--- title: "Plottr Reviews, Pros and Cons - 2026 Software Advice" description: "Reviews of Plottr. Learn how real users rate this software's ease-of-use, functionality, overall quality and customer support. Talk to our advisors to see if Plottr is a good fit for you!" source_url: "https://www.softwareadvice.com/note-taking/plottr-profile/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" --- [Home](https://www.softwareadvice.com/) / [Screenwriting Software](https://www.softwareadvice.com/screenwriting/) / [Plottr](https://www.softwareadvice.com/note-taking/plottr-profile/) / Plottr Reviews Software Advice offers objective insights based on verified user reviews and independent product and market research. When our advisors match you to a software provider, we may earn a referral fee. [Overview](https://www.softwareadvice.com/note-taking/plottr-profile/) Reviews [Alternatives](https://www.softwareadvice.com/note-taking/plottr-profile/alternatives/) # Plottr User Reviews ## Reviews summary - Overall rating: 4.8/5 - Total reviews: 237 ### Secondary ratings - Ease of use: 4.7/5 - Customer support: 4.9/5 - Value for money: 4.9/5 - Functionality: 4.8/5 ### Rating distribution - 5 stars: 210 reviews (89%) - 4 stars: 22 reviews (9%) - 3 stars: 2 reviews (1%) - 2 stars: 0 reviews (0%) - 1 star: 3 reviews (1%) ### Most mentioned pros - I would like a feature where I can use one template's answers to build on the next, such as Snowflake Pro's ability to display my Step 1 tagline for Step 2's expanding it to multiple sentences, etc. - There are several ways you can organize the cards on the timeline which I really appreciate. - Compared to other plotting programs, Plottr can be used immediately without hours of instruction. ### Most mentioned cons - Sometimes they contact me before I even realize there might be a problem! - Plottr needs to fix the "undo" feature for the desktop version and improve that cut and paste feature as well. Whenever I try to cut and paste larger sections there can be delays. - Not being able to take a book out of a series and list it individually is a problem for me, but like with all new software, these things can be added as it develops, and tech support listens. ## Plottr customer reviews Showing reviews 1-25 of 237 (page 1). ### This is one of the best programs for writers - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Sandra Alicia M. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: January 2023 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros It is a program that I have been using daily for a couple of years, and I am delighted with it. It has changed my way of writing and dealing with stories. Furthermore, it is used to organize writing before, during and after writing. Generally, I always use it before I start to write the first draft of the story. It helps me to draw both the outline of this, divided into chapters, and the characteristics and biography of the characters. In addition, it also has a section for places and another for notes. The timeline is great, as you can see the fundamental aspects of the story on little cards. These can be moved around. Inside each card, you can put notes, which I always do. Another aspect that I love is the use of colors and formatting to personalize the cards. In addition, during the notes, you can use tags that serve to better organize the stories. For example, you can associate characters with a scene or with places, which is very useful. The program also has templates with the most common structures for creating stories. In addition, it is translated into other languages. I use it to write in Spanish, and it works great for me that the directions are in my language. As I said before, I use it daily along with Scrivener, and I work using both at the same time. #### Cons Since I've been using it, I haven't seen many problems. The only thing, perhaps, is that lately the possibility of ordering the notes temporarily has not worked for me, something that I used to use very frequently to see the last ones that I have written. I guess it will be a small bug that will be fixed in another version, since it didn't happen to me before. --- ### Plottr is a game changer for me - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Daisy A. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: August 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. From the first moment I opened Plottr the first time, I knew it would be a must have tool for me. As a plantser, I can get bogged down by details and not be able to visualise them into a story as a whole. The Plottr interface gives you that perfect snapshot to see your whole story laid out, and it's so much more useful than post its because you can edit and move everything around so easily. I recommend Plottr to all my author friends. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros Plottr gives me a very comprehensive but efficient way to check my outlines/plots for weak points and plot holes. The visual aspect is so pleasant and the features give me so much flexibility to tailor to my own needs. #### Cons I wish there was more integration with other softwares, but I think with the regular updates, they will be coming soon. #### Reasons for switching to Plottr While Scrivener has many features, I feel like it might have TOO many and is very hard to learn to use. --- ### DO NOT BUY for multiple install on different PC or Android app - Overall rating: 1/5 - Reviewer: Pete A. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used daily for less than 6 months - Reviewed: March 2023 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered They sell a multi license pack and charge one license for each install regardless of platform. The app for android does not work properly always losing data between saves. Also on the initial import from a copy you have saved somewhere else, only half the data is imported. Additionally, if you install on 3 PCs for example, you can open the original file from a shared location, but when it saves after you have made changes, it saves locally, rather than to the place you opened it from. This leads to out of sync conditions when you then go back to a different PC and try to open it...its the old version! Making it worse is that when it performs it's "backup" to the shared location, literally, it misses half the info you entered so its not really a backup. Overall, its pretty terrible and useless if you expect to use it without if losing your content continuously. My guess is that it works fine for a single install, but for multiple installs for yourself or to deploy to say a collaborator, it simply does not work. Their CS is nice, but are helpless as its the programming that is bad. OneNote, while not as cool, does a way better job and with 100% reliability. DO NOT BUY if you want multiple installations to work from different computer. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 2/5 - Value for money: 1/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 3/5 #### Pros It looks cool and if it worked would be very useful. Nice simple UI and good features but could use some refinements. #### Cons It's unreliable and you will not be happy when you lose a full days work or worse. Plus the Backup can not be counted on as backup if used to a shared repository like OneDrive #### Reasons for switching to Plottr It works must more reliably --- ### Plotter is a must for any writer, regardless of your a planner or a pantser! - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Jules H. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: 2-10 employees - Product usage: Used daily for less than 2 years - Reviewed: January 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. It's always been easy to use Plottr and I have to say their customer service response is not only almost immediate, they are knowledgeable, friendly and always follow up! #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros Every aspect of Plottr is either critical or important to us. So I would have to say that the most important thing for me is that it exists! #### Cons I would like to be able to write my manuscript in Plottr they way I can work in Google docs or Word as I feel the people behind Plottr would create a much better product, than the aforementioned programs. #### Reasons for choosing Plottr Best deal for the money, but mostly the fact that it's so easy to use --- ### The exact tool I was looking for - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Taralyn K. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Marketing and Advertising - Company size: 11-50 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for less than 6 months - Reviewed: January 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. I am thrilled. More than worth the money and fills every requirement I was looking for and then some. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros My writing involves plots with a LOT of background, timelines, multiple POVs etc so I have spent years in organization and planning mode. It’s especially difficult because I have ADHD so mind is ping-ponging around ideas constantly. I have to write them down but organizing them and putting them in order later is a nightmare. I literally went on to Google thinking there has to be a tool that is essentially a conspiracy board meets whiteboard made into an editable dashboard. Viola Plottr came up and as soon as I saw that drag and drop timeline set up I nearly cried. This is exactly what I have been looking for and has made me 100x more efficient. I also love that there is so much room to get creative - notes and imagery and colour coding characters, locations, etc. and all for an unbelievably affordable price. It’s also very user friendly. I did skim through the user guides but honestly I didn’t need them. Play around for 10 mins and it’s straightforward. Seriously just skip the free trial and buy it - can’t go wrong. #### Cons Haven’t really found any limitations! I get a bit distracted by all the fun features but frankly that’s because they’re so great - not even a con! #### Reasons for switching to Plottr Scrivener is fantastic for the actual writing part of my stories but it lacks the more visual layout/dashboard element I needed to most effectively plan. --- ### I recommend Plottr to all my author friends - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Mollie G. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used weekly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: September 2024 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros The ability to visually lay out my plot has been incredibly helpful. With drag and drop functionality, I can move things around easily. Built-in templates help prompt ideas for scenes and characters. I love the tagging feature that allows me at a click to see if I have spread minor characters or subplots evenly across my story. I switched from using Scrivener to using Plottr for my series bible for characters and places, because I prefer the way it is set up. For some stories I have plotted by chapter, in others by scene. Plottr allows me this flexibility. Plottr is constantly being updated and the developers are responsive to user feedback. There is a Facebook community group for asking questions, as well as a lot of training available on YouTube. #### Cons Plottr has a bit of a learning curve because it has so many features. #### Reasons for switching to Plottr I still use Scrivener for writing text but for plot, character, and locations management, I find Plottr better due to its visual layout, as well as the ability to have one spot to maintain a series bible of characters and places. --- ### A Great Strategic View of Work Being Created or Analyzed - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: John B. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Publishing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used monthly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: February 2023 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered I have been with Plottr since close to the beginning, so seeing the functionality grow and improve and seeing the response of the business team to user needs, wants, and help requirements has been invigorating. Coming from a background of Business IT Systems development, the dynamic of the Plottr team and the users has been refreshing. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros Creating a structure of horizontal Acts and Chapters and vertical scenes gives a clear view of the timelines and throughlines being developed. Using the Small version of the timeline and the roll-over scene card view offers a solid overview of any work you are writing. #### Cons As with any tool, from wood shop to garden to writing, I use the functions I want for the functionality I need, so I don't feel held back by any functions I don't want to implement. #### Reasons for switching to Plottr The left-to-right timeline structure with the vertical depth creates a very full strategic view of the work I am developing. --- ### Best program for plotting! - Overall rating: 4/5 - Reviewer: Sara T. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Fine Art - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used monthly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: May 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. I occasionally use it for children's books but mostly hobby writing between work. It's great for both and helps me keep organized. I've tried other similar programs in the past, but Plottr is the easiest and most thorough plotting program that I have used to date. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros How easy it is to organize books, characters, and settings. It's perfect for working out my ideas and making sure each character is well fleshed out. #### Cons The inability to change the font throughout the interface. I don't really like the default font as I find it hard to read. It would be nice if they used something more standard like Helvetica or gave us the option to change the program's font style. #### Reasons for switching to Plottr Scrivener is fantastic but I found the learning curve confusing and much preferred the intuitiveness of Plottr after a free trial. --- ### I recommend this to literally everyone - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Greer R. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: 2-10 employees - Product usage: Used daily for less than 2 years - Reviewed: November 2022 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. I am loving plottr and I will never go back. I recommend it to literally everyone and it was amazing to use for my six-book series instead of my 142 page google doc. The price is outstanding for what it offers. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros Love the character feature and the timeline features #### Cons It has been buggy in the past but the customer service is the best I've ever encountered. I would like the option of putting things off the timeline, like just out in the open on the backboard if that makes sense, because it's a floating idea #### Reasons for switching to Plottr I loved the outline feature and being able to organize characters --- ### Plottr Up My Writing Game - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Amanda R. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used daily for less than 2 years - Reviewed: May 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. When I have had issues with the software or my account the customer server has been over the top wonderful. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros The timeline is very visual which really helps me see the bigger picture of my written works. The templates really helped with my pacing. I love that I can add photos to my character and locations it helps me to find information quickly. #### Cons I struggled a lot with the version that was downloaded on my computer. I would loss my data and have to pull from my back up monthly. That is much better now with Plottr Pro it is all on line. #### Reasons for switching to Plottr I found the form had to use and not very visual --- ### The PLOTTR Thickens - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Oliver W. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: May 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. You can create a series bible look at the scenes (or beats) and see where you need to speed and slow down. You can see where you need to add a new scene and where I can delete one You add details with each new draft. PLOTTR is amazing. It has drawers (what else should I call them?) for characters with photos, locations, themes, tags, attributes. And multiple ways of viewing a story. You can view a story by Project, Timeline, Outline, left to right or up and down. Characters, scenes, locations are color coded (if desired) and filtered. When I am finished with a PLOTTR Outline, I render it in SCRIVENER. Yes, PLOTTR outputs in both WORD and SCRIVENER. Once my FINAL PLOTTR outline appears in SCRIVENER, I take three or four days to write the final. I go to the past tense. Finally, I write the dialogue. It's the final touch. It’s the cherry, peanuts, bananas and hot butterscotch on the sundae. For weeks I held myself back from writing the dialogue. When I do it flows like warm honey. It’s short, colorful and concise. If I was writing a sitcom or a play (which are pure literary genres) I would do nothing but write dialogue. But for audio fiction told in the third-person limited a distinct set of writing tools is needed. I love PLOTTR. Try the PLOTTR 30-day free offer and see for yourself. I am one happy OUTLINER. Oliver WarmflashWriter Producer THE MYSTERIOUS WORLD OF BUSTER LEE [sensitive content hidden] #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros During the first C-19 lockdown I discovered writer [sensitive content hidden] spends a year and a half outlining his books. The outlines run an average of 65 pages. Follet sold 200 million books. I’ve read and adored a few of them. During the second C-19 lockdown I wrote a Young Adult Fiction Podcast series set in 1980 New York. Modeled on The Hardy Boys, Tintin and Nancy Drew books of my childhood I wrote fifteen 30-minute plus episodes. Called THE MYSTERIOUS WORLD OF BUSTER LEE, the series follows the adventures of a teenage boy (Buster Lee) and his dog (Beck) an Australian Heeler. I use Scrivener and it’s fantastic. I love it. I couldn’t live without it. But it's outlining program (the cork board) was not what I needed. For two months I researched and tried every outlining program available and settled on PLOTTR. Because I needed a custom Three Act audio story template, with a continuous cast, PLOTTR was perfect.Building the template took me two weeks. But it was two weeks well spent. Tech Support at PLOTTR was helpful. As noted, I am on OUTLINE writer. With PLOTTR I write an average of 75 drafts of an outline. Iteration after iteration PLOTTR allows me to layer the details of a story like nobody’s business. Each half-hour show takes between seven and ten days to break.There is no dialogue and everything (true to STEP OUTLINE technique) happens in the present tense. #### Cons Time in setting up my template but that is time well spent. --- ### Plottr: A Tool For All Seasons (and Series) - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Jim L. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: 2-10 employees - Product usage: Used weekly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: October 2022 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. I've used it to create visual plots of several stories I already had, then sent those to my editor for a quick reference. I've used it to create some new stories. It's been most useful in the first area, simply as a great communication bridge between me and my editor. I plan to use it for more up front plotting of stories as I get to that stage, but I happen to be in a position where I have lots of existing stories I need to finish or polish and this gives me a tool to direct my efforts to where they need work. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros Plottr allows you to graphically map out your stories in a flexible and intuitive way. The fundamental function of having scenes built at the intersections of chapters (or sections) and storylines fits perfectly with people's understanding of a story. Things happen in order and are about certain things. Plottr maps to that same understanding. Once your story is in, you can easy change it, expand it, or simply use it as a map for your writing. The other information you can add (notes, characters, settings, etc) makes it a great place to consolidate all your story information. And now you can consolidate all the books in a series into a single file, creating a great story bible even as you use it to create your story in the first place. You get at least three benefits: Outlining your story, having a reference while writing your story, and having a compact store of information to look back on when outlining and writing your next story. #### Cons One problem I encountered was a lack of hot keys. When creating a plot from an existing book or from notes in some other format, I want to be able to go as quickly as possible, hands on the keyboard and jumping from item to item. Many of the features are oriented around the mouse and don't have an option for a hotkey. So I create a scene, type in the information, then grab the mouse to choose where the next scene I'll enter is. I'd rather type in the information, then hit a hotkey which takes me to the next node and opens a scene for me to type. Or when applying a new batch of tags I just came up with. I want to be able to move through the scenes quickly and apply my new tags without opening and closing the scenes. This is definitely an advanced feature that will come in later as other more fundamental features are finished. --- ### A easy-to-use plotting tool with a growing feature set - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Lance C. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used weekly for less than 2 years - Reviewed: December 2022 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros I've tried a number of plotting tools and workarounds. They usually ended up either (a) being too complicated for their own good, (b) too expensive for what I need them to do, or (c) too kludgy to be useful. Plottr started with a simple mission -- manage the process of plotting using scene cards -- and still focuses on making that easy for authors, even as it gains new capabilities.I learned to use Plottr by simply using it; the basic functionality is that straightforward. I've planned my past two novels with Plottr and expect to keep using it in the future. I'll eventually try the newer functions and keep using the ones that work for me. But nothing forces a user to deal with functions s/he doesn't want to use, unlike some competing products.The developers are very accessible and seem to listen to customer requests. The company also hosts a template exchange. If you want to switch from Save the Cat to The Virgin's Promise, those templates probably already exist and you can get to them easily. #### Cons There's still no global search-and-replace function, and I'm still waiting for a proper calendar template or timeline structure (I use calendars to make sure time passes correctly in my plots). Other than that, all is good. --- ### Super tool for plotting novels and creating story bibles - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Karin W. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Publishing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: May 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. On the rare occasion when I've run into technical issues, the Plottr support staff have been extremely responsive and helpful. They also allow users to suggest new features, many of which are then implemented. The team maintains a series of "how to" videos. These are updated to demo each major new feature. One huge plus for me is the ability to create a main series project (and use that as a story bible), with sub-projects for the individual books in the series. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros I love the flexibility of this tool for outlining my novels and creating and maintaining story bibles within a series. The flowchart-like Timeline feature lets you keep track of multiple plotlines and story arcs, both on a series level and within individual books. The beauty of this tool is that once you've fleshed out your outline, you can export it to Microsoft Word or Scrivener, and immediately start writing! And using the Series features means that it's easy to come back up to speed on characters, etc. if you take a break between books in that series. I bought a lifetime license three years ago, and currently use Plottr as the starting point for all my novels and novellas. #### Cons I initially had a few issues with Export to Word, and some feature suggestions for those of us who write linked books in a series. The support team quickly got a patch release out for the Word issue, and I haven't had any issues since. Also, my most-needed features have since been added to the product. On the whole, it's one of the most useful tools in my author toolbox. #### Reasons for choosing Plottr Some other authors recommended it, so I watched a demo video on YouTube and I was sold! --- ### Plottr helps you worldbuild! - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Gabrielle A. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Arts and Crafts - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used daily for less than 12 months - Reviewed: January 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. Plottr makes my story writing process go significantly faster. Plottr also offers an abundance of webinars free to its users that helps you learn while you write! It makes my creative process almost worry free when I try to consider the tiniest details of my story. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros I like the ability to arrange your story and use multiple threads while still being able to see them all in once place. The templates are very good! They help you understand your characters on an emotional level and work toward their goals while also building the world around them. #### Cons I didn't know that there were templates for characters available until my most recent story. The templates are incredibly useful and I wish there were easier ways to see that they were there outside of clicking through so many options on the software. I also wish that there were templates available for settings, too, to help with worldbuilding. --- ### Amazingly Helpful! LOVE its Visual Capabilities - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Naomi J. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used weekly for less than 2 years - Reviewed: January 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. Outstanding, all round! #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros It took me awhile to discover my needed usefulness for this tool, versus my only buying it because I got a great "Snowflake" transfer-over deal on it. Now that I'm far enough along in my book project to want to track, visually and easily, what I've already said about any primary or secondary topic in my story, I'm finding it INVALUABLE! I'm choosing to do this, at this time, via plotlines only. I use them as an expanded visual data-tracker of my content. I do this by planting the full scene in its most appropriate plot-line (character or place, say). But then I duplicate that scene card (instantaneous) and cut out all the background noise from it that doesn't pertain to whatever other item/s I want to visually keep succinct track of. Say, a place or character mentioned within this chapter, in a secondarily important way. Or it might be some backstory, too. I'm finding it INCREDIBLY EASY to visually track what I've said, or covered, on any topic (place, subject, etc) at any time now. Love it! Invaluable to this "visually oriented" gal! #### Cons I own the desktop version. I do find its save feature a bit cumbersome for having it on my desktop, surprisingly. That said, I know the design and planning team behind this product are working on it constantly to improve it, listen to feedback, and enhance it. I've little doubt they will see to this in time. It's SO COOL that you can log on to their support site and see what enhances or updates they're currently working on, what yet-to-be-birthed features have received the most votes, etc. #### Reasons for switching to Plottr That product was quite limited in its scope and the designer had no interest in further developing it. He, in fact, recommended his users switch over to Plottr. --- ### Targeted Focus Makes Plottr Actually Useful - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Sam W. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Arts and Crafts - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used daily for less than 6 months - Reviewed: November 2022 - Review source details: This review was submitted organically. No incentive was offered #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros I like that it just focuses on the plotting. It doesn't try be all things, and that makes the software so much more accessible, and so much better for incorporating into my existing process. I have set it up as a series bible and I like that everything is easily found and catagorised. That was why I bought Plottr as my previous 'notes in a document' method was too confused and I was losing track of things. I have tried out some other popular writing software before and never managed to get on with it, as it was too much. It was writing, it was plotting, it was formatting etc. Plottr does what it does, and it does it well. That was what I wanted. Plus I am very happy that I can buy the software once and that it doesn't stop working. So many systems now are subscription only. I may very well purchase the updates as the price is reasonable but if I don't, I don't lose everything. I'm probably more likely to make subsequent purchases as I don't feel forced into it. #### Cons I wish that the tags were clickable. So if I assign a character to something then I could click on the tag and be taken to that character. I would like to be able to mark off scenes when I have written them, and have the outline scroll down to the scene I am working on rather than just always being at the top. But these are tiny little things (well maybe not little in terms of programming) but what I mean is they aren't vital. It would be nice to have but I'm not frustrated as they aren't there. The software does everything I need and I have been pleased at how well I have got on with it. --- ### Excellent for all your plotting needs. - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Varun P. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Publishing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used weekly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: February 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by us to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros Plotting can be an important part to write a story. This tool is a simplified outlining tool to help out authors who are facing problems with developing their stories. The dashboard is clutter-free and the UI is easy to learn. The templates also make the plotting easy. Their notes and characters features are excellent. Definitely recommend this tool to those who like to plot stuff beforehand. #### Cons I think more worldbuilding tools can be added, but it could also make things complicated. The dashboard can be improved. Right now, it appears as another window within the main window. I frankly liked the ones in the earlier versions. The software also lacks multi-tab feature, which could be useful. --- ### The tool I was looking for - Overall rating: 4/5 - Reviewer: Lorenzo C. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Motion Pictures and Film - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used weekly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: November 2022 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. Plottr is THE software I was looking for. When I write a movie, I used to work on index cards because I love to move things around, but I don't have enough space in my office, so it wasn't always easy. Plottr solved that and now I can write how much as I want and as many virtual index cards as I need to put together my movie. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 4/5 #### Pros Writing scenes on virtual index cards and being able to move them around. The ability to use different plot lines for various characters' arcs. #### Cons I honestly don't know what to say about cons because Plottr has everything I need. Sure, there are some features that I don't use, but I can't say they are "cons". The only thing I miss is the ability to put the "index cards" wherever I want (at the moment, it's linear: one must follow the previous one along the same line. It'd be awesome if I could put something up and down, here and there, and be able to connect them on the same line.) --- ### Plottr is key to my author business - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Nala A. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: June 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. I love Plottr. I've even given a presentation on how I use Plottr. For me, the how-to videos didn't fully capture how amazing a tool this is for a fiction writer. But like I said, that's just me. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 4/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros Plottr is so much more than plotting. A key reason I use it is for series bibles. I write across (to date) five different series, and keeping track of characters, settings, arcs, as well as each book's beats is critical to my success as an author. The few times I've had questions, support has been incredible. The improvements they constantly make show me that they listen and involve their users. #### Cons I get an error message when I export to Scrivener about versions not matching, but it doesn't seem to affect anything once I'm in my Scrivener document. Just minor anxiety when I see it, lol! #### Reasons for choosing Plottr The visual layout of the scenes is more helpful to me than the binder system of Scrivener, when it comes to plotting. I use different beats than Save the Cat which are available in Plottr. --- ### Outlining For Screenplays With Plottr - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Mark K. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Entertainment - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used weekly for less than 12 months - Reviewed: April 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. While I'm not an expert at it yet and still bounce between Word and Plottr, I really do appreciate the level of detail and ways to help guide a writer guide through story development. In many instances, information can be missed but Plottr helps to remind you and keep you on track. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros There are two aspects that stand out. The first is that it works like in-depth flash cards when structuring your story. I used to use flashcards. So this felt familiar and comfortable. The second is that it really helps me to focus on character development. Taking the time to really think on the series of questions helps me drill down deeper than what you might do in a word processing application. With that, that helps with story structure. So having these two areas, for me, is a huge boost when structuring out my story. #### Cons Initially, I became frustrated by the lack tools when outlining. I sent in my request to develop tools that would work more like Microsoft Word with indenting, bullet points etc. Happily, that was recently added and this helps immensely to the overall layout of ideas. --- ### Great Product - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Tianna X. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used daily for more than 2 years - Reviewed: June 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. The pros outweigh the cons. The learning curve is negligible when you factor in the time you'll save writing your outline and the time saved on the writing process. I rarely write myself into a corner now that I'm using this software. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros I like the fact that you can use this as a digital whiteboard and drag and drop your ideas into different spots to formulate your project chapters. #### Cons There is a bit of a learning curve if you have never outlined a story. I was a pantser before I bought Plottr but I am a planner now. This software makes it easy. --- ### Plottr for Pants-ters - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: jeffrey r. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Publishing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used daily for less than 12 months - Reviewed: January 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. I write my stories by the seat of my pants. But I recognize the need for organization. My characters must be consistent throughout the book or series. I was also losing track of my timeline. Plottr to the rescue! This wonderful product does not replace my other writing tools, it augments the whole writing process. Other writing tools may include some of the same features, but Plottr lays them out in a logical, graphical manner. Plottr has improved the cohesiveness of my stories in a streamlined manner. I highly recommend Plottr for writers and any creative person. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros Plottr has a clean, clear timeline. The plotlines and scene cards they contain are interconnected with the underlying notes, characters, places, and tags sections. The ability to interlink multiple books in a series is a great advantage. Using the Filter, I can quickly see where I used certain characters and concepts. #### Cons The structure of Plottr is so versatile, I can't say there is a limitation that affects my use. For example, I wanted a timeline to track my story's events. I simply added a Plotline and named it "Time Line". Now I simply add a scene block on the Time Line to track when each story event is happening. Easy-peasy. --- ### Best plotting software out there - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Bee B. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used daily for less than 2 years - Reviewed: May 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. Use it every day, for every book. Use has evolved but I'm so grateful to have this. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 4/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros It's great for organizing and visualizing and keeping things together. #### Cons I'm low-level worried about more and more features being added and slowing the software down. Versions on my Chromebook, computer and phone don't seem to sync with each other. Often, older files are inaccessible bc of some error. #### Reasons for switching to Plottr Never cracked the scrivener code --- ### A Very Good Program - Overall rating: 5/5 - Reviewer: Mike K. - Verified reviewer: Yes - Industry: Writing and Editing - Company size: Self-Employed - Product usage: Used weekly for more than 2 years - Reviewed: July 2023 - Review source details: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. I enjoy Plotter and use it often. It'snot perfect, but it's very good and a useful too. Support is great. I highly recommend it. #### Ratings breakdown - Ease of use: 5/5 - Value for money: 5/5 - Customer support: 5/5 - Functionality: 5/5 #### Pros Plottr is an intuitive program specifically designed for helping authors plot and outline novels. The ability to export the information to other programs, such as Scrivener or Atticus, is critical to the usefulness of the program, and allows information to flow directly into the writing programs without duplicating effort. #### Cons Updates are clunky, and often fail, resulting in manual downloads and installation. I only tried PlottrPro once, and it was too buggy to use at the time, but it may be a better solution in the long-term. I also think the notes interface could use a little updating to make it more word processor like. ## More reviews [Next reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/note-taking/plottr-profile/reviews/?page=2) --- Plottr Reviews, Pros and Cons - 2026 Software Advice