Comparison
Auctor vs Novelcrafter
These two are closer cousins than most pairings: both take worldbuilding seriously, and both let you bring your own AI. The real fork is where your novel lives — Novelcrafter is a web app; Auctor is a desktop workbench with your manuscript in local files.
At a glance
| Auctor | Novelcrafter | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs | Desktop app (Windows & Linux), works offline | In the browser — any device, needs a connection |
| Your manuscript | Plain local files in a folder you own and back up yourself | Stored in their cloud |
| Worldbuilding | Character, place, object & organisation cards beside the manuscript | Codex — a strong, wiki-style story bible |
| AI approach | Editorial: critique & refinement, every AI touch labelled with an export disclosure report | Flexible: chat and scene-writing workshop, BYO API key |
| Local / private AI | Any OpenAI-compatible local server — including AuctorServ on an Android phone you own | Possible via third-party endpoints, but the app itself is still cloud-hosted |
| Price | Free; AI beta key also free | Monthly subscription (plus your AI provider costs) |
Choose Novelcrafter if…
- You write from several devices and want everything synced in the browser.
- You want a wiki-style codex with deep cross-linking.
- You want AI to help draft scenes, not just edit them.
Choose Auctor if…
- You want your novel in files on your machine — no vendor, no outage, no subscription between you and your book.
- You want truly private AI: a local model on your own hardware, including a spare Android phone.
- You want provable authorship — labelled AI passages and an export disclosure report.
- You'd rather pay nothing for the writing tool.