Last updated:
Professional pages, without the _FINAL folder.
Fade In earned its reputation the unfashionable way: stable, cheap, professional — one-time desktop license, Linux included, FDX that production offices accept. Inkwell is a Fade In alternative when the job is no longer a single-monitor install: the room needs a browser, versions with names, and AI that does not live in a separate window.
Capability spectrum
First-class fills the bar. Partial is half. Empty is a real gap — not a muted icon you have to decode.
Named versions I can return to
Named save points (immutable snapshots)
Live co-writing
Real-time collaboration
Fade In supports session-based collaboration; Inkwell builds co-writing on shared save points.
Locked production drafts
Revision management & locked pages
Both support production revision workflows; Inkwell ties revisions to version history.
Reviewable AI in the draft
Agentic AI skill passes
Fountain-native writing
Fountain native
Inkwell is Fountain-native; Fade In focuses on its own editor with Fountain support via import/export.
One-time or free start
One-time purchase (no subscription)
Fade In's core editor is a one-time desktop purchase with free updates; browser editing and collaboration require the separate Access service. Inkwell's Free plan includes the full browser editor, save points, and monthly AI skill passes.
Browser-first for the room
Web-based, cross-platform
Fade In extends its desktop product into the browser through Access. Inkwell's browser editor is the full workspace — version control, collaboration, and AI included — with native apps in development.
First-hour path
Switching is a file you can name, not a weekend of retyping.
FDX or Fountain from the draft you mean to keep.
Create the shared project before anyone rewrites.
Read the summary. Warnings are decisions, not noise.
A save point is the rollback if the first pass fails.
Export PDF or FDX when production asks — not before.
Stay on Fade In if a one-time desktop license is the constraint, you rarely co-write live, and revision marks plus FDX already satisfy production.
Switch when collaborators cannot standardize on a desktop install, or when filename archaeology is how you reconstruct last week's table read.
Fade In's editor is a one-time purchase. Inkwell's Free plan is $0 in the browser; paid tiers add production and higher AI allotments. Price is not the reason to switch — workflow is.
Export FDX or Fountain from Fade In, then import in Plot. Review the import summary before you edit. Export FDX or PDF from Plot when someone wants a desktop file.
Plot is cloud-first today. A desktop app for offline writing is in active development and will open the same versioned projects — not a second file pile.
