Once upon a time, we only had Microsoft Word to format our screenplays (or a program called Word Perfect, if we’re really being honest–which was far from perfect!) Today, you have a few more free options to formatting a screenplay, if you aren’t ready to put out the money for Final Draft or Movie Magic.

A big shout-out to the clever folks at Script Reader Pro for putting together this comprehensive list. 

10 Free Screenwriting Software Choices for Screenwriters by Script Reader Pro

My biggest takeaway: don’t let anything stop you from writing, even an expensive program. Go through this list and check out the free software and see which one works best for you.

The key things you need from any screenwriting software:

  1. You can write and save your script without the program crashing and losing material.
  2. You can make a pdf of your finished screenplay to send out.

Programs that make it easy to indent for character and dialogue is also a plus. Test out the list and see which program works for you. 

And when you can afford to buy a program, you might want to enter the debate of which one is better–Final Draft or Movie Magic–or just stick to the free one you have, because you know how it works and it hasn’t failed you!

Image courtesy of Pixabay and creator rawpixel. Thank you!