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The 6 Best Online Communities for Writers

These online communities offer inspiration, ideas, and support, no matter what type of writer you aspire to be.

Whether it's fiction, nonfiction, fanfiction, or anything in between, the web offers countless spaces where writers are free to share their work, explore other people's writings, and find a community.

Aspiring creators can dip their toes in the water and see what it's like to deal with constructive criticism, while established writers can test out ideas and see what works better for their story.

Let's look at some platforms that house the best communities for online writers.

1. Critique Circle

Critique Circle has been around since 2003 and is one of the oldest online writing communities. It's well-known, and its members are there to offer assistance and camaraderie.

Its members don't blast you with criticism, but instead, actively work towards providing constructive feedback that will help your work.

For every critique you post, you'll get served with credits. Depending on the length of your post and the story you're critiquing, the credits you earn can range from 0.5 to two credits. You need three credits to submit a story of your own.

The platform houses thousands of members, with over 100,000 stories shared and 400,000 critiques posted. You can interact with everyone, create discussions on various topics, and belong to an accepting community.

2. Writers Helping Writers

Writers Helping Writers is a platform that offers an array of resources for writers, as well as for editors and teachers. You're free to register as a user and work towards improving your writing.

You can find various tutorials, webinars, as well as marketing and writing tools that you can use for free. There's even an idea generator available.

With Writers Helping Writers, you can find a community willing to accept, support, and help you as a writer.

3. Underlined

If you're an aspiring writer that lacks experience, this is the place for you. Underlined offers to help build you up as a writer, craft your skills, and boost your confidence.

The site was created by Penguin Random House, and it's geared towards newer writers. It offers a welcoming writing community willing to give support and advice.

Underlined provides a space to make connections, explore the world of writing, chat with authors, and more. It's an inclusive community dedicated to supporting writers.

4. Scribophile

Scribophile is among the most well-known writing communities available online. It offers guidance, help, and support for aspiring writers. You can access tutorials and workshops, as well as reach out to professional writers who can provide tips and tricks of the trade.

Like with Critique Circle, Scribophile requires you to collect points (karma points) before it allows you to submit a work yourself. You get these points by posting critiques on other people's writings. In other words, you give feedback in order to receive feedback.

Joining the community is free, but the free profile comes with some limitations. If you choose to pay for the $9/month ($65/year) subscription, you get access to everything Scribophile offers, including unlimited submissions and messaging. Either way, the site is ad-free, and is an excellent resource to use to help you grow as a writer.

5. NaNoWriMo

If you want to push yourself as a writer or simply lack motivation or drive, NaNoWriMo is for you. NaNoWriMo boasts a community of writers who challenge themselves to become more productive.

NaNoWriMo is short for "National Novel Writing Month." The platform sets out an annual challenge to writers, daring them to produce 50,000 words for a novel during the month of November.

You don't have to complete your novel in this one single month, but rather aim to get a large chunk of work done. You're free to plan out your work throughout the year and reach out to other members for advice, support, and feedback on your thoughts and ideas.

Motivation can sometimes be hard to come by, and if you're a procrastinator at heart, it can be difficult even to start the writing process. The idea of becoming an organized writer  may seem like an aspirational dream. But if a challenge can get you going, look no further than NaNoWriMo.

6. The Next Big Writer

The Next Big Writer provides a welcoming environment where you can find camaraderie. It offers writing classes and workshops, discussions, feedback, support, and advice for writers.

The community can assist you with every step of your creative process, helping you get published, and market your book. Many members of the community have already been published, and you're encouraged to reach out to them.

The Next Big Writer offers a free and paid membership. The Basic Membership is free but has limitations. On the other hand, the Premium Membership unlocks everything the platform has to offer, including the ability to post unlimited content. It costs $7.95/month or $69.95/year.

The Benefits of Being Part of a Community

A community grants you access to constructive criticism. And, not just a bunch of people spewing negativity for the sake of it, but actual valuable advice to help you become a better writer .

Sometimes, you simply need a second opinion. A pair of fresh eyes looking at what you've been writing can be genuinely helpful.

While you might not realize that something can be improved upon, someone new to your work can reach that conclusion much faster. All it takes is a slight adjustment to the direction, and that can prove to be a major help.

Apart from guidance on a piece you're still writing, you can also ask your community to review a work you've already completed. Strangers often offer the best criticism—unlike family or friends, they won't sugarcoat their words to avoid hurting your feelings.

Aside from receiving feedback, you can also benefit from support. A community willing to welcome you and provide any assistance is invaluable. After all, who can better understand what you're going through than another writer?

Joining a Community Is a Must

Being a writer can often feel reclusive. Belonging to a community of people like you, who face the same challenges, is an excellent way to find kindred spirits.

And, if you're not one for socializing, the right community can be beneficial to your writing. Having access to published authors and getting constructive criticism, advice, and support is invaluable.

Every artist can benefit from finding a like-minded community and sharing their work. Make the jump and find your community. With so many options at your fingertips, don't be scared to explore them all and find the right fit for you.

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Best Writing Apps for Online

Showing 54 writing apps that match your search.

Grammar Lookup

Grammarlookup.com uses artificial intelligence to check grammar and punctuation mistakes in your writing, eliminate spelling errors and highlight 1000s of style issues to make your writing exceptional among other writers.

Platforms: Online

Best for: Editing, Proofreading, Essay, and Free

Website: https://www.grammarlookup.com/

Base price:

Premium price:

★★★★★ Performance

★★★★ Features

★★★ Accessibility

Also rated 4.7 ★ on Capterra

Create documents, make impact. When your work needs to wow, Craft gives you the tools to make it magnificent.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Online, PC

Best for: Note-taking, Drafting, Journal, Essay, Blog, and Free

Website: https://www.craft.do/

★★★★ Performance

★★★★★ Accessibility

Also rated 4.9 ★ on the App Store

The Novel Factory

The Novel Factory helps guide new writers through the novel writing process - while completing your first manuscript.

Platforms: Mac, Windows, Online, PC

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, Book, and Story

Website: https://www.novel-software.com/

★★★ Performance

★★★ Features

★★★★ Accessibility

Learn more about Reedsy Studio .

ApolloPad is a feature-packed online writing environment that will help you finish your novels, ebooks and short stories.

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, Story, Book, and Free

Website: https://apollopad.com/

Unload your thoughts by creating a personal layout with notes, links and media in a second to visualize your creative process and move forward faster.

Platforms: Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android, Online, PC

Best for: Note-taking, Journal, Blog, Essay, Story, Book, and Free

Website: https://xtiles.app/en

Also rated 4.9 ★ on Capterra

Writing Analytics

Track your progress. Stay accountable. Finish your drafts.

Platforms: Online, Chrome

Best for: Drafting, Book, and Story

Website: https://www.writinganalytics.co/

★★★★★ Features

★★ Accessibility

Dropbox Paper

Dropbox Paper is more than a doc — it’s a co-editing tool that brings creation and coordination together in one place.

Platforms: Online, Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Chrome, PC

Best for: Note-taking, Essay, Blog, and Free

Website: https://www.dropbox.com/paper/start?no_redirect=1

★★★★★ Value

Also rated 4.5 ★ on TechRadar

NaturalReader

The #1 text to speech solution for personal, commercial, and educational use.

Platforms: Online, iPhone, iPad, Android

Best for: Editing, Story, Book, Blog, Journal, and Free

Website: https://www.naturalreaders.com/

A minimalist writing zone, where you can block out all distractions and get to what's important. The writing! To get started, all you need to do is delete this text (seriously, just highlight it and hit delete), and fill the page with your own fantastic words. You can even change the title!

Best for: Drafting, Book, Story, Poetry, Journal, Essay, and Free

Website: https://zenpen.io/

LanguageTool

LanguageTool’s multilingual grammar, style, and spell checker is used by millions of people around the world.

Platforms: Online, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, PC

Best for: Editing, Proofreading, Essay, Blog, and Free

Website: https://languagetool.org/

Also rated 4.8 ★ on the App Store

All great writing begins with inspiration. The writing process, however, begins with an unyielding blank page. You could keep battling it. Or you could organize your research snippets on it. So you fill the page with your ideas, data and inspiration. And write a world-class piece that's supported by cited research.

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, and Essay

Website: https://www.airstory.co/

A reliable proofreading tool and essay editor for any writer or student.

Website: https://typely.com/

Also rated 4.3 ★ on Capterra

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• Writing Tips

Top 10+ Online Writing Communities For Aspiring Authors

“The truth is, writing is this: hard and boring and occasionally great but usually not. Even I have lied about writing. I have told people that writing this book has been like brushing away dirt from a fossil. What a load of shit” recounted Amy Poehler in her book Yes Please , and rightly so. Regardless of how much a person loves writing, it does get tedious and lonely. It is natural human behavior to get demotivated or feel uninspired. A writer can only write when they are motivated and inspired, two things that are highly driven by their experiences and surroundings. It is no secret that a writer needs to interact and have several discourses in order to put pen to paper. We all know that creative block or writer’s block is a legitimate thing that happens to individuals. It is especially hard when an individual is required to discipline themselves and hold themselves accountable all alone. If you do not face any of the above-mentioned struggles then congratulations , you have cracked it! However, if you do relate to the above-mentioned problems and feel alone in your struggle, then keep reading because you are definitely not alone in this. God bless the Internet! In the current era, even without physically meeting someone, you still have the avenue to reach out for feedback and motivation. We live in the “online” culture and there several platforms that are curated specifically for writers. Especially in this pandemic environment, all of us could use a little “online community” support. Several sites allow writers to virtually interact, gain feedbacks, and attend workshops to enhance their writing skills. The following is a list of 10+ online writing communities that are diverse in nature and answer all your writer’s query:

#1 Absolute Write Water Cooler

This is one of the most famous and highly recommended online sites for writers. It hosts a large community of new and experienced writers. The website provides moderators who assist the writers concerning feedbacks and inputs. Absolute Writer Water Cooler takes its community guidelines very seriously. Another distinctive factor about the website is their system of “reputation points.” The option allows members to give or take away other member’s reputation points. This establishes trust between the writer and the person giving the feedback along with providing accountability. Everybody is thus incentivized to provide their best input. They have various topics and one can read through the material on the site without registering. However, only registered members can give and receive feedback. If you are looking for a site that is well established and trusted, checkout Absolute Write Water Cooler .

#2 Insecure Writer’s Support Group

This website was started with the intention to help writers who struggle with confidence in their writing. IWSG is a community dedicated to supporting writers to overcome their struggles. It hosts writers from beginner level to published authors . On the first Wednesday of every month, the members share their thoughts and ideas about writing their blogs. Currently, IWSG has over 170 people as part of the active blogging community that posts on the first Wednesday of every month. The site has a Facebook group, Instagram page, and a book club. The website showcases various writing materials and workshops that a writer can look into. If you are nervous about your writing skills and are looking for smaller online writing communities to interact with, try giving Insecure Writer’s Support Group a try.

#3 Commaful

This website is very famous for its fun approach to writing. The platform hosts readers, writers, and fans. Commaful claims to keep a positive and safe space for creators. They have members from the beginner level to award-winning writers. The platform allows two options: to comment and message to facilitate communication between readers and writers. Another striking feature of Commaful is that it allows the user to turn their writing into trailers that can be easily shared on social media. According to the website, the stories on the platform reach millions of people every month. The platform allows a user to explore over a thousand genres of fiction. The site caters only to fiction writers and creates a conducive environment for creativity. If you are diving into fiction writing it would be highly useful to check out Commaful .   

#4 Scribophile

This website functions on detailed critiquing. Every writer or creator requires valuable feedback on their work. It challenges the writer to do better. Scribophile provides detailed critiques that are exchanged amongst the members. Once you become a part of the Scribophile community, you will be required to critique other members’ work as well. According to their website, they are perfect for you if you are looking for beta readers. Furthermore, the site also offers online writing workshops. If you are looking for some valuable feedbacks from experienced writers and enjoy critiquing other people’s work, Scribophile is your site!

#5 WritersCafe

WritersCafe is a community that works on the simple principle of sharing and reviewing. The website provides the user with an option to post their work, get feedback along with befriending other writers. The platform promotes reviews and suggestions from over a thousand members. Another interesting feature of the platform is that it allows a user to enter several free writing contests. You can also join specific writing groups or start one of your own. Additionally, WritersCafe also provides free online writing courses. If you are looking for a platform that challenges your work and offers free services, do visit WritersCafe .

#6 She Writes

We can never have enough platforms dedicated to women and She Writes seems to agree with this. It is the largest online writing community and content site for female writers from all walks of life. The website believes in the inclusivity of every genre and age group. She Writes was founded by Kamy Wicoff in 2009 to enable and educate writers by providing a conducive environment that is both inspiring and practical. Currently, the community holds over 32,000 members with more than 350 groups. The website focuses on insights about writing and life as an author. The platform has also featured bestselling authors like Christina Baker Kline, Hope Edelman and Gretchen Rubin . If you are a female writer looking for a community that is inspiring and educational, do visit She Writes .

#7 Story A Day

This platform is a balance between fun, challenging, and accountability. The platform essentially provides its users with a challenge to write a short story every day during the month of May or September. One can choose to write every day or pick a schedule according to their comfort. The platform is driven towards inculcating creativity in its users. Additionally, the website has the concept of Serious Writers’ Accountability Group (SWAGr) where one can join and post their writing commitment for the month. Apart from the two writing challenges, the website provides regular prompts, reviews and podcasts on writing. If you are looking for a fun way to become more disciplined with your writing, do check out Story A Day .

Pencil publishing is the world’s first incubated & accelerated publishing module. The Pencil writing platform is a free platform that enables authors to create, publish, and distribute their books worldwide in paperback and eBook format. Pencil provides a writer with everything they need to become a published author with ease. Something that it does differently is that Pencil provides the author with real-time analytics on how their book is being read. Staying true to the name, whatever is written with a Pencil can always be corrected and updated. Similarly, Pencil allows its users to write, publish, understand, republish, and distribute globally. Pencil strives towards being a safe medium that fosters creativity. Pencil also has an active team that reviews all content posted and takes the necessary action as quickly as possible if the content violates their community guidelines of making Pencil a safe, inclusive space. The platform also allows the user to resolve issues with fellow members directly. If you are a writer working towards becoming an author, Pencil is the platform for you.

#9 Communities on Social Media

It is no surprise that social media is thriving and so are the communities under their umbrella.

Several Facebook groups provide an online community for writers such as 10 Minute Novelists Group and 20BooksTo50K . Every group is made with a different set of incentives. Facebook fundamentally provides writers a place where they can discuss their inhibitions regarding their projects amongst other things. The Write Life Community , for instance, is a Facebook page with over 26,000 members that facilitate conversations amongst writers about their journeys. The group also offers various discussions on topics ranging from procrastination to the choice of paper for books. Writers Helping Writers is another such group with over 272K members. The group runs on the idea of providing writers with feedback in terms of (not limited to) editing, publishing, and cover designs. Facebook groups are ideal for people who want to instantly connect with fellow writers and editors. It is recommended to browse through the “about” section before joining a group. The above-mentioned groups target writing time and money-making for authors.

Another great platform to follow for some valuable writing insights on niche topics is Reddit. The striking feature of this platform are the discussions that takes place. There is also an option for anonymity which caters unbiased discussions. The platform is common ground for renowned authors like Stephen King and novice writers. A lot of prolific writers conduct question-answer sessions under AMA (Reddit feature) where they give inputs about their own writing processes. Even though the content on Reddit is heavily layered, a little time browsing will take you a long way. An example of the same is this subreddit .

Twitter is a great platform that acts as a gateway for writers to find exclusive communities. A great example of the same would be Who Pays Writers? page on Twitter. It is an anonymous crowd-sourced information on publication rates for writers. They also have their own website where users can check the accurate market price of their literary works. The page has over 31K members. Another Twitter page that is doing a remarkable job with respect to inclusivity is Disabled Writers . The group mainly focuses on “increasing disability diversity in journalism.” The group also retweets hiring posts and other important publication information by established writers. Similarly, one can also take the help of Twitter by simply searching for hashtags such as #Writing or #Author to follow trending threads. It will help you to stay up to date with content. Some other social media pages worth checking out are:- Weekly Critique and Self-Promotion Thread (Reddit) , Writing Groups (Quora) , ProWritingAid Writer’s Community(Facebook) , writersnetwork(Instagram) , and Writer’s Relief(Twitter) .

Bound is an Indian online platform for writers. The website provides several features and services. A writer has the option to explore various online workshops and mentoring classes. Bound also provides various services such as manuscript review, writing coaching and line edit. The site also informs the writer about various retreats and webinars. Additionally, they also have their own podcast. If you are a writer looking for a platform that is specific to India, do visit Bound .

#11 Communities Exclusively For LGBTQIA+

Out on the Page: Out on the Page started in 2018 with a vision to bring together emerging LGBTQIA+ writers to support each other in their writing process while sharing their expertise and experiences. The platform currently offers numerous free ‘social/networking’ events and paid writing workshops. If you are looking for a space that is inclusive and provides networking, check out Out on the Page .

WritersCafe Groups: WritersCafe is already mentioned on the list above, but it is imperative to point out that the platform has a subgroup called LGBT authors . This group is for the members of the community to come together and share their ideas. According to the group, “the writing expectations in this group are MOSTLY any kind of Gay or Lesbian stories, books, poems, or songs.” LGBT Writers (Facebook Group): This group is dedicated towards writers that belong to the LGBT community or write about the same. The group also welcomes people who are interested in LGBT-related books. LGBT Writers require members to strictly post about things under the topic. Currently, the group harbors 4.3K members. If you are looking for a Facebook group/page to connect with like-minded individuals, check out LGBT Writers .

#12 Black, Indigenous, POC (BIPOC) Writing Community & Writers Of Colour

As the name suggests, BIPOC Writing Community is a platform open to all people of color. Faith Adiele, professor at California College of the Arts and author of Meeting Faith, and Serena W. Lin, writer, attorney, and starship pilot, host a weekly online session for members of the community. The members write 2 prompts for 20 minutes, with a 10-minute break in-between. The first online event was hosted on March 24, 2020. If you want to be involved in future sessions, check out Black, Indigenous, POC (BIPOC) Writing Community . Similarly, another community that needs to be mentioned while talking about BIPOC is Writers of Color on Twitter. The pages were started for better representation by Durga Chew-Bose, Jazmine Hughes, Vijith Assar , and  Buster Bylander . The page updates job openings and other opportunities on its portal. Even the creators of the page like Durga and Jazmine hold a substantial following on twitter. The page strives towards presenting substantial opportunities for people of colour and has a following of almost 59K members.  

The above mentioned are some of the online writing communities out there facilitating the interests of readers and writers across the world. All of them fulfill a particular need. As a writer, you need to know what is lacking in your writing before you chose a community. Look for online writing communities that are curated to your needs as a writer. It is advisable to read through the “about” section of each website before you sign up or buy a premium. All in all, the dedication needs to come from within, however, the online writing communities will definitely help you with keeping up the drive.  

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Become a better writer and meet beta readers in our online writing group

Scribophile is one of the largest and most award-winning online writing communities.

Make your writing shine with feedback from other writers

You’ve spent a lot of time writing your story. But how can you make it perfect before you start thinking about publishing?

Scribophile is a writing group focused on getting you feedback on your manuscript. — in fact, we’re one of the largest online writing groups out there. Our points-based peer critique system guarantees you’ll get feedback from writers from all walks of life. You can then use that feedback to polish your writing before you take the next step in your publishing journey.

How Scribophile works

1 earn points by giving feedback.

Earn karma points by critiquing writing. Giving feedback to group members is fast, easy, fun, and helps improve your own writing, too!

2 Get feedback on your own writing

Spend karma points to post your own writing for critique from our writing community — anything from flash fiction to novels. Our writer’s group will give you detailed feedback on how to improve it, regardless of your specific genre, and all in a supportive environment.

3 Make friends and meet beta readers

As you participate in our writing group, you’ll meet and form relationships with many different kinds writers. They’ll become your inspiration, your encouragement, and even your beta readers, ready to help with your current manuscript, and your next ones too!

Scribophile was the first place I stopped when I went from being an I-wanna-be-a-writer to I-am-an-author. Now I have four international bestselling novels with major publishers, and when authors come to me I always send them to Scribophile. Genevieve Graham Tides of Honour and others published with Simon & Schuster

Join writing workshops and level up your writing

Our writing workshops are taught by bestselling authors, expert teachers, and industry insiders. We have workshops for writers of any skill level, where we cover everything from beginning topics to advanced techniques.

Our writing workshops are designed to be both comprehensive and transformational — they’re your fast track to leveling up your writing.

Some of our upcoming writing workshops

Writing Query Letters That Work with D.J. Butler

May 11, 2024 • 2 hour workshop, with instructor feedback on your query letter

Join author and Baen editor D.J. (Dave) Butler as he teaches you how to write hard-punching query letters you can use to sell your manuscripts to agents and editors.

Crafting Compelling Nonfiction with Jennifer Silva Redmond

May 11, 2024 • 2 hour webinar

Join author and editor Jennifer Silva Redmond as she shows you the nuts and bolts of crafting gripping nonfiction.

Our writing group welcomes writers of any skill level

Our writing group welcomes writers of all skill levels — from beginners to published authors, and every writer in between.

Each critique you receive on your manuscript is a fresh perspective for you to incorporate. Our bustling writing forums feature writers discussing the craft twenty-four hours a day — share inspiration, ignite your creativity, get support, and connect with others no matter your genre. Plus, our extensive Writing Academy is full of insightful articles on the art — and business — of writing.

Scribophile played a major part in helping me polish my novel for submission. I learnt a huge amount from critiquing other people’s work, as well as from reading critiques of mine. I now have a wonderful agent and have signed a three-book deal in the UK, a two-book deal in Germany, and a TV option. The book was also shortlisted for The Debut Dagger! Roz Watkins The Devil’s Dice and others published with HarperCollins

Giving and receiving critiques on Scribophile made a big difference to the quality of my writing. I learned how to write a query letter here and that led to an agent and a book deal. Ruth Lauren Prisoner of Ice and Snow and others published with Bloomsbury

No more writing alone — meet your new community

Sometimes, the hardest part of the writing process is how lonely it can get.

That’s why the most important part of Scribophile is our community of hundreds of thousands of writers from all over the world. No matter what genre you work in, or how far along you are in your manuscript, the friends you make at Scribophile will give encouragement, accountability, and will finally take the loneliness out of our solitary craft.

My years on Scribophile have given me a master’s level education in writing. The critiques are great, but I’ve learned as much from reading and analyzing other writers on Scribophile. I don’t think I could have polished my novel to a publishable level without this site. I’m an addict. Laura Creedle The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily published with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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The Best Online Writing Apps for Collaboration

Writing shouldn't be a solitary endeavor. Unless you're a team of one, every published piece requires hours of back-and-forth between writers, editors, sources, and stakeholders. Thankfully, many of today's online writing apps offer robust collaboration features that keep everyone involved in the process on the same page.

Whether you're writing a blog post or documentation for your team, writers often work with multiple editors for each article or document—at least, that's how we work here at Zapier ( Editor's note: Hi there! ). The writer submits a draft, then editor(s) add comments and make updates directly to the document. The writer then responds to the comments and revises the draft accordingly.

Sometimes, though, this happens simultaneously--multiple people are adding text, editing, and commenting in a document. Without the right app, that can get messy.

What to Look for in a Collaborative Writing App

The best writing apps for sharing single files or folders, the best writing apps for team content management, how we evaluate and test apps.

Our best apps roundups are written by humans who've spent much of their careers using, testing, and writing about software. Unless explicitly stated, we spend dozens of hours researching and testing apps, using each app as it's intended to be used and evaluating it against the criteria we set for the category. We're never paid for placement in our articles from any app or for links to any site—we value the trust readers put in us to offer authentic evaluations of the categories and apps we review. For more details on our process, read the full rundown of how we select apps to feature on the Zapier blog .

For this guide, we researched and tested more than a dozen writing web apps with collaboration features, and graded them based on criteria such as:

Simple sharing with collaborators: Does this app make it easy for colleagues and other collaborators to jump into one of your documents?

Commenting on specific parts of the document: Does this app offer a smooth experience for providing feedback?

Synchronous, confusion-free collaboration: Can multiple people edit a document at once without tripping over each other?

Editing and version control: Is it easy to see what's been changed since you last opened the document, and does the app let you accept and reject changes?

Exporting options: Whether you need to post your finished product to your blog or attach it to an email, does this app offer a variety of exporting options?

Markdown support: Can you use Markdown to add quick, clean styles to your copy? (If you haven’t used it before, here’s our Markdown guide to get you started—once you've tried it, you'll never go back.)

In the end, these apps stood out for their writing and collaboration features.

The writing apps below make it easy to share a single document with others via email or a shared link, or by sharing a folder. They're basically online word processors with collaboration features such as clear commenting, but without extra features such as project management tools for teams. Their simplicity and popularity are their greatest strengths, particularly for freelancers and people who collaborate often with others outside of their company.

Google Docs (Web, iOS, Android)

Best for quickly and easily sharing documents with other Google Apps users

Google Docs is the most popular collaborative writing and editing tool today, with nearly 25 million active monthly users (compared to nearly 5 million for Microsoft Word, according to a report from SurveyMonkey ). Because it's so easy to use and automatically tied to every Google account, it's the default word processing app for many individuals.

Google Docs offers the essential features you'd expect of any popular word processor. It excels, however, in its baked-in collaboration features.

Clear and Easy Commenting : Google Docs lets you comment on any text, image, or other specific part of the page, and highlights the text with comments. These make it easy for both editors and writers to spot parts of the text that need to be addressed: When you scroll through a document, the highlighted text jumps out at you. At the same time, the comments are not inline with the document but off to the side and can be hidden or shown, as well as marked as resolved.

Convenient Suggested Edits Mode : Google Docs' editing mode feature (the pen icon in the toolbar at the top right) lets you decide whether to directly edit the original document or make all your edits as suggestions. The main benefit of suggestions: they won't get merged into the original until accepted by the author, so anyone can recommend changes without affecting the original document.

Suggestions come with what looks like a comment, but rather than having a "resolve" button, as comments do, they have accept (checkmark) and reject (X mark) options. This is great for editors who want to suggest a change to the text but want to let the writer decide, and for writers to easily see the kinds of changes their editor(s) typically make for future reference.

The downside, however, is that the suggested edits, color-coded and littered throughout the piece, can be overwhelming. The simple act of deleting a space or adding a comma is called out in green or pink or another color—and that can be daunting for writers who return to find gallons of virtual ink splashed across the page.

Detailed Revision History: If you need to know what's been changed in the document, when it was changed, and by whom, Google Docs makes it easy to find that out. Just go to File > See revision history and you can see every edit that was made by collaborators. To revert to a previous version of the document, all you have to do is click the "Restore this version" link.

Exporting to Multiple Formats: Unlike many other writing apps that let you export the document only to text or HTML, Google Docs supports exporting your document to a wide range of file types, including Word (.doc), OpenDocument text (.odt), PDF, HTML, and .epub. This makes Google Docs a great publishing tool and allows collaborators to use your document in just about any app they choose.

Advanced Sharing Controls: Not only can you share a Google Doc via email or with a link, but you can also prevent people you give editing control to from adding others to the doc. You can also disable downloading, printing, and copying for those who only have view or commenting access. And for even more control, set an expiration date on a collaborator's access to the doc. This is useful when you want to co-author the file with someone but stop sharing it as soon as they're finished.

Google Docs was created with collaboration in mind from the start--and offered real-time collaboration features before Microsoft Word. You'll need a Google account to use Google Docs with other collaborators, but those you share the doc with don't need a Google account to view, comment, or edit the document. (Still, everyone's got a Google account, right?). With the Google Docs Chrome extension , you can even work on your documents offline. This is one of the easiest apps to collaborate on a document with.

Google Docs Price: Free

For a deeper look at Google Docs' features and pricing, see our in-depth Google Docs review . Then, connect Google Docs to your other favorite apps with Zapier's Google Docs integrations .

Related: 40+ Google Docs Tips and Tricks .

Microsoft Word Online (Web, iOS, Android)

Best for compatibility with other Microsoft Office files and quick document formatting

Ask anyone to name a word processing program, and chances are they'll say Microsoft Word. As part of the 28-year-old Microsoft Office suite, which is used by over a billion people worldwide, Microsoft Word has long been the de facto tool for writing and editing at most companies. It's only in the last few years, however, that Microsoft's free web apps suite, Office Online--including Word Online --became a serious contender to Google's Apps offering.

Google Docs and Word Online have similar features--excellent real-time collaboration, version history, and mobile as well as desktop browser access--but there are a few features that might make you choose Word Online over Google Docs.

A Streamlined Microsoft Office Interface and Better Office Compatibility : If you use Office 365, Word Online is a no-brainer for those times you don't have access to the PC or Mac desktop app or you just want to make a quick change to an Office document. It's easy to sign in at OneDrive with your Microsoft account to access your Word docs or create a new one and get right to it. You'll see the familiar Ribbon user interface and can access the most essential features of the writing app.

If someone sends you a Microsoft Word doc and you don't have the desktop app, you can open it in Word Online and expect it to look and function like their version.

Actionable Comments : Comments aren't always just comments when it comes to shared documents. Sometimes they're to-dos, such as "find a better way to phrase this." Word Online adds a checkbox to comments so you can mark comments as completed, in addition to replying to comments or deleting them.

Advanced Page Layout Tools: Many simple writing web apps give you a default page size (8.5x11") in portrait mode. But what if you wanted the document to be legal-size, A4, or any other size or in landscape mode? Word Online gives you complete control over page sizing, and easy ways to adjust the margins, indents, and paragraph spacing, so you can build your pages with precision.

Quick Text Styling: Word Online's styles pane makes it easy to apply more than 20 default styles to blocks of text or the entire document. And if you click the Apply Styles option, you have access to dozens of other styles for table formatting, lists formatting, and footer and endnote styles. Especially when there are multiple people formatting the same document, these pre-made styles help ensure consistency.

Skype Group Chats in Word Online: When someone is editing with you in Word Online, you can click the Skype button to start a text, voice, or video chat directly within the document's chat pane. (Note: This requires users to have an Office 365 subscription.) Or, if you're away from the document, you can still participate in the chat using Skype on your phone or web browser.

Word Online doesn't have all of the features as the desktop version of Word, but it has all the functionality you'd expect in an online word processor--including strong collaboration and sharing options. As with Google Docs, you can share Word Online with others even if they don't have a Word Online (Microsoft) account.

Word Online Price: Free

Want to collaborate on spreadsheets, too? Learn how to use Excel Online to crunch numbers in your browser with our Excel Online review .

Dropbox Paper (Web)

Best for clean, clutter-free writing and rich media support

Dropbox Paper is still in beta. However, the beta feels polished and has an elegant, modern design. Here are some of this writing app's best features:

Minimalist Design : Dropbox Paper's design is very reminiscent of online publishing platform Medium . It's clean and uncluttered, with lots of white space to put the focus on your content, rather than buttons and options. The sleek interface makes Dropbox Paper easy to use and encourages you to just start writing.

Rich Content Embedding : You can insert just about any kind of content into your document: videos from YouTube or Vimeo, audio from Spotify, and files from Dropbox and Google Docs.

Dropbox Paper also offers one of the best ways to use images in your document. You can paste two images next to each other and they'll be automatically organized side by side. The image toolbar lets you align images left, center, or right, or expand them full width. And if you double-click on an image, it will open in a full-screen gallery view.

Instant Markdown and Code Formatting : Dropbox Paper uses rich text rather than Markdown formatting, but it took my pasted Markdown and re-formatted it as rich text immediately. That was a nice surprise.

Compared to the process of exporting my Markdown as rich text, pasting it into Google Docs, and fixing the parts of my formatting that get lost during that process, Dropbox Paper's auto-formatting would save me a bunch of time. If you prefer to write in Markdown but the final document needs to be in rich text format, Paper is a lifesaver.

You can also use Dropbox Paper for writing code. Start a line with three backticks ` and the app will automatically detect the programming language and highlight the syntax for you.

Easy Folder or Documents Sharing : Dropbox Paper uses a simple approach to sharing: Enter an email address, add an optional note, and send the invite. It also gives you a couple of additional sharing options: As with Google Docs, you can create folders in your account and share their contents with collaborators. Or, you can share a single document from within the document editor.

You might use folders to keep you work and personal files separate in your Paper account. If you're going to share files with the same people over and over, sharing a folder saves you the time and effort of sharing each new document.

Colorful Comments : In your Dropbox Paper document, you can highlight a particular parts to add your comment to. Plus, it's easy to reply to comments. In other words: You'll feel right at home if you've used Google Docs a lot in the past. The Paper team even threw in some fun stickers to keep comments lively.

Dropbox Paper also uses colored names (similar to Hackpad , below) to show who wrote what. If you're working on a living document with a team of people, this can be handy when time passes and you can't remember who had which idea.

Within your document, you can also use the @ sign before a team member's name to call their attention to a comment. Similarly, you can reference another document or folder by typing + and its name.

Unobtrusive Table of Contents : Dropbox Paper automatically creates a table of contents based on the headings in your document. Although other writing apps can also do this, it's implemented unobtrusively and automatically here. In other apps, you have to click a button in one of the menus to show the TOC, but Dropbox Paper shows very small lines on the left of the screen that you can just hover over to show the TOC. It's out of the way when you don't need it, but easy to get to when you do.

Linked to Your Dropbox Account : As you might expect, Dropbox Paper requires users to log in with their Dropbox account, so you'll need to create one if you want to use the product. Paper isn't mixed in with your Dropbox files, but, again, you can link to Dropbox files easily from within a Paper document. The good news is, at least for now , Paper documents don't count towards your Dropbox storage quota.

Do note that Dropbox Paper doesn't offer offline access. It's possible Paper will add offline access in the future, but for now you'll need an internet connection to create and edit documents. Depending on your workflow, this could be a dealbreaker.

Dropbox Paper Price: Free

Learn more about the core Dropbox features in our Dropbox review .

Etherpad (Web)

Best for developers who want full control over their tools

Etherpad is an open-source, real-time, collaborative writing tool. If you’re looking for a tool that you can host yourself—rather than storing your data on some big company’s servers—this is the app for you. There are also a few publicly hosted instances of Etherpad you can use for free, such as etherpad.net .

Color-coded and Account-Free Collaboration : Each collaborator on the document gets a color, and their additions to a document gets highlighted with that color. This makes it easy to see who contributed what to the document at a glance, but with many collaborators a document could look like a rainbow of LEGO blocks. You can, however, clear the color formatting.

Anyone with a link to your document can view or edit it without needing an account. This means you can open up any project to the public and let people contribute anonymously.

Plain-Text-Like Design : Etherpad has a stark, no-frills design. It's not as elegant or modern as apps like Dropbox Paper, nor does it have as many rich formatting features as apps like Word Online, but some might be more comfortable in Etherpad's distraction-free interface.

Open Source : The internet, and most of the software we use today, wouldn't exist without open source code. Developers rely on each other to share their code so they can build upon what others have done before. It's great to support open source software, and because Etherpad is open source, you'll find several free variations of this writing tool, one of which might suit your needs better.

Fun fact: Hackpad (below) is based on Etherpad.

Timeline view : One feature that's unique to Etherpad is the timeline view, which lets you explore previous versions of your document. You can quickly scrub through the timeline to find the version you’re after, or marvel at how your document has changed over time.

Syntax highlighting : If you’re a developer and want to share snippets of code with your team, you know how awkward it can be to share code without syntax highlighting. Syntax highlighting in Etherpad is enabled through a plugin, so not every public instance will include it, but https://etherpad.mozilla.org/ does.

Embed your Etherpad : Another unusual feature that’s present in Etherpad is the option to embed your document elsewhere. Most collaborative editors expect you to pull collaborators into their product, but Etherpad lets you embed your documents in your own website.

Etherpad Price : Free

Some writing apps are built more for teams in the same company. Beyond allowing you to share documents for collaborative editing, the apps below also let you share entire sets of content. They also offer team-centric features such as project workspaces, task management tools, and detailed access control.

Quip (Web, Windows, Mac, Android, iOS)

Best for robust commenting and team chat within your writing app

Quip is a streamlined app that combines text documents, spreadsheets, and checklists in a central place. With messaging and notification features not found in many standalone writing apps, Quip is more of a team content management platform than an online word processor. Here are some of Quip's best features for writers and editors working together:

Change History Stream: Documents in Quip all get a handy side panel that shows comments and changes to the document in one long stream. This can be useful when trying to keep track of who touched the document last and what changes have been made recently.

Fun Commenting: What makes people want to discuss a document? Emojis, of course. Quip's commenting feature not only boldly highlights comments, but also lets you add emojis and add commands like /yoda to automatically insert a Yoda GIF as your comment. You can archive comments and team members can "like" your comments, creating a sort of social network within your living doc.

Granular Notifications: When you want to keep up with all activity in a document, notifications are your friend. Quip lets you customize the desktop and mobile notifications for each document, so you can stay on top of the changes that matter most to you.

Folder-Based Organization: In addition to sharing individual files by email or with a link, you can share entire folders with one or more people. That's possible in many other apps, such as Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, but Quip offers color-coded folders, notification settings on a per-folder basis, and a clear way to see how many people a folder is shared with. You can also add files to multiple folders--useful, for example, for saving a file to both a drafts folder and a department folder.

Built-in Chat Room: Aside from inline comments, Quip also lets you create one or more chat rooms, similar to Slack. So instead of switching to a separate messaging app, you can write, edit, and collaborate on content under one roof.

Quip's minimalist, toolbar-less user interface might take some getting used to if you've long used other writing apps. With dedicated URLs for teams (such as zapier.quip.com), granular notifications, built-in chat, and fun commenting, however, it's worth a look if your team needs a new collaborative writing tool.

Quip Price: Free for personal accounts; from $10/month for teams

Note: The app was recently acquired by Salesforce .

For a deeper look at Quip's features and pricing, see our in-depth Quip review . Then, connect Quip to your other favorite apps with Zapier's Quip integrations .

Hackpad (Web, Android, iOS)

Best for living documents that don’t need to be published elsewhere

Hackpad has been acquired by Dropbox and is no longer maintained, but it's been open-sourced and open-for-business for existing and new customers. This collaborative, real-time text editor offers moderation and organization features not found in many other team writing apps.

Organization Tools : Your pads can be organized into workspaces, which function like notebooks. They can also be added to collections, which are more like labels or tags. Add a pad to as many collections as you need to stay organized.

If you add a hashtag to your pad, you can find all the related pads just by searching for that hashtag and clicking on it.

Hackpad also generates a table of contents for you automatically, creating a header out of any bolded line. That makes it easy to jump to any section to find what you need.

Sharing : Sending an invite is as simple as dropping a collaborator's email address in the box to the right of the editor. However, there's no option to add a comment when sending an invite, so if you want to add a note, you'll need to send a separate message.

You can also share a pad with the public, making those pads more like a wiki-style resource.

Document Moderation : Hackpad works more as a "living document" or online notebook for co-editing notes. Collaborators all work on the same document, and comments are included inline, rather than attached to--and visually separated from--the document.

This works well for brainstorming or collaborative meeting notes, but isn't as versatile for writers and editors co-authoring content. It can also be confusing when different contributors start adding lots of comments, as there's no easy way to keep track of where you've read up to and which comments need to be dealt with. However, every update to the document is attributed to each user, and you can moderate additions, updates, and comments added to your pads.

Code and Rich Media Support : With code blocks, video embeds, and Markdown-style headings, Hackpad caters towards developers and designers. Export a pad with a code extension, such as .html or .js, and the syntax will be highlighted automatically for that language.

You can also embed images or other rich media and even create a to-do list within your pad with the task list feature.

Notifications of Changes Delivered in Email : This one probably depends on personal taste, but I enjoy the way Hackpad sends me actual changes in an email. I never have to open the document to see what's changed; I can just read the email notifications to catch up. For those who are drowning in email, this might not be ideal, but I found it especially handy when collaborating with others in different timezones, as I could just jump into my inbox to catch up on everything I missed overnight, including changes to ongoing Hackpad files.

Seamless Dropbox Syncing : If you're a Dropbox user, you can connect your account to Hackpad to sync all of your Hackpad documents. You can also add files of any size to your document, which in Hackpad is called a "pad". This can be handy for keeping all of your work-related documents together.

Hackpad Price: Free public workspaces for unlimited users; free private workspaces with up to 5 collaborators; $2 per user for private documents with more than 5 collaborators

For a deeper look at Hackpad's features and pricing, see our in-depth Hackpad review . Then, connect Hackpad to your other favorite apps with Zapier's Hackpad integrations .

Other Collaborative Writing Apps

These aren't the only apps suited for co-authoring a document or just sharing a document for comments, but they're the most popular and feature-rich online writing apps you can easily use with either a team member or a new contact today.

That said, here are a few other established and up-and-coming web apps for document collaboration you might want to take a look at as well:

Zoho Writer : As part of the Zoho Docs suite of apps (similar to Microsoft Office) and the larger Zoho business apps ecosystem, Zoho Writer stands out for its advanced document access controls. You can specify who can manage permissions to the document, set an expiration date for file access, share a document publicly but require a password, turn off collaboration temporarily, lock sections of a document, and more. This is great for businesses or individuals working with sensitive content. We found the sharing and collaboration features to be less intuitive than the other writing apps, but if you need a full-fledged writing app that offers more security than most, this is the app to test first.

Penflip : Penflip is designed around Git , a popular version control technology used by software developers. This makes it a great choice for programmers who want to work with something familiar, but it doesn't have some of the collaborative features that come with other apps on this list. Penflip offers great version control, but comments are stored outside of the document in a separate section for each project, which makes co-authoring and collaboration trickier.

Notion.so : More of a team workspace like Hackpad than a standalone writing tool, Notion makes it easy to edit documents or create quick notes and organize them by team or category. It ticks of most of the boxes in terms of features, cost per user ($5/month), and learning curve, although key features such as versioning and seeing who edited parts of the document are still coming to this new app.

GatherContent : Used by organizations such as Harvard University, Intel, and Ogilvy, GatherContent is designed for large teams. It offers features for controlling content approval workflows--seeing what content is due, when, and who is responsible. Then you can export content to popular CMSes. With prices ranging from $66/month to $216/month, it's a bigger investment than the other apps on this list, but well worth it if you want an efficient way to organize and collaborate on content before you publish it.

As more of us spend our lives working online and with others in cities far from our homes, collaborative tools are exploding in popularity. For anyone who spends a lot of time writing or editing, collaborative writing apps like these can not only save time, they can make the entire process simpler and easier.

Whether you're collaborating on a blog post, novel, project plan, or eBook, the apps above can help you and your teammates stay on the same page (no pun intended) and each contribute to that written work of art.

Evernote, OneNote, and Beyond: The 12 Best Note-Taking Apps

15 Editorial Tools to Help You Outline, Write and Edit (Better and Faster)

Belle Beth Cooper contributed to this post.

Photo by Ilya Pavlov via Unsplash .

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Melanie Pinola

Melanie Pinola is a NY-based writer. Besides trying out new productivity systems, she enjoys cooking, playing video games with her family, and traveling. Follow her at @melaniepinola.

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Top 7 Websites for Writers to Post Their Work Publicly

Self Publishing 101 , Writing Tips |

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One of the things I was curious about when I started my self-publishing journey was there a place online that I could publish my work online publicly prior to full-blown publishing.

So in this article, we will take a look at the best sites for writers to publish their work online…

Article Topics

Which are the best websites for writers to post their work publicly?

Here are the 7  best websites for authors to share their work online: 

Why Would an Author Want to Post their Work online Publicly?

Before we take a deeper look at each of the websites above, I thought it might be a good idea to discuss the benefits of publishing your work online since it was a question I asked myself when I first learned about these platforms.  So let’s take a deeper look as to why you may want to consider sharing your stories publicly on these sites.

1. One Is The Loneliest Number

Writing can be one of the most intrinsically fulfilling artforms there is, but with that, it can also be lonely. Sometimes writing into a vacuum can become demotivating over the long haul. By sharing your writing on these sites you can break out of this vacuum and keep that motivation going. You can ensure that your hard work doesn’t fall into the abyss.

2. Build Your Fan Base

Launching your first book is daunting, and getting your first set of readers is crucial.  By publishing a sample of your work on one of the sites above, you can begin to cultivate fans that will be excited and dare I say thirsty for your book launch. This can give you a huge edge compared to launching completely unknown.

3. Build Your Backstory

You can make your novel that much stronger by flushing out your character’s back story further online, live to an audience.  These websites will help you turn your concept into a full-fledged novel-worthy plot.   Doing it live is way more fun than running endless beats for yourself in the prewriting process.

4.  Vet Your Idea

If you have an idea for a novel, you can test the concept by publishing a few chapters online with live readers. This can be incredibly useful if you are looking to write to the market. Make sure you have a concept that readers want, what better market research than actually putting a bit of the work out there in the universe to gauge first-hand interest.

This can be really useful if you are one of the writers with endless ideas.  Narrow down your top two novel ideas, put a few chapters of each on one of the sites above and see which gets more traction.

5. Get Feedback

Want to gather feedback on your work, writing style, protagonist, then this could be a great way to do it. Asking friends and family is great but they might not be as honest for fear of hurting your feelings. If you engage strangers requesting direct feedback, you will learn a ton. Just remember feedback is a gift, don’t take it personally. Read it with an open mind, and implement what you think has merit.

6. Find Beta Readers

Having a core group of Beta readers that are willing to read your draft prior to publishing is huge. It can help you find a plot gap, or incomplete character prior to publishing to the masses. You can use these writing websites to find your Beta reader tribe. Keep them close and show them appreciation, they are worth their weight in gold.

A Closer Look at the Top 7 Websites to Publish Your Writing for Free.

1. wattpad.com.

• Wattpad is the biggest writer/ reader community
• Boasts over 65 Million Users
• Enables writers to kick off their writer’s journey by reaching millions of potential readers
• Contests Galore to reward your next big hit
• Great way to build a fan readership
• Writers Portal- Which is meant to be a resource hub for new writers.  This is probably one of the most exciting new aspects of Wattpad.  This new investment in writers by Wattpad is a clear attempt to cater to the writers that make this huge community run.
• You can watch the short video below that talks a little more about

• Inspires writers with creative prompts and samples
• Gets writers in the right headspace to let creativity flow
• Features 60 writing exercises and other creative games
• Make those days and nights of struggling to create writing ideas go away without having to bury yourself in more books with Writers Toolbox

Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

•   Inkitt.com takes the social media aspect of writing and takes it up a notch. Writers can write and publish their work on Inkett.com similarly to Wattpad, however, stories that perform well in terms of reader response, feedback, and engagement will be published in 3 formats:
• The site is overall clean and easy to use, and growing every day. It doesn’t have as large a readership as Wattpad but it does feel like it’s a bit more modern, minimalistic, and overall cleaner than Wattpad.
• So basically on Inkitt, your success could earn you a publishing deal. Inkitt prides itself on providing a ton of added value that you don’t normally get outside of the Big 5.
• Available on App or website.

• 150 plot ideas for each of these genres: fantasy, science fiction, mystery, romance, young adult, historical fiction, and general fiction
• hundreds of other master plots from classic fiction and mythology
• hundreds of dialogue, character, and setting prompts
• hundreds of prompts for personal writing and journaling
• 500 blog post ideas

3. StoryBird

• Storybird.com is one of my favorite sites, as it brings a different wrinkle to the online writer publishing platform options.
• With Storybird.com  writers can create stories using images on the site. So you can literally bring your stories to life by adding photos and images to them.
• This is a great way to really make your short stories come to life, and overall I think it creates a more engaging platform for readers, meaning your stories can get strong traction.
• Even provides tools for educators to manage assignments for students.
• They offer an opportunity to grow your career and market your work if your stories attract a large readership
• They are also launching a Beta Partnership opportunity by invite only right now
• Definitely, a good place if you’ve like to practice writing short stories or children’s books

• makes you plan, track, reflect on, and improve your progress and goals an entire year long;
• gets you to unravel the truth about why you aren’t where you want to be
• keeps you writing through weekly thought-provoking quotes and prompts.
• This site allows users to create surveys and stories.  It’s very well categorized which makes it easy to navigate.
• Quotev is a great place if you would like to read or share fan-fiction. It’s not exclusively fan-fiction but there is definitely a large amount of work that genre

• No Author Platform needed
• Marketing Principles
• Launching Your Book

5. Commaful

• Great for short stories and fan-fiction
• Overall very fun lay out, if you want to get away from the seriousness of your writing, this can be a great site for a bit of whimsey.
• Easy to navigate and well categorized
• Very strong Chat and community functions make for a great user engagement

6. Alter Stories 

• This is the most unique concept of all the writers publishing websites.
• It focuses on collaboration to create stories
• The initial writer can come up with a story idea and write the first few hundred words
• Readers that enjoy the story can then pick up the story and write what happens next
• This is not a place if you are control freak or even Type A personality, but if you want to see where the collaborative brainstorming can take your story concept, this might be the place.
• Won’t really get continuity of writers voice through a story since it is being written my multiple people at one time
• A for originality

7.  SwoonReads

• Readers/audience reaction to your story determines if you potential gets traditionally published with Macmillan – Think Americas got Talent for authors
• Stories that are selected for publishing will get in house resources to publish their book
• You can use the app or website to read and write
• Restrictive as it only accepts Young and New Adult fiction
• Only accepts full-length novels- no serials

Those are the 7 sites I would suggest writers check out if they are interested in sharing their stories online.

I hope this article is helpful. I know it took me a while to sort through all the different online publishing platform options. In the end, it doesn’t really matter which platform you pick if it helps to motivate your writing.

Pick a site or two and start reading the content of other writers. Interact with the community, and then start writing on the one that you feel matches your personality and content the best.  Remember you don’t have to share your main project on these sites either, they can act as a great outlet for a side project.

Look at these writing communities as a way to share and work on your craft, to get real time feedback, while cultivating an audience.

Thanks for reading and writing!

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8 Online Writing Sites That Pay You This (2024)

Brett Helling is the founder of Gigworker.com. He has been a rideshare driver since early 2012, having completed hundreds of trips for companies including Uber, Lyft, and Postmates.

Since that time, he has expanded his knowledge into the Gigworker site, as well as writing the book Gigworker: Independent Work and the State of the Gig Economy Paperback,  now available on Amazon .

Are you looking for ways to earn money with your writing skills but don’t have the experience? You’re not alone!

The onset of COVID-19 brought freelance writing gigs to the forefront of remote employment opportunities. Research reveals over 70 million Americans did freelance work  in 2022.

Of that number, 82% are freelance writers. That’s around 54 million people in the U.S. alone! Now you’d think that’s too much competition for beginners to handle, but the truth is the opposite.

Finding online writing sites that pay money doesn’t have to be taxing, and most are open to beginners!

This article introduces you to 9 freelance writing sites with extensive job postings fit for your skill level.

• Best Online Writing Sites [At A Glance]
• What are Online Freelance Writing Sites?
• Why Are Freelance Writing Sites Important?
• Do I Need an Online Writing Site to Build a Freelance Writing Career?
• What is the Best Online Freelance Writing Site?
• What is the Best Free Online Writing Site?
• 1. Trust Rating
• 2. Pay Range
• 3. Job Listings
• 4. Application Process
• 5. Online Courses or Blogs
• 1. Upwork: Our Pick
• 2. Blogging Pro: Runner-Up
• 3. Fiverr: Also Great
• 4. Contently – Best for Experienced Writers
• 5. Writers Work – Best Pooled Writing Jobs
• 6. iWriter – Best for Tiered Writing Gigs
• 7. WriterAccess – Best for Long-term Writing Job
• 8. ProBlogger – Best for Blog Writing
• Other Online Gigs to Check Out
• Do Online Writing Jobs Pay Well?
• What is the Best Writing Niche?
• Wrapping Up

The internet has many opportunities for freelance writers, but only a few stand out for bringing in real profit and helping you become a successful freelance writer.

Here are our top picks for 2023:

• Upwork :  Our Pick
• Blogging Pro :  Runner-Up
• Fiverr :  Also Great
• Contently :  Best for Experienced Writers
• Writers Work :  Best Pooled Writing Jobs
• iWriter :  Best for Tiered Writing Gigs
• WriterAccess :  Best for Long-term Writing Jobs
• ProBlogger :  Best for Blog Writing

An Overview of Online Freelance Writing

There is no official date when freelance writing started because freelance writers have been around even before digital platforms were created.

But it’s safe to consider the early 2000s as the dawn of the online freelance writing job trend. Notable sites like  ProBlogger shares their small-scale origins , which have become a huge success over time.

Freelance writing sites are the one-stop shop for businesses and startups seeking writing services. They’re central hubs for hiring writers and finding job boards with quality writing gigs.

Some more intuitive websites have features that allow clients to match their writing jobs with the ideal candidate. This results in a mutually beneficial arrangement that guarantees satisfaction for both the business and the content writers.

A freelance writing website reduces the need for companies to shoulder all the legwork involved in hiring talents. They don’t need complex contracts to engage experienced freelance writers.

On the writer’s side, accessing these freelance platforms streamlines the job search process and helps boost their writing portfolio.

You can have multiple freelance writing jobs in a few months, which allows you to gather referrals and recommendations from happy clients.

Freelance writing sites aren’t required to build a writing career, but they help speed up the process.

Taking on multiple writing jobs within this active community builds up your reputation, skill, and network — factors that help you stand out from the competition.

The Best Online Writing Sites at a Glance

We’ve rounded up our best picks for freelance writing websites and come up with two all-rounders.

With approximately 5 million clients using the platform, Upwork is our best pick for starters looking to understand how freelance writing works.

Its ‘Writing & Translation’ job board category boasts 146k+ active contracts, with clients giving an average 4.8 -star rating to writing professionals.

This includes a range of talents like proofreaders, content writers, translators, ghostwriters, and more.

Blogging Pro is our top choice for niche-focused freelance writing gigs.

It’s a job board that prospective freelancers can use for free, minus the need to create an account.

One of the things we like about this portal is its straightforward application process that details everything you need to know about a job with just a click.

Clients of this site must pay their writers a minimum of $15 per project, eliminating the risk of getting scammed.

Features to Look for In an Online Writing Website

Freelance writing opportunities have attracted many full-time professionals, so the competition is high.

This can result in some people, especially those with no experience, agreeing to jobs that don’t honor their contracts.

To  avoid falling into freelance scams , you must be critical in assessing whether or not the portal you’re signing up for is legit.

Here are features to look for before taking on online writing jobs:

Be wary of freelance websites with a Google review star rating of less than 3. While online ratings are ultimately subjective, they reflect the user experience that professionals and clients have for the platform.

You also want to check review sites like TechRadar or online forums like Reddit and Quora to see what other users think of freelance writing websites.

Online freelance writing jobs vary in pay range, and it’s primarily driven by the fact that clients have their specific project budgets. Some portals require businesses to offer a specific job price range, while others leave it to the client.

The best freelance writing sites have extensive job boards. This allows them to attract clients from all sectors and freelancers of different skill sets.

Check the requirements for signing up with a portal and see if you fit their eligibility. You’re better off starting small and building your portfolio rather than trying to break the big game without a solid portfolio to back it up.

The freelance writing industry is saturated with talent. And while there is a global demand to match that up, beefing up your skill set is necessary to ace the competition.

Check for platforms with built-in writing tools or knowledge bases. Do they have a blog you can subscribe to stay current with the freelance writing landscape?

Best Online Writing Sites: Our Top 3 Options [Ranked & Reviewed]

Here are our top 3 freelance writing sites, handpicked for their combined reach, user reviews, and job opportunities.

1. Upwork : Our Pick

Upwork is a global freelancing platform that connects businesses or startups with individual professionals. It hosts a variety of industries that include writing.

It’s a marketplace where the main currency is your skill. Housing over 12 million freelancers as of 2023, Upwork’s an attractive platform to boost your professional network too!

Key Features of Upwork

Below are features that make Upwork a powerhouse in freelancing:

• Global Network:  Upwork is available in over 180 countries, making connecting with global clients easier.
• All-In Mediation:  Upwork handles all the contracts, billing, and invoicing processes. This helps you focus on your craft instead of tracking all admin-related requirements before getting paid.
• Robust Writing Job Board:  Upwork has 80 writing-related categories under its filter, giving you more options to check if your first few don’t work.
• Upwork Connects:  A “Connect” serves as your internal currency and allows you to send client proposals or applications. Upwork’s free plan grants you 10 connects per month, while its Freelance Plus gives you up to 80 connects.
• Top Rated Badge:  This one’s given to Upwork’s top freelancers who have built a strong reputation on the platform and consistently get positive feedback from clients. Acquiring this badge gives you access to Upwork’s exclusive features like premium support and in-house talent scout assistance.

Pros of Upwork

• Hassle-free Onboarding:  All you need is an email address to start creating an account for free. No need for samples and exams to start searching for writing jobs.
• Seamless Portal Interface:  Upwork has intuitive navigation that helps you sift through job listings without getting lost.
• Location Flexibility:  Compared to some platforms that require you to be within the state or city near your client, Upwork supports fully remote jobs.

Cons of Upwork

• High Competition:  Landing the first gig remains challenging for any new freelance writer. Clients looking for content writing services often look for a solid portfolio before hiring their freelancer.
• Commission Fee:  Upwork takes 20% of the first $500 you bill to your clients. This can be too hefty, especially for starters with minimal projects.
• Dispute Resolution:  Users report difficulty connecting with Upwork’s resolution team to settle payment disputes.

Upwork Income

Content writing jobs on Upwork have an average pay of $15 to $40 an hour. Some companies who want a long-term arrangement with writers pay a flat fee of $800 a month.

Final Verdict

Upwork is a great job search engine that offers freelance writing jobs globally. It can take a while to build a solid reputation and attract regular clients, but it is nonetheless the most robust platform for writing gigs that pay.

2. Blogging Pro : Runner-Up

Blogging Pro is an easy-to-navigate job site for professional writers looking for trusted clients. Unlike most platforms that require you to create user profiles, Blogging Pro gives you total control over when and to who you want to apply.

Key Features of Blogging Pro

Here are the top features why we recommend Blogging Pro:

• Multiple Job Setup:  Most job listings in this platform are remote, though a few require onsite arrangements. They also offer freelance, contract, or part-time setups.
• Writing Tips & Tutorials:  Blogging Pro has quick links to articles that help you enhance your freelance work quality. Access is free with no sign-up requirement.
• In-demand Writing Categories:  The platform only advertises writing jobs such as content writing, journalism, and copywriting. This saves you time from having to sort through vast, non-writing jobs.
• Direct Apply:  Once you select a writing gig, you’ll get a comprehensive list of responsibilities and requirements and a snippet of the client’s background. Hitting ‘Apply for job’ leads you to the client’s website to complete the application.
• Fast Response Time:  Blogging Pro requires clients to respond to applications within 24 to 48 hours. This guarantees you’ll get a response whether you make it or not.

Pros of Blogging Pro

• Free to Use:  You don’t pay anything with Blogging Pro. No add-on costs, hidden fees, or cutbacks for commissions.
• Transparent Pricing:  Most jobs in this portal provide their exact pay range. If not, their websites will, which you can access when you apply.
• Reliable Clients:  Blogging Pro’s client list is a combination of established companies and startups with either brick-and-mortar stores or a legitimate online presence.

Cons of Blogging Pro

• Minimal Job Updates:  Unlike bigger portals with daily job streams, Blogging Pro only updates when clients choose to advertise on their platform. They do an average of weekly updates with fewer than 20 new jobs.
• Requires Experience:  While all positions are open to beginners, many clients indicate specific writing experience in their eligibility requirements. This can be tough to break for anyone with no portfolio to show.
• Inconsistent Income:  Blogging Pro doesn’t set any price range guideline for clients apart from the minimum $15 requirement. It’s up to you to determine if the company’s offering a competitive price for the writing service required.

Blogging Pro Income

Blogging Pro guarantees a minimum of $15 hourly pay for writers as part of its initial agreement with clients. Some jobs, like social media writers, can pay up to $300 per project.

Blogging Pro is an excellent choice for finding freelance writing jobs covering different niches.

Its direct link to clients gives you full control of the application process and an overview of the job budget, so you won’t have to do the guesswork in finding out how much you’ll earn.

Still, it doesn’t offer many jobs, and you’ll often need to showcase proof of writing experience to land a gig.

3. Fiverr : Also Great

Fiverr is the perfect platform for individuals who prefer working with other individuals instead of a large-scale company.

This website is an ideal entry-level choice since you won’t have to bid or negotiate for jobs.

You’ll also have access to a potential client or buyer’s requests, including instructions and files to assist you in delivering their expected result.

Key Features of Fiverr

Let’s look into the features we like best about Fiverr and see if it fits your ideal freelance writing website:

• Worldwide Reach:  Fiverr is available in 190 countries, with 42% of its users based in the U.S. It also houses clients from Canada, India, and the U.K.
• Seller Levels:  You can climb up the levels if you constantly deliver quality tasks on time.
• Pro-verified Feature:  If you have the background and experience of a trusted writer, then Fiverr might approve you as part of their ‘Pro Services’ feature. You can charge higher and increase the potential of attracting high-paying clients.
• Extensive Filter Customization:  Fiverr wants an ideal match for their clients, so their filters are extensive. You can consider this feature when setting up your profile, delivery timelines, price range, and writing style.
• E-learning Products:  If you’re looking to enhance your skills, try enrolling in Fiverr’s business and technical courses led by niche experts.

Pros of Fiverr

• Admin-free Experience:  The platform handles the admin side of things like producing invoices, promotions, transaction recording, etc.
• Option for Early Payout:  While only available to select sellers, the feature is an advantage. It’s an advantage if you need cash immediately instead of waiting for the typical 14-day clearing period.
• Opportunities to Broaden Skills:  Fiverr’s writing jobs range from simple content writing to more challenging gigs like technical writeups. You’ll encounter task requests you haven’t tried before that can be a great learning opportunity.

Cons of Fiverr

• Low-paying Gigs:  While you can charge your services for up to $995 per project, only top-rated and long-time freelancers enjoy that profit. Most starters will have to settle for the low price of $5.
• Issues with Scams:  There are reports of freelancers not getting paid by clients claiming they have yet to receive their orders. It can be difficult to dispute this unless you have complete and detailed communications with the client.
• Commission Fee:  Fiverr takes 20% off your earning regardless of your seller level or service cost. If you earn $5, you’ll only receive $4 as your take-home pay.

Fiverr Income

Your Fiverr income depends on the number of services you deliver. You can price it from $5 per project up to $995.

Fiverr’s a great place for freelancers who want to start small, minus all the hassle of promoting their services. By setting up an account, your profile’s automatically pooled under your chosen gig category.

It’s entry-level at best, which might not be the best option for advanced writers with considerable writing experience.

Notable Mentions: Other Writing Sites To Check Out

If you’re looking for alternative options other than our top 3 picks, you can try out these freelance writing sites:

4. Contently  – Best for Experienced Writers

Contently is for expert freelance writers looking at landing a gig with big companies. Some of their clients include Coca-Cola, Dell, Walmart, and Google.

Unlike the other platforms on our list, you don’t apply for a writing job to be a part of their team. Their in-house talent scouts choose writers from all around the web and invite them for an interview.

That being said, having a  solid creative platform  that showcases your diverse writing portfolio is an essential factor to be considered for any of their gigs.

Why is Contently a Great Option?

Landing a gig at Contently is a surefire way to skyrocket your freelance career. You can add your experience with them to your portfolio along with the brands or companies you worked with.

Best of all, you can  negotiate your rate . If you think they’re offering lower than your regular rate, you can demand higher pay.

Drawbacks to Contently

Its obvious drawback comes from the fact that it isn’t for beginners. Contently only contacts specialists with years of experience whose consistent portfolio speaks for their work quality.

Contently Income

Contently has a proprietary rate sheet that dictates the price range options for their projects. While we can’t divulge the specifics, online writers share earnings between $300 and $1,200 per piece.

5. Writers Work  – Best Pooled Writing Jobs

Writers Work is a paid freelance writing platform that offers real-time data on writing gigs worldwide. They offer a lifetime subscription of $47 or a monthly option of $15.

It’s an excellent platform allowing you to do all your writing tasks in it. It has a built-in text editor and work tracker feature to help you organize your workload and set writing goals.

Writers Work also has one of the most diverse types of writing requests, such as  writing stories for magazines or even fishing equipment reviews.

Why is Writers Work a Great Option?

One thing that Writers Work does well is its writing-only job board. You won’t find other popular gigs like graphic design or video production in its pool.

It’s a great platform for getting a constant stream of gigs you can easily filter by categories like finance, tech, and entertainment.

Drawbacks to Writers Work

There’s high competition in this platform, which may deter freelancers who are looking at quick payments. While there are varied writing options, landing those high-paying gigs requires skill and experience.

Writers Work Income

Writers get paid between $20 to $65 an hour. Other projects offer a fixed rate of $100 per project.

6. iWriter  – Best for Tiered Writing Gigs

iWriter is an excellent platform that offers opportunities for writers to upgrade their skills and earning potential while writing more.

The platform offers four writing levels – Standard, Premium, Elite, and Elite Plus. Accessing higher levels mean higher-paying gigs.

We found iWriter to have a diverse niche in terms of topics and ideas , with clients providing specific writing instructions, including required keywords and formatting.

Why is iWriter a Great Option?

It’s easy to join iWriter as a freelancer. You’ll only need to pass two 200-word writing tests to complete the registration. Once done, you can start using the platform to find gigs.

Happy clients also have the option to give you tips for a job well done, helping you increase your income. You also have the opportunity to get paid weekly or biweekly, with a minimum of $20 in earnings.

Drawbacks to iWriter

A significant drawback of iWriter is its steep commission. The platform takes 35% of your total earnings, which is higher than other platforms in our list charge.

Rising through the ranks may also be challenging for new writers as you must deliver 30 articles with a minimum of a 4-star rating before leveling up a step.

iWriter income

Depending on your writing tier, you can earn between $1.25 to $260 in iWriter. There’s a fixed price assigned to word counts across the board, which varies in level.

7. WriterAccess  – Best for Long-term Writing Job

WriterAccess is home to over 40,000 brands, all looking for quality writers. Many freelancers who start working with the platform often receive repeat orders from companies, agencies, and small businesses they’ve worked with.

This platform’s an excellent starting point for skilled writers looking for a freelance job with the potential for long-term employment.

Why is WriterAccess a Great Option?

WriterAccess is excellent for  building a freelance writing career  with reliable clients. You can get hired for all sorts of jobs, from writing blogs to writing short stories .

The platform screens all interested writers. If you pass, you’re automatically given a star rating, unlocking jobs within that level. The higher the rating, the bigger the pay.

Drawbacks to WriterAccess

While joining WriterAccess is free, getting approved can be a challenge. You must provide at least two public web pages as sample works on top of your general and industry experience.

WriterAccess income

All writers are paid 70% of what the client pays for each project.

8. ProBlogger  – Best for Blog Writing

ProBlogger is a must-try platform if you’re into SEO writing and blogging. Most of its job postings are from website owners who want to outsource the writing part of their content marketing strategy.

This platform is ideal if you enjoy writing across different topics and are fine communicating directly with the client or managing your workload.

Why is ProBlogger a Great Option?

ProBlogger is great because of its real-time job listings and quality clients who pay well for your services. Joining the platform is easy, and you don’t have to pay anything.

All you need is to register to create your online resume. From here, you can bookmark jobs and create job alerts to get up to speed with the most recent job ads.

Drawbacks to ProBlogger

ProBlogger’s quality clientele attracts the most talents, so expect tough competition. The fact that these clients pay $80 to post their job ads on the platform means they’re willing to pay, but they can also be picky in hiring freelance writers.

ProBlogger income

Writers earn from $25 to $200 per piece, depending on the complexity and research work required. In-house or full-time bloggers earn between $45,000 to $90,000 annually.

Is online writing too tough for starters? Here are alternative options to earn money online.

• High-paying Surveys :  Do you like answering surveys or giving quality feedback for products and services? This article introduces you to online surveys that pay well.
• How to Get Paid Playing Video Games :  Bring your gaming experience to a new level and get paid! Know websites and apps that pay money, gift cards, and other rewards.
• Get Paid to Text :  This is perfect for anyone who wants easy side hustles you can do any time, anywhere, even while on the go.

Frequently Asked Questions

ZipRecruiter reports an average $38 hourly rate for online writers, a decent figure for remote work. The total compensation, however, will depend on other factors like the number of hours you write, the employer, and fees taken out of your earnings.

The popularity of writing niche fluctuates, but top picks this 2023 include digital marketing, cryptocurrency, e-commerce, healthcare, and personal finance.

The freelance writing business is booming, and bagging a gig that pays well is possible if you know where to look.

Upwork is our top pick for the sheer volume of writing opportunities. Its thousands of jobs and multiple subcategories remain unbeatable, even with competitors like Fiverr.

Blogging Pro is also a favorite if you’re looking for niche-focused writing with clients that pay well.

Overall, checking out the online writing platforms we’ve listed opens you to opportunities to earn money by writing, even with little experience.

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The four best AI writing apps worth a try

Suswati Basu is a multilingual, award-winning editor and the founder of the intersectional literature channel, How To Be Books. She was shortlisted for the Guardian…

AI tools like ChatGPT are revolutionizing writing, aiding in document creation and streamlining work processes.

Human oversight remains crucial to ensure accuracy and prevent AI-generated content from being too generic or erroneous.

Various AI writing apps, such as Copy.ai, Anyword, Writesonic, and Rytr, offer different features and pricing plans to cater to diverse needs.

Whatever the industry, more and more people are using artificial intelligence to assist with their work, especially since the launch of ChatGPT . Many workers and students now use the tool to write documents, essays, and more. It often speeds up the process of creating content and managing the mundane aspects of work. While they aren’t taking over the world yet, they are quickly evolving and have reached a stage where they can be useful, at least in the right circumstances.

Of course, all AI writing software requires some level of human oversight to achieve the best results. Without it, the software can generate content that is rather generic or even hallucinate facts , even though it may appear to be written by a human. As AI tools gain popularity, people are becoming more adept at recognizing the often bland nature of AI-generated content and are likely to either identify it or at least be suspicious of content that seems to lack a human touch.

How do AI writing tools work?

Predictive text on a smartphone or keyboard works in a similar way to AI. It essentially provides an “educated” guess as to what a user might say next based on their history of typing in a specific app. The difference is that it will rely on what other people have said as well, and find some level of commonality.

For example, if typing the sentence “The cat sat on the,” the model predicts the word “mat” based on the input sequence. It’s a simplistic illustration, but in reality, the model considers a vast number of possible continuations based on its training data and selects the most likely one.

Some large language models (LLMs) now use internet searches to gather information relevant to their writing prompts, which they then integrate into their responses. While earlier versions tended to produce stiff and robotic output, developments in algorithms and programming have allowed AI writers to produce more human-like responses. These days, most are using OpenAI’s ChatGPT models to power their tools.

Which is the best free AI app for writing?

ReadWrite decided to ask AI itself for a text prompt to assess how well it would fare:

Write a 250-word short story about a character who discovers a hidden world within their favorite childhood book. The story should include:

• A vivid description of the hidden world, including its unique features and inhabitants.
• The character’s emotional journey as they explore this new world and confront their own nostalgia.
• A surprising twist or revelation that changes their perspective on the book and their childhood.

Copy.ai ’s free trial uses ChatGPT-3.5, hence it is limited in terms of vocabulary and sophistication. Using the given prompt, it managed to create a story about a woman named Evelyn who discovered a magical library hidden in a garden.

While the story was quite pleasant to read, several noticeable AI traits appeared. For one, it used the main character’s name in every paragraph. Several words seem to be commonly used by ChatGPT, such as “nostalgia,” “abundance,” and “vibrant.” Combined with the repetitiveness, it seemed rather obvious that AI was used.

The pro version of Copy.ai uses ChatGPT-4, so it may produce better results. It’s unclear whether the app will incorporate new versions of the LLM, as OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman revealed that ChatGPT-5 is on its way.

Copy.ai is also compatible with a variety of other AI models including Azure and Anthropic , which makes it more flexible for delivering results. Another piece of good news is that the company has a zero-retention data policy.

Like OpenAI, Copy.ai has a free version with limited words, while the Pro version starts from $36 per month for five users, and has unlimited capacity.

Anyword is a little bit more complicated to use as it doesn’t bring the user directly to the writing app. It offers a variety of writing options, including 1,000-word SEO-friendly blog articles, social media posts, and ad campaigns. If you just need a simple text prompt box, you can find it under “general prompt” on the dashboard.

However, it allows you to change the tone of voice from neutral to rebellious, or even to a multi-tonal style incorporating three dimensions. There is also the capability to target specific audiences, whether they are nostalgic readers or creative writers. When kept neutral with a broad audience, it produced a similar copy, characterized by the repetition of names and overly flowery language. Nevertheless, the story was creative but seemed to heavily favor the fantasy genre.

Using other filters, it generated a tale almost identical to the first, including the same phrases such as “The Enchanted Forest,” “newfound,” “intertwining,” and “grandmother.” It’s quite apparent that it has a defined notion of what constitutes a childhood book.

The Starter plan with one seat costs $39 per month paid annually. The Data-Driven plan costs $79/month, and the Business plan is $349 per month.

Writesonic is another free AI writing tool, with an interface comparable to ChatGPT as it has a dark left-hand side panel. Like Copy.ai, the unpaid version is powered by ChatGPT-3.5 among others, but has better billing options than OpenAI. The company states that it is “agnostic” about using a variety of LLMs.

“Our proprietary AI Model Gateway, called GPT Router dynamically routes between multiple AI models, thus speeding up responses and ensuring the best quality output as well as non-stop reliability,” it says on its website. These include Meta’s LLama and Google’s Gemini models.

The AI article writer can create long-form content pieces and includes a chatbot assistant named Chatsonic. When tested with a text prompt, it produced a slightly more imaginative story, making it more reliable than other tools.

Although there is a free version, Chatsonic costs $12 per month when paid annually and claims to offer output quality comparable to GPT-4 and Claude 3 Opus . The individual plan costs $16 and includes additional features such as an SEO optimizer, plagiarism checker, and a tool for facts and citations.

Rytr , with a name that phonetically resembles “writer,” adopts a no-nonsense approach by featuring a straightforward interface like that of a writing pad. That being said, it still allows users to select the tone and use case of the output. Using the “story plot” function, it produced a tale almost identical to one by Anyword.

Not only did “Amelia” have a copy of “The Enchanted Forest,” but she also showed a penchant for streams and creeks. Hence, it is obvious that Rytr also uses ChatGPT-3 for its content writing.

Rytr is free to use, with unlimited queries available for $7.50 per month. In comparison, ChatGPT-4 costs $20 per month currently. The difference is that Rytr offers other features such as a plagiarism checker and SEO toolkit.

Featured image: Canva

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Suswati Basu Tech journalist

Suswati Basu is a multilingual, award-winning editor and the founder of the intersectional literature channel, How To Be Books. She was shortlisted for the Guardian Mary Stott Prize and longlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Award. With 18 years of experience in the media industry, Suswati has held significant roles such as head of audience and deputy editor for NationalWorld news, digital editor for Channel 4 News and ITV News. She has also contributed to the Guardian and received training at the BBC As an audience, trends, and SEO specialist, she has participated in panel events alongside Google. Her…

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