AI coverage, legend feedback, story structure, FDX compatibility — everything you need to write and rewrite, free.
No credit card. No trial. No hidden upgrades.
Industry-standard formatting that handles itself. Auto-detection of scene headings, action, character, dialogue, parentheticals, and transitions. Tab/Enter cycling between elements. Courier 12pt, live page count. You write — the formatting follows.
Every screenplay element is recognized automatically as you type. Hit Tab to cycle forward through element types, Enter to advance. Scene headings, action lines, character names, dialogue, parentheticals, and transitions all format themselves to industry spec. Courier Prime at 12 points. Live page count updates as you write. Dark mode included. Find and replace across your entire script. Character name changes propagate everywhere automatically. No setup, no templates to configure, no formatting menus to learn.
vs. competitors: Final Draft requires manual element selection. Arc Studio has auto-formatting but locks advanced features behind a paywall. Free Screenwriter gives you the full editor at $0.
Hierarchical structure panel: Acts, Sequences, Beats, Scenes. See the architecture of your screenplay alongside the editor. Generate beat sheets. Apply structure templates. The skeleton your story hangs on, visible at all times.
A dedicated structure panel sits alongside your editor, showing the full hierarchy of your screenplay: Acts contain Sequences, Sequences contain Beats, Beats contain Scenes. Drag to reorder. Collapse to see the big picture, expand to drill into detail. Generate beat sheets from your existing script or start from a template. Track which beats are written and which need work. Compare your structure against proven patterns. This is the tool that turns a 120-page document into an organized, navigable architecture.
vs. competitors: Final Draft has no built-in structure tools. You outline on paper or use separate software. Arc Studio has basic outlining. Free Screenwriter integrates structure directly into the writing environment.
Three-step professional script coverage in under 60 seconds. Step one: synopsis and logline extraction. Step two: deep analysis across structure, character, dialogue, theme, and pacing. Step three: scorecard with a PASS, CONSIDER, or RECOMMEND rating.
Professional script coverage typically costs $100 to $300 and takes days. Free Screenwriter delivers the same three-step process instantly. First, the AI generates a synopsis and logline from your script. Second, it performs deep analysis across five dimensions: structure (act breaks, turning points, pacing), character (arcs, motivation, distinctiveness), dialogue (voice, subtext, exposition), theme (coherence, resonance), and pacing (rhythm, momentum). Third, it produces a scorecard with an overall PASS, CONSIDER, or RECOMMEND rating and specific notes on what to fix. Run it after every draft.
vs. competitors: No competing screenwriting software offers built-in coverage. Final Draft, Arc Studio, WriterDuet, Highland — none of them. Outside the software, you pay $100 to $300 per read from a human reader. Free Screenwriter does it in seconds.
Notes from 24 legendary screenwriter voices. Sorkin, Tarantino, Wilder, Ephron, Kaufman, Mamet, Cody, Gerwig, Peele, Spike Lee, and more. Each legend gives feedback consistent with their philosophy, voice, and obsessions.
Select any legend and receive feedback on your screenplay filtered through their creative philosophy. Sorkin critiques your dialogue rhythm. Tarantino focuses on tension and structure subversion. Wilder demands comedic economy. Ephron looks for emotional truth. Kaufman challenges your structural assumptions. Mamet strips your dialogue to bone. Gerwig evaluates authenticity. Peele examines your genre mechanics. Each voice is trained on their known perspectives, interviews, and body of work. This is not generic AI feedback — it is specific, opinionated, and distinct per legend. Use multiple legends on the same script for a writers room effect.
vs. competitors: No other screenwriting software has anything like this. It does not exist in Final Draft, Arc Studio, WriterDuet, or any other tool on the market. This is a Free Screenwriter original.
Full Final Draft .fdx file compatibility. Import your existing screenplays from Final Draft without losing formatting. Export .fdx files for collaborators who use Final Draft. Seamless round-trip between tools.
The .fdx format is the industry interchange standard for screenplays. Free Screenwriter reads and writes it natively. Import any .fdx file and your scene headings, dialogue, action, character names, transitions, and dual dialogue come through intact. Export your work as .fdx when a collaborator, producer, or competition needs it in Final Draft format. No copy-paste, no reformatting, no lost elements. If you are switching from Final Draft, import your entire library. Your existing work transfers in minutes.
vs. competitors: WriterDuet supports .fdx import but not perfect export fidelity. Arc Studio supports import. Highland exports to .fdx but with limitations. Free Screenwriter matches Final Draft's native format handling — at $0.
Industry-standard PDF output. Proper margins (1.5" left, 1" top/right/bottom), Courier 12pt, optional scene numbers. Ready for submissions, workshops, table reads, and printing. One click.
Export your screenplay as a properly formatted PDF that meets industry submission standards. Margins follow the established spec: 1.5 inches on the left for binding, 1 inch on top, right, and bottom. Courier Prime at 12 points. Scene numbers can be toggled on or off depending on whether you are in production or development. Title page included. Page numbers in the upper right. The PDF output is clean, professional, and indistinguishable from any major screenwriting software. Send it to agents, managers, competitions, or the printer.
vs. competitors: All major screenwriting tools export PDF. The difference: Free Screenwriter does it without charging you $250, $99, or $12/month first.
Compare your screenplay's structure against classic and contemporary scripts. See pacing patterns, act break placement, and structural choices side by side. Learn from the architecture of films that worked.
Choose a comp script — a produced film with a similar genre, tone, or structure to yours — and overlay its structural map against your own. See where their act breaks fall versus yours. Compare pacing: are your sequences running longer or shorter? Where do they place their midpoint versus where you place yours? This is not about copying structure — it is about understanding what works and why. Study how Chinatown builds its mystery, how Get Out plants its reveals, how When Harry Met Sally balances comedy and emotion. Then see how your script measures up. The comp library draws from IMSDB and classic screenplay databases.
vs. competitors: No competing screenwriting software offers structural comparison tools. This is unique to Free Screenwriter.
Ask questions about your screenplay and get analysis-driven answers. The AI reads your script as context and responds about structure, character, theme, and pacing. WGA-compliant: analysis only, no text generation in the free tier.
Open the chat panel and ask anything about your screenplay. "Is my protagonist's arc clear?" "Where does the pacing slow down in Act Two?" "What is the thematic argument of this script?" The AI has read your entire screenplay and responds with specific, grounded analysis. It references your actual scenes, characters, and dialogue. In the free tier, the AI is strictly analysis-only — it will never generate screenplay text, maintaining full WGA compliance. This is a conversation partner for your rewrite process, not a ghostwriter.
vs. competitors: WriterDuet recently added AI features but focused on text generation. Arc Studio's AI writes for you. Free Screenwriter's AI reads for you — which is what the WGA and most working writers prefer.
No download. No installation. Works on Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chromebook. Any modern browser. Auto-save keeps your work safe. Start on your desktop, continue on your laptop. Write from anywhere.
Free Screenwriter runs entirely in the browser. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge — all supported. Your scripts are saved automatically as you type. No lost work from crashes or forgotten saves. Access your projects from any device with a browser. Start writing on your desktop at home, continue on your laptop at a coffee shop, review on your tablet. No software updates to install, no activation codes, no license transfers between machines. One account, every device, always current.
vs. competitors: Final Draft is desktop-only ($250 for one machine). WriterDuet is cloud-based ($12/month). Arc Studio is cloud-based ($99/year). Free Screenwriter is cloud-based at $0.
The free tier AI is analysis-only. It reads your script and provides feedback but never generates screenplay text. Showrunner, the premium tier, is a writing partner — but the writer is always in creative control.
The Writers Guild of America's position on AI is clear: AI should not receive writing credit, and writers should maintain creative control. Free Screenwriter's free tier enforces this by design. The AI performs coverage, legend feedback, structural analysis, and chat — all forms of analysis. It never writes dialogue, action, or any screenplay element. Showrunner, the premium tier, crosses into generation territory — it can draft scenes, suggest dialogue, and write alongside you. But even in Showrunner, the writer reviews, edits, and approves everything. The AI is a tool, not a co-author.
vs. competitors: Most AI writing tools ignore the WGA conversation entirely. Free Screenwriter is the only screenwriting platform that explicitly separates analysis from generation and gives writers the choice.
Final Draft costs $250. Arc Studio costs $99/year. WriterDuet costs $12/month. Free Screenwriter costs nothing.
Yes. The screenplay editor, story structure tools, FDX import/export, PDF export, comp script analysis, and cloud access are all free with no limits. AI features (coverage, legend feedback, AI chat) use credits — you receive free credits on signup and can purchase more. Showrunner, the AI writing partner, is a separate premium subscription.
No. In the free tier, the AI is strictly analysis-only. It reads your script and provides coverage, legend feedback, structural analysis, and chat responses — but it never generates screenplay text. Showrunner (premium) can generate text, but the writer always reviews and controls the output.
Yes. Free Screenwriter supports full .fdx import and export. Your scene headings, dialogue, action, characters, transitions, and dual dialogue transfer intact. Import your entire Final Draft library in minutes.
It follows the same three-step process: synopsis/logline extraction, deep analysis across structure, character, dialogue, theme, and pacing, then a PASS/CONSIDER/RECOMMEND scorecard. Professional readers charge $100 to $300 and take days. AI coverage runs in under 60 seconds. It is not a replacement for a human reader's taste, but it catches structural and craft issues instantly.
Sorkin, Tarantino, Wilder, Ephron, Kaufman, Mamet, Cody, Gerwig, Peele, Spike Lee, the Coen Brothers, Nora Ephron, Billy Wilder, Paddy Chayefsky, Preston Sturges, and more. Each legend gives notes filtered through their known philosophy, style, and creative obsessions. Select one or run multiple legends on the same script for a writers room effect.
Free Screenwriter is the core product: editor, structure tools, exports, and analysis-only AI. It is free forever. Showrunner is a premium add-on that turns the AI into a writing partner — it can generate scene drafts, suggest dialogue, and iterate on your pages. The writer always maintains creative control. Showrunner is a subscription; the core product is not.
Every feature above. No credit card. No trial period.
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