# Plot vs Microsoft Word > A Word alternative for storytellers: outlines, treatments, series bibles and scripts for film, TV and stage, with AI you review and every draft kept. Every stage of a story, in one place. Word is the file every office exchanges, and where most writing starts. Plot is built for the story itself: outline it, write the treatment or series bible in prose, and turn it into a script for film, TV or the stage in the same document when you're ready. Word files go in and come back out. What Plot looks like Microsoft Word Strengths - The file format every office exchanges. - Mature page layout, styles and printing. - Track Changes and comments that reviewers already know. Where Microsoft Word is strongest Plot Plot edge - Outlines, treatments, series bibles and scripts for film, TV, multi-camera and the stage, each with its own shape. - Named save points in one document, not a folder of renamed copies. - AI that drafts, revises and answers questions about your story, with every edit yours to accept or reject. Where the IDE model changes the work Version control, structured changes, and reviewable AI ## From Word treatment to script A treatment imported from Word stays prose, and the scene you can already hear becomes script right where its beat sat. night-shift-treatment.docx Imported from Word Plot One document, every stage - Outline - Treatment - Series bible - Film - TV - Stage Treatment Night Shift Mara works nights at the city archive. She needs a reason to stay when the building closes, and the reason finds her. Script section INT. CITY ARCHIVE — NIGHT Mara files the last box. At the far end of the stacks, a desk lamp switches on. MARA We closed an hour ago. Next beat: the lamp belongs to someone who has been dead for ten years. Select a paragraph or beat, then choose Turn into script ## Capability by capability A side-by-side look at where each tool stands today. Some Inkwell features are in active development — see the [roadmap](https://www.inkwell.software/about#roadmap) for current status. | Capability | Plot | Microsoft Word | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | ------------------ | | Story formats: treatment, series bible, film, TV and stage Word has templates for how a page looks. In Plot each format has its own parts and an outline to start from, from a series bible's sections to a stage play's character cues. | First-class | Partial or limited | | Prose and script in one document In Word, a script is paragraphs formatted to look like one. In Plot, each scene heading, character cue and line of dialogue is that element, so a treatment paragraph becomes one where it stands and the pages come out in screenplay form. | First-class | Partial or limited | | Final Draft (FDX) and Fountain export [Upgrade to Writer](https://www.inkwell.software/pricing?inkwell_source=plan_upsell#tier-writer) | First-class | Not available | | Real-time co-authoring [Upgrade to Pro](https://www.inkwell.software/pricing?inkwell_source=plan_upsell#tier-pro) | First-class | First-class | | Named save points In Word, comparing two versions means Review, then Compare: you pick two files and Word builds a third with revision marks. Plot compares any two save points of the same document, in place. | First-class | Partial or limited | | Alternate versions in one document (draft lines) | First-class | Not available | | Comparison by scene, heading and paragraph | First-class | Partial or limited | | AI edits reviewed one at a time | First-class | Partial or limited | | Production tools (revision colors, locked pages, reports)[Upgrade to Pro](https://www.inkwell.software/pricing?inkwell_source=plan_upsell#tier-pro) | First-class | Not available | First-class Partial or limited Not available **Sources checked November 7, 2026** Feature and pricing details link to the first-party pages used for verification. - [Microsoft 365 plans compared Plan prices, the one-time Office purchase, and Copilot in Word](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/buy/compare-all-microsoft-365-products) - [Microsoft 365 for the web, free Free Word for the web with a Microsoft account, files saved in OneDrive, 5 GB of free storage](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/free-office-online-for-the-web) - [Track Changes in Word Tracking edits and accepting or rejecting them](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/track-changes-in-word-197ba630-0f5f-4a8e-9a77-3712475e806a) - [Compare and merge two versions of a document Comparing two files into a third with revision marks](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/compare-and-merge-two-versions-of-a-document-f5059749-a797-4db7-a8fb-b3b27eb8b87e) ## Which should you choose? Stay with Word when the job is page layout, print, or a contract that has to travel as a .docx with tracked changes. Move to Plot when the document holds a story, whether an outline, treatment, series bible or script, and you want its drafts named, compared and kept in one place as it grows. ## Questions about Microsoft Word ### What is the best alternative to Microsoft Word for writers? It depends on what the Word document holds. If it holds a story, whether an outline, treatment, series bible, or a script for film, TV or the stage, Plot fits: it imports the .docx, keeps the prose as prose, and turns each scene into script in the same document when it's ready, with one history for all of it. If it is a contract, report or newsletter laid out for print, Word or another office suite is still the right tool. ### Can I write a screenplay in Word? You can format one by hand, but Word only sees paragraphs, so the page breaks, character cues and FDX file a production expects are up to you. Plot writes the script as screenplay elements and keeps them in the same document as the treatment they came from. Select a paragraph or beat, choose Turn into script, and it becomes a scene heading, action or dialogue with the same words. See [how prose and script share a draft](https://www.inkwell.software/help/document-evolution/mix-prose-and-script). ### Can Plot open Word documents? Yes. Plot imports a .docx as a treatment with its headings, lists and emphasis, keeps comments as notes after the text they were on, accepts tracked changes on the way in, and lists what changed once the import finishes. A script written in Word can come in as screenplay pages instead. See [importing a Word document into Plot](https://www.inkwell.software/help/document-evolution/import-a-word-document). ### Can I send a Word file back from Plot? Yes. Plot exports a treatment or outline as a Word file (.docx), with its notes as Word comments, so a reviewer who works in Word opens it the usual way. The script exports as a PDF, Final Draft (FDX) or Fountain file. ### Does Plot have Track Changes? Plot keeps history by round instead of by keystroke. Name a save point before each round, then compare any two save points by scene, heading and paragraph. AI edits arrive as changes you accept or reject one at a time. The nearest thing in Word is Review, then Compare Documents, which builds a third file with revision marks. ### How much does Microsoft Word cost? Word comes with Microsoft 365. In the US, Personal is $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and Family is $12.99 a month or $129.99 a year for up to six people. Office Home 2024 is a one-time $179.99 purchase. Word for the web is free with a Microsoft account; its files are saved in OneDrive, which includes 5 GB free. Plot has a Free plan with the full Plot editor, and [its pricing](https://www.inkwell.software/pricing) lists what each plan adds. ## Try Plot for yourself The Free plan includes the full editor and AI skill passes. 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