# Scrivener

7 Hacker News commenters recommended Scrivener and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Novelists and writers use it to organize long manuscripts with folders, headings and a cork board. Some find the interface too complicated.

## Why people recommend it

- Built for writing novels and prose (4 comments): "I write novels, and Scrivener works better for me than iA writer." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47043842)) "For novels, I find something like Scrivener essential." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45860696)) "an app specifically designed for writing prose" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47035850))
- Folders, headings and cork board organization (3 comments): "I appreciate Scrivener's bells and whistles but I find I never need more than documents, folders, and headings" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47037592)) "The cork board function lets you re-arrange text and media to your hearts content" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48253185)) "It is great at taking down words and organizing research." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48700364))

## What people warn about

- Interface and features feel complicated (2 comments): "I appreciate Scrivener's bells and whistles but I find I never need more than documents, folders, and headings" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47037592)) "Its UI is too complicated for my taste." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47263090))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Google Docs](https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-docs.md): 144 recommend
- [Microsoft Word](https://hackerapproved.com/p/microsoft-word.md): 129 recommend
- [Apple Pages](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pages.md): 39 recommend
- [WordPerfect](https://hackerapproved.com/p/wordperfect.md): 36 recommend
- [LibreOffice Writer](https://hackerapproved.com/p/libreoffice-writer.md): 28 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Scrivener", https://hackerapproved.com/p/scrivener/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).