbuilding, it’s a genuine strength.
6. Real collaboration. Specialist lets you co-write and run a team. Chapter isn’t built for multi-author projects.
If those points describe you, NovelCrafter is a good choice. Our NovelCrafter alternatives roundup covers similar tools.
Why Chapter Is Still Our Pick for Most Authors
Our Pick — Chapter
Chapter writes your complete book, fiction or nonfiction, from a structure planned before any prose is generated. You pay $97 once, and that covers two books. There’s no subscription, no API key to set up, you keep 100% of the rights, and there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Best for: authors who want a finished manuscript rather than a toolkit they direct scene by scene Pricing: $97 one time, 2 books included (fiction or nonfiction), 30-day money-back guarantee Why we built it: books take longer than anyone plans, and we didn’t want authors paying rent, plus a token bill, on a draft that stalled.
Here’s why it earns the top spot for most readers of this post:
- One bill, known up front. NovelCrafter’s real cost is the plan plus an AI bill you can’t predict. Chapter’s is $97.
- No technical setup. You don’t need to understand API keys, models or token pricing.
- A clear refund window. NovelCrafter’s pricing page doesn’t describe a refund policy. Chapter gives you 30 days.
- Full drafts, not beat-by-beat prompting. NovelCrafter generates prose from beats you write. Chapter drafts the whole book from its plan.
- Fiction and nonfiction. NovelCrafter is built for novels. Chapter covers both.
More than 2,147 authors have used Chapter to create over 5,000 books, and it’s been featured in USA Today and the New York Times. Our Chapter review covers what it does and doesn’t do well, and Chapter’s pricing explained breaks down the $97.
See the plans for fiction and nonfiction on chapter.pub.
Can You Sell Books Written With NovelCrafter?
Yes. Your book is yours to publish, whichever tool you use. Two outside rules still apply.
Amazon’s KDP content guidelines require you to disclose AI-generated text, images or translations. And the US Copyright Office’s AI guidance says purely AI-generated material isn’t copyrightable, so your own writing and edits matter.
Comparing tools head to head? Read Sudowrite vs NovelCrafter, NovelCrafter vs NovelAI, or our list of the best AI novel writing tools.
FAQ
How much does NovelCrafter cost?
NovelCrafter costs $4 a month for Scribe, $8 for Hobbyist, $14 for Artisan and $20 for Specialist, as of 6 October 2026. Annual billing costs $40, $80, $140 or $200 a year. AI usage is billed separately by your own AI provider.
Is NovelCrafter free?
NovelCrafter is not free. It has no free plan, but it offers a 21-day free trial with all features unlocked and no credit card required. Viewers invited to someone else’s book can use a free account; editing requires a paid plan.
Does NovelCrafter include AI?
NovelCrafter does not include AI usage in any plan. From Hobbyist upward you bring your own key, connecting a provider such as OpenAI or OpenRouter and paying it per request. The Scribe plan has no AI features at all.
Which NovelCrafter plan should I choose?
Choose Hobbyist if you want AI drafting from scene beats at the lowest price. Choose Artisan if you want Workshop Chat for brainstorming with your story as context. Choose Specialist only if you co-write or manage a team.
Is NovelCrafter cheaper than Chapter?
NovelCrafter is cheaper if you write mostly yourself, use AI lightly, or finish quickly. Chapter is cheaper over longer timelines with heavy AI drafting: $97 once for two books, versus $280 for two years of Artisan annual before any AI provider fees.
