Firstly, before we begin, you will need to be using screenwriting software. The automated formatting will make your life a lot easier and help ensure the output of a professional-looking PDF file; additionally, there are free options available for every platform. You are gaining nothing by using Word or Google Docs templates. If anything, that will make your life harder and potentially make you look amateurish.

As for what’s the best screenwriting software out there? You’re going to get a lot of people, mainly amateurs, telling you that you need to be using Final Draft, that it’s the industry standard, and the best option out there. Consider the following;

Neil Cross (Spooks, Dr Who, Luther) uses Scrivener.

Craig Mazin (The Hangover Pt2 & 3, Identity Thief, Chernobyl) uses Fade In.

Phil Lord (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Lego Movie, 21 & 22 Jump Street) uses Highland 2

Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio (Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek, Aladdin) use Movie Magic Screenwriter.

Scott Stewart (Legion, Dark Skies, Dominion) uses Slugline.

Christopher Ford (Robot & Frank, Spider-Man: Homecoming) uses Writer Duet.

So, based on that, tell me Final Draft is the best screenwriting software out there and the first choice for Hollywood professionals.

Many people encourage others to use Final Draft, as its proprietary XML-derived file format (.fdx) is an industry standard that integrates with various production and scheduling programs. However, there is no industry standard for writing stories, and pretty much everything out there can output perfectly in .fdx format, so no writer should fear that they can choose the wrong software to work with. Plus, it takes about five minutes to pick up and learn a new program. Seriously, there’s nothing to fear. People make way too big a deal about this.

The best screenwriting software is whatever brings out the best in us as individual artists. I bounced around a few options, and my happy place is developing in Scrivener and polishing in Final Draft. I only know that works for me because I went out of my comfort zone to try alternatives. Given that screenwriting software is so easy to pick up and use, we really owe it to ourselves to experiment with what’s out there.

When DO you need Final Draft? The moment you go pro is the time you should absolutely have it installed, as you’ll most likely be making revisions back and forth with a producer and potentially doing rewrites on set. You can download a demo and get familiar with it beforehand, but it’s far from complicated to get to grips with. You can also get the Final Draft app for your phone/tablet, allowing you to open and edit files on the road. For what it’s worth, I did onset rewrites for Break Even on an iPad, using the Final Draft app, with a Brydge Bluetooth keyboard.

Besides Scrivener, I feel two other alternatives all screenwriters should consider are Writer Duet and Highland 2.

Another piece of software I feel all screenwriters should consider is Prewrite, which is designed for developing your story first before moving on to drafting

As far as all options go, here are links to everything I’m aware of in no particular order and without agenda;