WriterDuet Reviews

New to Writer Duet from Final Draft and WriterDuet just works so well on iOS compared to FD. Full suite of capabilities and the page just looks so much better. So far, very stable too.

Fully up to date iPad Mini, brand new hardware, has to use chrome instead.

The one pro here is that the UX and UI are almost perfectly adapted to the desktop version - or, to be more clear, they would be if they worked properly.

Way too many issues with coding. 90% of the times I tap on something to start writing, the top toolbar shifts up above the top of my screen so I can’t select dialog, character, etc. I have to close and reopen WriterDuet repeatedly to get it to let me write more than a line at a time. Half the time the cursor isn’t visible so you don’t know where your new text will show up. Also about half the time, I open a script and it’s not all there. And sometimes I start typing and the new letters overlap existing letters and I can’t read what I’m writing. Frankly I’m surprised Apple allowed such a poorly-working app into WriterDuet store. I keep checking for a fix but there never is one. Fingers crossed one comes soon...

Edit: I realize that WriterDuet makers are not a charity and they’re looking for revenue. And being a free member, I almost feel like I shouldn’t be complaining. But I’m not in a position to add another subscription right now and I sure wouldn’t pay for an app that barely works. I hope it doesn’t work better for paid users than unpaid. But I’m sure more people would subscribe if WriterDuet worked properly and users didn’t need to constantly restart WriterDuet and/or their phones in the futile hope it will make WriterDuet work.

WriterDuet is pretty new so maybe Im just an early adopter... but after a week of working with the desktop version I was sold.

Upgraded to Pro for one year, plan to go lifetime if it becomes my go to app for writing over fdx which at this point i think it will.

This is google docs for screenwriters, but its a lot more than that. The UI is clean. The format key commands (which mirror fdx) integrate into the on-line script is really intuitive. The digital page itself feels more pulpy to me than final draft somehow, not sure why but I feel more like I am typing onto a real page. So i like the base level interface. But then on top of that its got a bunch of helpful features...

Organization. I no longer have to worry about whos working with what version, did I email my collaborator the right file, or accidentally open an earlier saved version of a script that now has some changes in it but is missing others...

Communication. Multiple modes for secure messaging, sharing notes, integrating external links for references or research, it all works.

Collaboration. I like how it presents any changes made by my collaborator to me in red then lets them fade to black so they integrate into the whole. Thats just one example of how it helps make the collaboration process smoother.

Class. From the tone if the developer's emails to the look of the UI, it feels like you're dealing with talented professionals.

Well done and please keep up the good work!

TJ

I'm a lifetime pro member and have been for about a year and I still can't believe the depth and quality of this software even after more than a year of using the desktop version. Everything just makes sense and the feature set is richer and more consistent and dependable than FD or MovieMagic, which I used to think got a bad rap simply for not being called Final Draft. But this blows that out of the water too, both the desktop of MM, and the Final Draft desktop software and now their app as well (which they charge you separately for!).

But it makes no difference anymore, to me this is the only game in town. The support is second to none (once thought I lost something and they were on it immediately), and the probably the best thing I can say is that when you need the software and more complex features, it's all there, and when you don't need them, the software gets out of the way so you can simply write.

Second update in a day: Okay, so I know how to make the problem come back. And WriterDuet definitely still needs to be optimized for newer devices like the iPad Pro 12.9 and my iPhone X which is a year and a half old now. If I had gotten into this software two months ago, it might not have been as bad—but knowing that I missed a 1/2 price sale on Pro makes the idea of upgrading much more difficult now.

Update: I’m pretty gobsmacked. Today I opened up WriterDuet , and that egregious glitch has just disappeared. I don’t get it—WriterDuet hasn’t been updated, I had already tried restarting my iPad several times, and ultimately resorted to buying Final Draft Mobile. Worked in FD all day yesterday, only to discover this lovely surprise waiting for me today.

this app is excellent on the web, but on my iPad Pro 12.9”, there’s a big, dark gray line across the middle of WriterDuet that won’t go away. It almost looks a stray menu bar or something, but it’s just there, covering up your script.

I used to be a final draft user (industry standard, sure)
But then I tried this app because my other writer friend recommended it, and I never switched back.

this app is very very intuitive and the interface is a lot more modern and easy than the old final draft. And it supports online and offline and collaborative modes. Final draft was good but it kind of belonged to last generation and this should be the new industry standard.

I especially love the ‘notes’ section where I can put a lot of cached thoughts there while working on the pages. I wrote my award winning screenplay entirely on this app. It gives me a lot of confidence and it is very easy to use. I wouldn’t even think about using other software now when I start writing a new screenplay.

And, another major plus is their customer support. When I run into problems or questions, I email them and their response is always very quick and very effective. Kudos to their team.

If you’re a student, try it. The free version can do petty much everything you need to write a full screenplay and the writing experience is the same as the pro version but just with a promotion banner on the corner.

And if you’re serious about screenwriting, you should definitely buy the pro version. It’s a great buy. You won’t regret it.

I discovered this app years ago and I am still astounded by its remarkable simplicity, sleek design, and intuitive interface, along with countless variations and features. It works smoothly on both desktop and mobile devices and it has made professional screenwriting much less of a hassle and allowed me to concentrate on the writing itself. It has some of the fastest, friendliest customer service and the developers are constantly working on improving this app and all of its functions. It even downloads for free which is perfect if you’re just starting off although I would recommend professionals upgrade to this app Pro which adds a few neat features like collaboration and offline writing.

WriterDuet is almost perfect. First it needs updated to take advantage of the iPhone X display. Also, the layout could be more mobile friendly rather than just copying the web interface. However, this apps functionality is beyond others when working with a partner and exports seamlessly to other programs. Hoping to give it 5 stars soon.

Since switching to an iPad to handle most of my productivity tasks, I’m starting to regret having spent the money on this app’s full version. WriterDuet does NOT meet the standards of a ~$100 product. Most of the time, it won’t connect to the internet. When it is connected and I am writing, there are dozens of frustrating little glitches and bugs when doing very simple, basic tasks, like creating new scene headers or switching between dialogue and action text. The bluetooth keyboard support is laughable and horrifically confusing. I want to support this app, and the desktop version works brilliantly (so I’ll probably use the service on Safari instead though that approach is not without its issues.) But come on, guys.

There is no option to export to PDF without upgrading to pro, so your only option is to convince those you want to share it with to download the buggy app as well. I then decided to see the price of the pro version (apparently you can save $40 so this already doesn’t bode well), oh look at this, I can’t do that at this time...so how can I share the screenplay I just spent time writing? Why select all, copy and paste into a better program of course, then spend time reformatting that block of text.
And that’s after writing in a program that tries to auto-correct ‘tall’ to ‘y’all’ yet doesn’t catch obvious spelling mistakes. Don’t get this program there are better ones by established developers who know what they’re doing.

Good morning. I recently purchased this app Pro (lifetime) through the Boing Boing sale this weekend - thank you so much for making this fantastic software affordable. I’ve already started writing a new project and I love being able to seemlessly go between the browser and WriterDuet . However, there is a really bad bug that is disrupting my workflow.

If I am writing dialogue, I end a sentence, backspace to the end of the sentence, put in a period, and then the last letter of the word that I am punctuating will disappear. Please try to replicate this if you can.

I will be happy to change my review score at anytime this bug gets fixed. Thank you for listening and responding.

I needed this for a class assignment in which we started on computers and would have to finish on our own time. The website worked perfectly on the computer and I figured that it was work better on WriterDuet than a mobile version of the website so I downloaded it. I was horribly mistaken. It took me so much longer to get what I needed to mainly because WriterDuet kept bugging out and wouldn’t format anything correctly. And on top of that it then deleted half of my work and it is pretty much impossible to retrieve it without manually retyping it due to the formatting issues. I would recommend the website on a desktop not WriterDuet and If you can just avoid it all together.

This is seriously the best screenwriting software on the market (and I've tried, and own, them all). I don't care if Final Draft is the industry standard. this app is so much more intuitive and a joy to use if collaborating or even just using multiple machines/devices. And, it can import and export Final Draft files, so they've got you covered. I'll never go back. I wish this team behind this wonderful software many, many years of success. They deserve it!

Some of the reviews are so unfair to WriterDuet. I just subscribed to it after testing it out for months. By far this is the best app hands down. They have the best interface If you decide to write in right to left languages and it integrates well with left to right writing. I have the experience with losing work in the past and this in not an issue here and it save automatically.

Am excited to use to write with co-writers.

Am quite disappointed that there hasn’t been an update in 10mo considering the reviews show bugs are there. In addition, the iPhone X has been out for going on 2 years and WriterDuet still isn’t optimized for it? It feels like they may be putting their efforts elsewhere, but I’d be much more likely to upgrade to Pro if I could see WriterDuet getting a little more attention since I use the Apple ecosystem.

Would re-assess the review if this could change and we could see more frequent updates and optimization with newer technologies.

I switched from Final Draft to WD a few months ago and will never look back. The desktop and web apps work great for me and I like having easy phone/iPad access to all my scripts. But you need to be careful when editing in the mobile app. The autocorrect is extremely screwy and can mangle your words. I wrote “him” and it turned it to “h I’m”. Just watch out for that and don’t use this version of WriterDuet as your main writing tool and it’s fine.

If I’ve got to be connected to servers to use the service, why can’t all the templates be available? I have the membership so that my writing partner could collaborate with me on the comic script we’re writing, and the desktop version works fine, but why is there not a Graphic Novel template for WriterDuet . It makes it difficult to sync projects, proof the formatting, or work on the go, which makes WriterDuet totally worthless. I’d happily change my mind if WriterDuet were updated to include that template, especially since the desktop version suits my needs.

I love this app on the PC, in fact I’ve bought premium before. I recently got an iPad and was hoping to be able to access my scripts on the go, even on shoots. Seems to be working fine so far, however there is a big grey bar in the middle of WriterDuet . Kind of like it should be a footer like the header with all the scenes/apps/dialogue, but right in the middle of the page. Kind of distracting and hard to read as it covers up image. If anyone knows how to fix it, that would be great!

The iPhone app can be buggy occasionally, which is why I docked WriterDuet a star, but it works fine for pulling up your scripts.
The iPad app works flawlessly and is great.
this app as a whole is a very cool system. I love the collaboration features, but even without them it’s a solid script-writing program.

My biggest complaint is that I can’t switch sideways on my iPhone 12 pro 🥲 Otherwise, this is nearly identical to the desktop version and works almost as well. There are a few bugs here and there that require an open and close of WriterDuet or reconnecting my profile. I have also not tried collaborative writing while on the phone.

My friend uses his old ipad sometimes and it runs like a snail on that. Also worked poorly on my old iphone. Maybe it’s just a little too tough on the older cpu’s.

Still, grateful to be able to work on the go and switch to laptop with ease! Thanks this app team!