Free Writing Software Review: Bibisco
Updated: Sep 3
[NOTE: Updated as of September 2026. Original post was written in September 2016.]
Welcome to Part 1 of my “Free Writing Software Review” Series. This series provides in-depth reviews of free writing programs available for download or online use. I spent many hours testing out a variety of free software for writers, taking screenshots, and recording info.
I was not paid by any of the programs, and I did not have any affiliation with any of the companies when I first wrote these posts, and still do not have any affiliation with most of them. (There are one or two I joined as an affiliate after trying and loving them, but I'll explain that when we get to those posts!)
As a writer and a writing instructor, I simply wanted to get a better understanding of what’s available currently for writers, and to evaluate the pros and cons of each so that I could decide for myself which (if any) to use long-term, and share that knowledge with my students (and all of you) so that you can do the same!
(Note: These reviews are my opinion only, and are based on my personal experience trying out each of these software programs. The explanations of features are true to the best of my knowledge, as of the date this post was written.)
If you are a writer looking for software to use during your planning/writing process, I hope these posts are helpful to you.
This series is a complement to my post, “Free Scrivener Alternatives,” which provides a chart that compares the popular program Scrivener (which costs about $59 — still a great price!) to some of the free alternatives on the market. If you want a quick comparison of programs, that post is the place to go. But since that initial post gives only a basic overview of the features, these reviews give a more in-depth look (and screenshots) of each of the free programs I tested.
First up in the series: Bibisco!
Overall Reaction: Simple and easy to get started. Provides reminders of writing tips on character development, etc., as you start a new project. Has a lot of useful features!
Additional Info (with screenshots):
This program has changed and grown a lot since I first tested and reviewed it in 2016!
It’s still very simple and easy to get started, but now it has a LOT of features the early version didn’t have.
Downside: it’s no longer a totally free program.
Now, you can use a limited version for free, or you can purchase the “Supporter” version for $69 to unlock the full features. The free version does allow for a 30-day trial of the Supporter version.
Features:
You can do pretty much everything inside this program, from brainstorming, planning, and outlining to actually writing the novel, plus viewing and tracking goals and stats and visually analyzing your overall novel at a glance.
The program comes with a link to a helpful (but lengthy) Getting Started/Tutorial video, which is also available via a link directly inside the program.
There are also embedded video guides and tips on various elements of storytelling—complete with the ability to click “Mark as watched” on each, so you can track your progress through their video guides--plus it provides pop-up tips on how to use certain features of the program (you can click “don’t show this again” to only see each tip once), and also some unobtrusive tips at various parts of your planning/writing process that ride in the bottom bar of the screen so you can decide whether to open and read them or simply ignore them.
The full version allows you to create and easily view Groups of related locations, characters, or storylines, and to create a system of Tags, both of which could useful features for complex worldbuilding or tracking things across a lengthy story or series.
There is a MindMap feature in the full version that allows you to create icons for characters, locations, etc., and free-move them around in a blank screen area. I love this feature as a versatile, visual tool for organizing ideas!
The full version also gives you the ability to Search either by scene or your whole project for certain words/terms (including a search and replace feature built in!), a Timeline builder, and an Analysis function that lets you see at a glance how often elements like characters, locations, POVs, etc., appear in your project.
As I mentioned, it also allows for you to set and track goals--which is always a helpful feature!
When you’re ready, you can export your project as a .pdf, .docx, .txt, or (if you have the full Supporters version), even as an EPUB.
That’s pretty much it! I found it to be a very useful program, very easy to use, and I love the goal trackers and visual analysis charts.
Want to try Bibisco? They offer the limited version for free, plus a free 30-day trial of the upgraded "Supporter" version! You can find those here: http://www.bibisco.com/en.
Their website also has additional screenshots you can browse through.
Want to explore some other options for writing software?
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