Linguella vs Scrivener vs Google Docs: Which tool is best for writing a book?
Přijď diskutovat do FB skupiny Autoři CZ + SK
Are you looking for the right tool for writing a book? You are in the right place.
Deciding in which application you will write your book is not easy. There are dozens of tools on the market and everyone claims to be the best. But the truth is more complicated – there is no universally best application. There is only one application that is best for you and the way you work.
In this article, I’ll show you an honest comparison of the most popular tools for writers, including the Linguella app I’m developing. I will tell you what each application does well, where it has gaps, and above all – for whom it is the best choice.
No marketing talk. Just facts, experience and honest advice.
Overview of applications that we will compare:
In this article, I will focus on the 7 most popular tools for writing books:
- Linguella – Czech application with Czech grammar check
- Scrivener – Industry standard for organizing large projects
- Google Docs – Free cloud alternative
- Microsoft Word – Classic text editor
- Notion – Modern all -in- one workspace
- yWriter – Free structured writing tool
- ProWritingAid – Specialized editing and style tool
And we will also look at:
Grammarly (English grammar check)
Hemingway Editor (text simplification)
Ulysses (minimalist editor for Mac)
Comparison criteria
Before we get into the details, let’s talk about how we will evaluate the applications:
Project organization
Chapter management Character management Notes and research
Timeline and story structure
Writing environment
Distraction -free mode
Custom appearance settings Dark modeFocus mode
Editing tools
Grammar check
Style
check Text analysis
Export and compatibility
Export formats (EPUB, PDF, DOCX…) Import from other applications Sharing and collaboration
Price
One-time fee vs. subscriptionFree tier
Value for money
Platform
Windows, Mac, LinuxMobile apps
Web version
Learning curve
How quickly you learn Documentation Support
Linguella
What it is: Czech application for writers with an emphasis on Czech grammar checking and comprehensive project management.
Advantages:
Czech grammar check
This is the main advantage. Linguella has an integrated grammar check specifically for Czech (Slovak, Polish and English). You do not need to copy the text into Word or Google Docs – the check works directly in the editor while writing. Outside the Czech language, the check is based on the popular language Tool , which, however, supports the Czech language in a very limited way — the control is weak and does not cover most of the common errors. That’s why Linguella uses its own system.
Comprehensive project management
Chapters with POV, character profiles, notes, research – everything in one place. It’s great for organized writers.
Text analyzer
Detection of repetition of words, phrases, analysis of word roots. It helps to enhance the style.
Export to EPUB
Finished book in electronic format with one click. Most of the competition can’t do that. Unfortunately, Linguella cannot offer the possibility to influence how the resulting export will look.
Local processing
Your text remains on your computer. No cloud, maximum privacy.
Czech first
UI in Czech, support in Czech, everything designed for Czech writers.
Disadvantages:
Linguella application
has been on the market for a relatively short time. This means less user community, less tutorials, less third -party integration.
So far, only a Windows
Mac version is planned, but it does not exist yet. This is a big minus for Apple users.
Scrivener ecosystem
has a huge community, thousands of tutorials, templates , add -ons. Linguella is still building it.
Learning curve
Due to the number of functions, it takes a while to get your bearings in the application. It’s not Word where you just start writing.
Price:
30-day trial version
of Lifetime : One-time payment in early bird mode CZK 790, later CZK 990
Who is Linguella best for?
Czechs, Slovaks, Poles – grammar check of mother tongue is golden
Organized writers – love structure and project management
Technically competent – not afraid of new applications
Windows/Linux users – do not have a Mac
Need EPUB export – ebook authors
Scrivener
What it is: The legendary application for writing long texts, the industry standard among professional writers.
Image source https://thewritelife.com/scrivener-review/
Advantages:
Unbeatable organization
Scrivener is the king of organization. Binder (left panel) allows you to create an infinitely deep hierarchy – chapters, scenes, subsections, notes… Everything beautifully structured.
Corkboard and outliner
You can see the structure of the story as cards on a bulletin board or as an outliner (list). Great for planning.
Snapshot function
Before major editing, you take a ” snapshot ” of the text. You can return to it at any time.
Compile (Export)
Incredibly flexible export. You can set formatting, styles, insert your own CSS for EPUB… But it’s complicated.
Huge community
Thousands of tutorials on YouTube, dozens of books about Scrivener , forums full of users. Whatever you need, someone has already solved it.
One Time Payment
You pay once (~$60) and it’s yours forever. No subscription.
Disadvantages:
Scrivener’s steep learning curve
is complex. It takes weeks to months to understand all the features. For beginners it is overwhelming .
Old-fashioned UI
The interface looks like it’s from 2005. It’s not ugly, but it’s definitely not modern. If you are used to modern applications, it will be a shock.
No grammar checker
Scrivener has its own grammar checker. You must export to Word or use ProWritingAid / Grammarly .
Compile is a nightmare
Export ( Compile ) is powerful, but brutally complex. It takes hours of study before you learn how to export a formatted EPUB.
The mobile version is weak.
There is an iOS version, but the sync is complicated (via Dropbox) and the UI is not optimized.
Price:
CZK 1,490 (Windows/Mac) – one-time payment
Who is Scrivener best for?
Professional writers – need maximum control
Complex projects – non-fiction with research, epic fantasy
Organizational maniacs – love structure
Long-term investment – one-time fee
English speakers – write primarily in English
Beginners – thinking about a simpler alternative
Czechs without Grammarly – need Czech grammar
Hates complexity – just want to write
Google Docs
What it is: A free cloud-based text editor from Google.
Image source: https://www.ablebits.com/google-docs-add-ons/styles/index.php
Advantages:
Free
Totally. No payments.
Cloud native
Everything is automatically saved in the cloud. You can write on a computer, tablet, mobile phone – everywhere you have the current version.
Easy collaboration
You can share a document with an editor, a beta reader, a colleague. Real- time collaboration works perfectly.
Simple
Open, start typing. No complicated settings, no learning curve .
Versioning
Google Docs automatically saves versions. You can revert to any previous version of the document.
Add -ons
ProWritingAid , Grammarly and other add -ons work in Google Docs .
Disadvantages:
No project organization
For a book with 50 chapters, you have 50 separate documents. No hierarchy, no structure.
Weak offline mode
Technically offline works, but not reliably. You are addicted to the Internet.
Poor export to EPUB
Google Docs cannot export to EPUB. You have to use a converter ( Caliber , Pandoc …) and the result is not perfect.
Formatting is a problem
For simple texts OK, but more complex formatting (different chapter styles, specific fonts for EPUB) is hell.
Grammar only English
The integrated check works only for English.
The distracting environment
of Google Docs constantly tempts you to other Google services. It is definitely not distraction -free.
Privacy
Google scans your text (for ads, analysis…). For some it is unacceptable.
Price:
FREE (15 GB in Google Drive for free)
100 GB – CZK 450/year Unlimited – with Google Workspace
Who is Google Docs best for?
Beginners – simple, intuitive
Collaborative teams – editor + author in real-time
Mobile- first – often write on mobile/tablet
Budget $0 – need free
Cloud- first – trust the cloud
Complex projects – need a structure
EPUB authors – want easy export
Privacy- conscious – do not want Google in their texts
Offline writers – write without internet
Microsoft Word
What it is: A classic word processor. Everyone knows him.
Advantages:
Universal standard
Everyone can. docx format. All editors, publishers, collaborators support him.
Robust formatting
Word is the king of formatting. Whatever you want to format, Word can do it.
Grammar check
Integrated check for Czech, English and dozens of other languages. It’s not perfect, but it’s there.
Track Changes
Perfect for working with an editor. You can see every change, comment, accept/reject.
Styles and templates
If you control styles, you can create a perfectly formatted document for printing or converting to EPUB.
Works great
offline Word is a desktop application. You don’t have to deal with the internet.
Disadvantages:
No Word organization
is for ONE document. For a book with 40 chapters, you either have one giant file (slow, confusing) or 40 files (chaos).
Distraction
All those formatting tools, menus, buttons… It’s not distraction -free.
Bad for EPUB
Word can export to EPUB, but the result is often bad. You have to clean up in Caliber or Sigil .
Expensive
Microsoft 365 costs ~1800 CZK/year. Or one-off ~4000 CZK for Home & Student.
No writing tools
No character messages, timeline , notes. Just a text editor.
Slow with large documents
A document with 300+ pages will start to be slow. Word is not built for books.
Price:
Microsoft 365 Personal : ~1890 CZK/year
Office Home & Student 2024: ~3990 CZK (one-time)
Older version: Cheaper, but without updates
Who is Word best for?
Traditional writers – they are used to
Cooperation with publishers – they need . docx
Focus formatting – they want a perfect look
Short texts – short stories, articles, not books
They already have it – Microsoft 365 is already valid
Long projects – a book with 50 chapters
Organized writers – need structure
EPUB authors – want clean ebook output
Notion
What it is: A modern all -in- one workspace . It’s not primarily for writers, but it can be adapted for that.
Image source: https://www.notion.com/templates/novelplanningresource
Advantages:
The flexibility
of Notion is like Lego. You can build anything – character database, timeline , Kanban board for chapters…
Beautiful UI
Modern, clean, pleasing to the eye. If you are used to modern applications, this will please you.
Databases
You can create a character database with your own properties (age, motivation, relationships…). You can filter, sort, link them.
Templates
The community has created thousands of templates for writers. You can start with a finished structure.
Collaboration
Easy sharing with beta readers, editor.
The free tier is generous
The basic version is free for individuals. Fully functional.
Disadvantages:
Notion is not a writing tool,
it is a workspace tool. The editor is basic – no advanced writing functions, no focus mode, no grammar.
Slow on large documents
If you have a page with 10,000+ words, Notion starts to slow down significantly.
Complicated export
Export to EPUB/DOCX is possible, but the result requires considerable modification.
Dependence on the Internet
Notion is primarily a cloud application. Offline mode is limited.
Absence of writing tools
No grammar check, no generators, no text analysis.
Over-engineering
Writing a book is like using an ax to cut bread. It works, but it’s unnecessarily complicated.
Price:
Free: Free for Individuals Plus: $12/month ($10/month annually) Business: $18/month ($15/month annually)
Who is Notion best for?
Organizational maniacs – love databases
Multi-project writers – write several books at once
Tech- savvy – enjoy building their own system
Cloud- first – everywhere online
Already using Notion – for everything else
They just want to write – too complicated
They need grammar – Notion doesn’t have it
EPUB focus – export is bad
Offline writers – Notion needs internet
yWriter
What it is: A free structured book writing tool, built by writers for writers.
Image source: https://spacejock.com/yWriter5_Screens.html
Advantages:
Completely free
Forever. No in- app purchases , no premium versions.
Structured writing
yWriter is built around scenes. Each scene has its own POV, characters, location , timeline . Great for detailed planning.
Character management
You can create character profiles with pictures, description, goals.
Timeline view
You see the chronological order of the scenes. Useful for detective stories or stories with multiple timelines.
Word count goals
You can set goals (X words per day) and yWriter tracks progress.
Simple
RTF, TXT, HTML export. It’s not EPUB, but it can be further processed.
Disadvantages:
It looks like it’s from the year 2000.
The UI is… old. Really old. If you are used to modern applications, it will be a shock.
Only Windows
Mac and Linux versions do not exist (technically there are Wine wrappers , but not officially).
No grammar check
It’s just not there.
any Dropbox cloud sync
manually, but there is no automatic sync .
Active development is slow
The application receives updates, but very slowly. It does not have an active community like Scrivener .
Price:
FREE
Who is yWriter best for?
Budget $0 – they need free and Notion is not enough
Windows users – another platform is not an option
Structured writers – they love scenes and timelines
They don’t need modern UI – features > appearance
Offline first – they write without internet
Mac/Linux users – not available
Mobile writers – mobile is important
Need support – community is small
Modern UI fans – looks outdated
ProWritingAid
What it is: A specialized tool for editing and improving style. It is not a text editor, but a text analyzer editor .
Image source: https://inboundblogging.com/prowritingaid-review/
Advantages:
The best style analysis
ProWritingAid is the king of text analysis. Checks:
Grammar.
Repetition of words and phrases. Passive construction. Preposition of adverbs
. Readability score
Sentence varietyAnd dozens of other metricsIntegrationWorks as an add -on to Word, Google Docs , Scrivener , browser…
In- depth reports
You can generate detailed reports about your style. Great for self -editing.
Lifetime license
You can buy lifetime for ~$400 and you have it forever.
Disadvantages:
English Only
ProWritingAid works ONLY for English. It is useless for the Czech language.
It’s not an editor You don’t write
about yourself in ProWritingAid . You have to write elsewhere and then import for analysis.
Expensive
Annual subscription ~$120, lifetime ~$400. That’s not enough.
Overwhelming
So many red underlines and warnings that it can be frustrating. You have to know what to ignore.
Price:
$30/month $120/year~$400 lifetime (often on sale)
Who is ProWritingAid best for?
English writers – write in English
Self -editors – want to improve style before sending to an editor
Detail analysts – enjoy data
Already using an editor – just add ProWritingAid
Czechs, Slovaks – doesn’t work for our languages
Beginners – too much warning can frustrate
Budget writers – it’s expensive as an add-on
Special mentions:
Grammarly
What it is: An English grammar checker.
Image source: https://knihovna.utb.cz/sluzby/nastroje/grammarly/
Who it’s for: If you write in English, Grammarly is almost a must. It works everywhere (browser extension ), has a great free version and premium costs ~$12/month.
Cons: English only. For Czech, use LanguageTool or Linguella .
Hemingway Editor
What it is: A text simplification tool. Highlight complex sentences, passive voice, unnecessary adverbs.
Image source: https://hemingwayapp.com/desktop
For whom: English writers who want a more straightforward style (inspired by Hemingway ).
Price: FREE web version, desktop $20 one time.
Cons: English only. It is very basic – no project organization.
Ulysses
What it is: Minimalist markdown editor for Mac/iOS.
Image source: https://ulysses.app/
For whom: Mac/iPhone users who love minimalism and markdown .
Price: ~$50/year subscription.
Cons: Apple ecosystem only. No Windows/Android. Markdown syntax is not for everyone.
How to choose? Decision tree
Let’s make a simple guide to help you decide:
Step 1: What is your operating system?
Mac users:
Do you want minimalism? → Ulysses
Want maximum control? → Scrivener
Do you want modern & free? → Google Docs or Notion
Windows user:
Do you write in Czech and need grammar? → Linguella or Word
Do you want maximum control? → Scrivener
Budget $0? → yWriter or Google Docs
Linux user:
Budget $0? → Google Docs
Markdown fan ? → Typora , Obsidian
Step 2: What is your budget?
$0 (completely free):
Google Docs – the simplest
yWriter (Windows) – more structured
Notion – modern
Up to 2000 CZK/year:
Microsoft 365 (~1890 CZK/year)
Ulysses (~$50/year, Mac only)
One-time investment:
Scrivener (1490 CZK Lifetime )
Linguella (990 CZK Lifetime )
Word Home & Student (~4000 CZK)
Hemingway Desktop (~$20)
Step 3: What is most important to you?
Czech grammar check:
Linguella – supports grammar checking, but is constantly under development.
Word – probably the best Google Docs + LanguageTool for Czech addon – slow. ” LanguageTool only supports Czech to a very limited extent — the check is weak and does not cover most
common errors.
Organization of large projects:
Scrivener – the industry standard among professional writers, especially in the indie community.
Linguella – a modern alternative
to Notion – flexible but complex
Simplicity:
Google Docs – you just write
Word – the familiar
Hemingway interface – minimalistic
EPUB export:
Linguella – one click
Scrivener – powerful but complex
Caliber (converter) – for others
My sincere recommendation:
As a developer Linguelly, I could be biased, but I will try to be as objective as possible:
For most Czech writers, I recommend starting with:
Google Docs – If you’re a complete beginner and don’t know if you’ll even finish a book, get started for free. Google Docs is sufficient for the first draft.
Linguella or Word – If you write seriously and need Czech grammar, invest. Linguella has more features for writers, Word is more universal.
Scrivener – If you write complex projects (fantasy series, non-fiction with research) and are willing to invest time in learning, Scrivener is the best choice. But take into account that the Czech grammar is not there.
If you were to ask me directly:
“Should I start with Scrivener or Linguella ?”
It depends:
Scrivener if you write primarily in English or have an ultra-complex project (non-fiction with 500 notes).
Linguella if you write in Czech/Slovak and need a grammar check + want a modern UI + plan EPUB export.
“Is Linguella better than Scrivener ?”
No, it isn’t. She is different. Scrivener is an established standard with 15 years of development and a huge community. Linguella is a newborn in the world of writing applications, it has fewer functions, but it focuses on Czech writers and a modern workflow .
“Should I stay with Google Docs ?”
If it works for you, feel free to stay! Many successful authors write in Google Docs their entire career. But once you start hitting the limits (organization, EPUB export, grammar), consider upgrading.
FAQ: Your most frequent questions
Can I switch between applications?
Yes! Most applications allow import/export. docx or . txt files. You can start in Google Docs , switch to Linguella for editing, export to Scrivener for the final compile …
But be careful: By switching frequently, you waste time learning a new application. Pick one and give it at least 3 months before thinking about changing.
What is the cheapest combination for a professional workflow ?
Budget setup:
Writing: Google Docs (free)
Grammar: LanguageTool addon (free/ premium ) – poor support for Czech, better support for Slovak
Organization: Notion (free)
Export: Caliber (free)
Total: 0 CZK (or ~$5/month for LanguageTool premium )
Can I use Linguella even if I have a Mac?
Unfortunately not yet. A Mac version is planned, but not available now. You can use Windows virtualization ( Parallels ), but that is complicated.
For Mac, I recommend Scrivener + Grammarly (if you write in English) or Google Docs
Is it possible to use multiple applications at the same time?
Of course! For example:
Planning: Notion
Writing: Linguella or Scrivener
Editing: ProWritingAid or Grammarly
Final Formatting: Vellum or Caliber
Each tool does something best. Combine as needed.
Which app is the safest for my handwriting?
Safest:
Local application ( Scrivener , Linguella , Word, yWriter ) – your text never leaves the computer (if you don’t want it)
With its own encryption – none Less secure: 3. Cloud application (Google Docs , Notion ) – the text is on the company’s servers
Recommendation: Use a local application + regular backup to an external disk or an encrypted cloud ( Tresorit , Sync.com).
Conclusion: There is no universally “best” tool
After reading this article, you might have expected the obvious: “This tool is the best!”
But the truth is that there is no single best tool. There is only one tool that is best for you.
Basic rules:
Start simple – If you are a beginner, start with Google Docs or Word. Don’t pay for Scrivener until you know you’re going to write seriously.
Invest only when you know why – Buy a paid tool only when you know what you specifically need. “I want a better organization” is a good reason. “Maybe it will motivate me” is not. Give it time – Every application needs time to get used to it. Pick one and give it at least 3 months before you judge it. The tool is not an excuse – Scrivener will not write the book for you. Linguella will not write the book for you. Google Docs will not write the book for you. A tool is just a tool. The important thing is to sit down and write.
Last tip: If you’re reading this article and still don’t know what to choose, try this:
This week: Write in Google Docs
Next week: Try a free trial of Linguella or Scrivener
In 2 weeks: Evaluate which suits you better
Make a decision and stick to it for at least 3 months
There is no such thing as a perfect tool. But the tool with which you finish your book – that’s the right one.
What to do next?
Try for free:
Scrivener – literatureandlatte.com
Google Docs – docs.google.com
Notion – notion.com
yWriter – spacejock.com/yWriter
Linguella (trial) – linguella.site
Disclaimer : This article contains honest opinions based on real experience with the applications. I am not paid to mention any application except Linguella , which I develop myself. Prices and features may change over time.
© 2025 Linguella . All rights reserved.