Pick WriterDuet if the job is writing the script, especially with a partner. It is cheaper, its free plan holds three projects instead of one, and live co-writing is what it was built for. Pick Celtx if the script is the first step of a shoot you will plan in the same place: breakdowns, schedules, budgets and call sheets live there, not in WriterDuet. Everything below was checked on celtx.com, writerduet.com and the App Store on 28 September 2026. Prices are in US dollars.

Celtx or WriterDuet is really a question about where your work stops. If it stops at a locked draft, you are paying Celtx for tools you will not open. If it runs into a shoot, WriterDuet leaves you exporting to something else.

Celtx vs WriterDuet at a glance

	Celtx	WriterDuet
Free plan	1 project, 1 seat	3 projects
Cheapest paid plan	Writer: $14.99/mo, or $11.24/mo billed yearly (3 projects)	Plus: $9.99/mo, or $7.49/mo billed yearly (unlimited projects)
Unlimited projects from	Writer Pro: $24.99/mo, or $18.74/mo billed yearly	Plus: $9.99/mo
Top individual plan	Writer Pro	Premium: $13.99/mo, or $10.49/mo billed yearly
Students	$79.99/yr with a school email	50% off any plan
Platforms	Web browser, plus a mobile screenplay app	Web browser, iPhone and iPad app, desktop app on paid plans
Offline writing	Not listed on the pricing page	Plus and up, with auto-sync
Co-writing	Co-writers with presence awareness, comments	Real-time collaboration on Plus and up, text and video chat
Export	PDF, Final Draft (.fdx), Fountain	PDF, Final Draft, Word, Fountain and more
Revision tracking	Revision mode on Writer Pro and up	Colored revisions on Pro and up
Production tools	Storyboard, shot lists, breakdown, schedule, budget, call sheets	Production tools on Pro, no scheduling or budgeting

Celtx lists its prices per month billed yearly on the page, with a 25% saving against monthly billing. WriterDuet shows both. Always compare the same billing period.

WriterDuet vs Celtx on price: the gap is wider than it looks

Take the most common need: unlimited scripts and a co-writer.

On WriterDuet, that is Plus. Billed yearly, it comes to $89.88 a year. Real-time collaboration, the desktop app and offline writing are all included.

On Celtx, unlimited projects start at Writer Pro. Billed yearly, that is $224.88 a year. Celtx's cheaper Writer plan caps you at three projects, which is what WriterDuet gives away for free.

There is a second cost on Celtx. Its FAQ explains that on Writer and Writer Pro, you add paid studio collaborators at an extra cost per person if you want them to have your paid features. The Team plan bundles members instead, from $44.99 a month billed yearly for up to three people, scaling to fifteen.

So for writing alone, WriterDuet costs less than half as much. That is the single biggest difference between the two, and our Celtx pricing breakdown goes through every tier if you want the full math.

Free plans: one project against three

The free tiers are where most people meet these tools, and they are not close.

Celtx Free gives you one project and one seat, with the screenplay and multi-column AV editors. Read Through and Script Goals are included, which is useful. But one project means your short, your feature and your class assignment cannot all exist at once. When you sign up, Celtx also starts a 7-day trial of paid features, after which you drop back to free unless you upgrade.

WriterDuet Free gives you three projects, the industry-standard template, writing from computer and mobile, and backups to Google Drive or Dropbox. Real-time collaboration is not on the free plan. It starts at Plus.

If you need a free tool for a single project, either works. If you juggle more than one script, WriterDuet's free plan goes further.

Co-writing: where WriterDuet is better

WriterDuet was built around two people typing in one document. Real-time collaboration starts at Plus. Around it, WriterDuet lists comments and mentions, text and video chat inside the app, and line and document history. Premium adds the ability to rewind a single line or the whole document.

Celtx supports co-writing too. Its homepage describes inviting others to read, edit or approve a script, text-anchored comments, and seeing co-writers work with presence awareness. It keeps a history of revisions, feedback and approvals. That is solid for a production team signing off pages.

Celtx's own blog is candid about this. In its December 2025 comparison, it calls WriterDuet one of the best collaborative writing tools ever built for pure scriptwriting. We agree. For a writing partnership, WriterDuet is the better tool, and our WriterDuet review tests each tier in detail.

Production planning: where Celtx is better

This is the part WriterDuet does not try to do.

Celtx covers the production office. Depending on the plan, you get a beat sheet, storyboard, shot lists and talent sides, then breakdown, catalog, cast and crew, schedule, budget, call sheets and production reports. Writer Pro includes the story development tools. Production planning comes with the Team, Education and Student plans, or as an optional add-on. Celtx also has three script editors (screenplay, multi-column AV and stageplay) and a plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro.

WriterDuet's Pro plan adds production tools and colored revisions, plus dialogue and character filters, document stats and a format checker. That helps you prepare pages for a shoot. It does not schedule the shoot, budget it or print call sheets.

If your team will run the shoot from the software, Celtx is the better choice, and the higher price buys real tools. If someone else handles scheduling in a dedicated app, you do not need to pay Celtx for it.

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Platforms and offline writing

Celtx is a cloud product. Its download page says no download is required: you write in a web browser on Windows or Mac, and there is a Celtx Screenplay app for mobile. Its pricing page does not list offline writing.

WriterDuet also runs in the browser, has an iPhone and iPad app on the App Store, and adds a desktop application with offline writing and auto-sync on Plus and up. If you write on planes or in places with bad connections, that matters, and it is a point for WriterDuet.

Moving your script between them

Switching is easy in both directions. Celtx's own blog says you can export a Celtx script to Fountain, Final Draft (.fdx) or PDF and import it into WriterDuet. WriterDuet lists Celtx among the formats it imports, next to PDF, Final Draft, Fountain, Word and others. Going the other way, export Final Draft from WriterDuet and import it into Celtx.

Use .fdx when you can. It keeps element types, so scene headings stay scene headings. A PDF import has to guess. Open the imported file and check dual dialogue and scene numbers before you write on.

Which one for whom

You are	Pick	Why
A writing partnership	WriterDuet Plus	Live co-writing and unlimited projects for $89.88 a year
A solo writer on a budget	WriterDuet Free, then Plus	Three free projects, cheapest route to unlimited
A student	Either	Celtx Student is $79.99 a year with production tools. WriterDuet is 50% off any plan
An indie crew planning a shoot	Celtx Team	Breakdown, schedule, budget and call sheets in one place
A corporate or video team writing AV scripts	Celtx	Multi-column AV editor, even on the free plan
A writer who wants to see the film before shooting	Neither on its own	See the third option below

A third option

Both tools stop at a document. Celtx goes further into logistics, but neither shows you the film.

ScreenWeaver takes a different path. The Screenwriter plan is $0 and does not expire, with unlimited projects and pages, industry-standard formatting, outline and beats, and PDF and Final Draft (.fdx) export. It runs in the browser on Mac, Windows, Linux and iPad, installs like an app, works offline and syncs.

When the draft is ready, the Storyboard Beta plan ($9.99 a month during the beta) generates the storyboard from your screenplay, with frames linked to scenes and beats and manual control over each shot. The Filmmaker plan adds production preparation and real-time collaboration in the same project. Its price is not announced yet. Video generation is rolling out and targeted for 30 September 2026.

To be fair: ScreenWeaver does not do scheduling, budgets or call sheets. If you need those, Celtx is still the right tool. If you want free, unlimited writing and a storyboard built from the same pages, see our Celtx alternative and WriterDuet alternative pages. For every other matchup, the screenwriting software comparisons hub has them side by side.

FAQ

Is Celtx or WriterDuet better for beginners?

WriterDuet, for most beginners. Its free plan holds three projects against Celtx's one, and the paid plans cost less. Celtx makes more sense for film students whose course also teaches breakdowns and scheduling.

Which is cheaper, Celtx or WriterDuet?

WriterDuet. As of September 2026, unlimited projects cost $7.49 a month billed yearly on WriterDuet Plus, against $18.74 a month billed yearly on Celtx Writer Pro. Billed monthly, it is $9.99 against $24.99.

Can Celtx and WriterDuet open each other's files?

Yes. WriterDuet imports Celtx files directly, along with Final Draft, Fountain and PDF. From WriterDuet to Celtx, export a Final Draft (.fdx) file and import it into Celtx.

Does WriterDuet have scheduling and budgeting like Celtx?

No. WriterDuet Pro includes production tools and colored revisions for preparing pages, but no schedule, budget or call sheets. Those are Celtx strengths, on the Team plan or as an add-on.

Can I use either one offline?

WriterDuet, yes, with its desktop app on Plus and up, which syncs when you reconnect. Celtx runs in the browser and its pricing page does not list offline writing.

Is there a free alternative to both with unlimited projects?

Yes. ScreenWeaver's Screenwriter plan is $0 with no expiry, unlimited projects and pages, and PDF and Final Draft export. It does not replace Celtx's scheduling tools, but it covers the writing side for free.