Inki vs Novelcrafter
Start writing, not configuring.
Novelcrafter gives you deep control: bring your own API key, customize prompts, and build a detailed Codex for your story world. Inki is simpler to start. Models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and more, plus Auto, are included in the plan, and there is no key to set up.
The short answer
Novelcrafter is built around two ideas: bring your own model key, and keep the whole story world in a Codex. If you already pay for API access and want it wired into a novel-writing workspace, it is the cheaper and far more configurable choice. Inki includes the AI in the subscription instead, with multiple models plus Auto, no keys, and no token bills to reconcile. It is also a general writing workspace rather than a novel tool, and it writes in Japanese.
Inki vs Novelcrafter
Compared as AI-assisted writing tools for long-form projects
| Inki | Novelcrafter | |
|---|---|---|
| Core purpose | A general writing workspace: fiction, nonfiction, and business documents | A novel-writing platform, open to any genre |
| Getting started | Sign up and start writing, AI included | Requires separate API key setup (OpenRouter, OpenAI, or local) |
| AI model choice | Multiple models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and more, plus Auto, included in the plan | Bring your own key: OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, or a local model |
| Worldbuilding tools | Notes and project files connected to AI context | Codex with auto-linking, categories, and relationship tracking |
| Inline editing | Select a passage, say what you want, accept or reject the result in place | In-editor AI actions driven by prompts you can customize |
| Style and voice | Memory keeps your terms, preferences, and repeated instructions. View and add to it in settings | Style entries in the Codex, plus prompts you write yourself |
| Writing in Japanese | Native Japanese and English, including business email and keigo | Depends on the model you connect; the interface is English |
| AI cleanup (Deslop) | One-click removal of AI-sounding phrasing | No dedicated feature, though you can build a prompt for it |
| Structural review | Built-in pacing, consistency, and structure feedback | Workshop Chat can review when prompted; no built-in one-click review |
| Mobile | iOS app on the App Store. Android app planned; use a mobile browser until then | Web app in the browser, installable from a desktop browser; no native mobile app |
| Training on your writing | Your input is not used to train external models | Your drafts go to the provider whose key you connect, under that provider's terms |
| Pricing | Free plan available, paid plans from $7/mo billed annually ($10 month to month), with AI included | Plans from $4/mo, plus the API costs you pay your provider. No free tier, 21-day trial |
A general writing workspace: fiction, nonfiction, and business documents
A novel-writing platform, open to any genre
Sign up and start writing, AI included
Requires separate API key setup (OpenRouter, OpenAI, or local)
Multiple models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and more, plus Auto, included in the plan
Bring your own key: OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, or a local model
Notes and project files connected to AI context
Codex with auto-linking, categories, and relationship tracking
Select a passage, say what you want, accept or reject the result in place
In-editor AI actions driven by prompts you can customize
Memory keeps your terms, preferences, and repeated instructions. View and add to it in settings
Style entries in the Codex, plus prompts you write yourself
Native Japanese and English, including business email and keigo
Depends on the model you connect; the interface is English
One-click removal of AI-sounding phrasing
No dedicated feature, though you can build a prompt for it
Built-in pacing, consistency, and structure feedback
Workshop Chat can review when prompted; no built-in one-click review
iOS app on the App Store. Android app planned; use a mobile browser until then
Web app in the browser, installable from a desktop browser; no native mobile app
Your input is not used to train external models
Your drafts go to the provider whose key you connect, under that provider's terms
Free plan available, paid plans from $7/mo billed annually ($10 month to month), with AI included
Plans from $4/mo, plus the API costs you pay your provider. No free tier, 21-day trial
Pricing and features as of October 10, 2026
Choose Inki if
- You want to sign up and write today, with the AI already included
- You would rather not manage API keys, provider accounts, or token bills
- You write more than novels: essays, articles, reports, and client documents
- You write in Japanese as well as English, including business email and keigo
- You want a one-click pass that strips AI-sounding phrasing out of a finished draft
- You want a free plan to write something real before you pay
Choose Novelcrafter if
- You want to choose the model yourself: OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter (which also reaches models such as Gemini and Mistral), or a local model through Ollama or LM Studio
- You want a Codex wiki with auto-linking for characters, places, and lore across a series
- You already hold API credits and want the lowest possible subscription on top
- You want to run a model locally, for cost or for privacy
- You want to write and version the prompts behind each AI action yourself
- Your novel spans multiple books and you need structured continuity that survives all of them
Who Inki isn't for
- You want a wiki with entity relationships and auto-linking for worldbuilding
- You want to bring your own API key, or run a model on your own machine
- You want to hand-write the prompts the AI runs, and change them per project
- You want the lowest possible monthly subscription and do not mind managing API billing separately
Draft with context,
no API key needed.
Novelcrafter's Codex is powerful for worldbuilding, and you can connect the model you want, including one running locally. With Inki, AI is built in. Your notes and outline connect automatically, and you start drafting without any setup.
Edit in place.
No prompts to tune.
Novelcrafter lets you customize the prompts behind every AI action and connect whichever model you want, including one running locally. In Inki, you select a passage and say what you want, or run Deslop to strip AI-sounding phrasing. No prompt engineering, no API key.
One-click feedback
on your whole project.
Novelcrafter's Workshop Chat can review your work when prompted, with no built-in one-click review. Inki has a dedicated review workflow: one click checks pacing, clarity, and consistency across your project, with line-by-line suggestions.
Open a citation to read the original passage.
Open any citation in your document to see the exact passage the AI relied on, with a link to the original source.
Describe an image. Inki draws it.
Inki generates it right in your document. Not quite right? Say what to change, and it redraws it.
PDFs, recordings, and links.
Add audio, video, images, PDFs, or a link. Inki transcribes and summarizes them so you can use them in your draft.
Feels like the editors you already know.
Headings, lists, and shortcuts work the way they do in Google Docs or Notion.
FAQ
Related comparisons
Pricing
Start free. No credit card required.
*1 Lightweight models don’t use credits. Very heavy use may be temporarily limited. Learn more
Checks are included on every plan and don’t use credits. Only asking AI to rewrite from the input box uses AI editing credits.
Prices shown are for purchases made on the web. If you subscribe inside the iOS app, the price shown in the App Store applies.