Want to write your novel without a recurring subscription or storing your projects in a cloud service? Faustica lets you write and plan offline on Windows or macOS. Your manuscript, characters and research stay on your own device. Try Faustica free for 30 days; each platform version is then available as a one-time purchase through the Microsoft Store or Mac App Store.
This guide explains local work in Faustica, project backups and what to consider when buying software outright. An overview of other programs helps put local writing and cloud services into context.
This Writing Academy is published by Faustica. Comparisons are based on documented vendor information. Sources for other software are listed at the end; check current vendor information before buying.
What “no subscription” and “no cloud” mean
The two terms are often mentioned together, but they mean different things.
No subscription is about how you pay. There are essentially four models:
- Subscription: You pay monthly or yearly for as long as you use the program. If you cancel, depending on the vendor, you lose access to the program or to some of its features.
- One-time purchase: You pay once and may use the version you bought indefinitely. Whether future major versions are included depends on the license; with many programs, a big version jump costs extra, often at a discount.
- Lifetime license: A one-off, usually higher payment for a plan that otherwise runs as a subscription. What “lifetime” covers exactly is in the vendor’s terms.
- Free: Free and open-source software, or freeware. Here it is worth checking whether the program is still actively maintained.
No cloud is about where your work is stored. With a local program, the project is a file or folder on your device. With a cloud service, it lives on the provider’s servers, usually tied to an account. There are hybrids: some local programs can sync through a storage service of your choice, such as Scrivener via Dropbox, and some cloud services can be used offline for a while, such as Google Docs. So “works offline” doesn’t automatically mean “no cloud.”
A third point is easy to overlook: even a local program may require an account, online activation or a purchase through an app store. If that matters to you, check before you buy.
Pros and cons of writing without the cloud
What you gain:
- Privacy. A first draft contains a lot that nobody is meant to see yet: half-finished sentences, discarded ideas, scenes you aren’t sure about. Stored locally, it isn’t on anyone else’s servers.
- Writing anywhere. On a train, in a cottage without Wi-Fi, on a park bench: the program starts and your project is there, with no sign-in and no waiting for a sync.
- Independence. If your texts are tied to a service, you are tied to it too. If its terms or pricing model change, or the service shuts down, that affects your work directly. A local file stays with you.
- Open access. If the program can save or export to common formats such as Word or Markdown, you can get to your text with other programs as well.
What you give up:
- Automatic sync. Moving a project to another device takes a deliberate extra step (see below).
- An automatic off-site copy. With a cloud service, a copy lives somewhere else by default. Without one, backups are your job.
- Real-time collaboration. Without a server, nobody can work in the same manuscript at the same time. Feedback from beta readers or an editor still works by exchanging files, for example Word documents with comments and Track Changes, but co-writing a book becomes cumbersome.
- Writing on your phone. Many local programs are desktop-only, so a quick idea while you’re out doesn’t go straight into your project.
So writing software without the cloud suits you if you mainly write on one computer, want your texts to stay with you, like to work offline, don’t want another account or subscription and are willing to keep a backup on a second device. It suits you less if you switch devices constantly, write a lot on your phone or work on the same text with others at the same time.
Which programs qualify
| Program | Pricing model | Data | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faustica | One-time purchase per platform through its respective store | Local, no sync | Windows 10/11, macOS 13+ |
| LibreOffice Writer | Free, open source | Local | Word processor without planning tools; Windows, macOS, Linux |
| yWriter | Free (Windows) | Local | Chapters, scenes, characters; main platform Windows |
| novelWriter | Free, open source | Local | Plain text with markdown-like syntax; Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Office Home 2024 (Word) | One-time purchase | Local or OneDrive | Word processor; no upgrade to the next major version |
| Scrivener | One-time per platform | Local, sync via Dropbox possible | New major versions cost extra, at a discount |
| Atticus | One-time purchase | Works offline, with cloud backup | Writing and book formatting; future updates included |
| Plottr (base plan) | Subscription or lifetime license | Local | Planning tool without manuscript editor |
As of October 2026. Sources at the end of the page. How the programs differ in features is shown in Writing software compared; which features you really need for a novel is explained in What to look for in novel writing software.
Subscription or one-time purchase: what to look for
A subscription costs money every year for as long as you use the program; a one-time purchase is paid once.
Also look at what is included. A subscription often covers more than the program; according to Microsoft, Microsoft 365 Personal includes 1 TB of cloud storage and other Office apps, for example. If you use those anyway, the comparison shifts. With one-time purchases, check whether an upgrade to a new major version costs extra: Scrivener charges for major versions at a discount, and for Office Home 2024 Microsoft says there is no upgrade option to the next release. Whether and when you upgrade is your decision; the old version usually keeps running as long as it works with your operating system.
Working safely without the cloud: step by step
With a cloud service, a copy automatically lives somewhere else. Without the cloud, it lives only where you put it. These steps will still keep you well protected:
- Find out where your project lives. Open the location once in your file manager. If you know which file or folder is your manuscript, you can back it up.
- Turn on automatic backups. Many writing programs create backups or earlier versions on their own. Set the destination so it isn’t inside the project folder.
- Put a copy on a second device. An external drive or USB stick is enough. A common rule of thumb is “3-2-1”: three copies, on two different media, one of them in another location.
- Back up in a readable format. Every now and then, export the whole manuscript to Word or Markdown. That way you can get to your text even if the program won’t start one day.
- Try restoring. Restore a backup as a test before you need it.
- Make it a routine. A fixed slot, such as the end of each writing week, is more reliable than “whenever I remember.”
If you still want a copy away from home without trusting your manuscript to a writing service, you can put an encrypted backup into storage of your choice. That isn’t sync, but it protects you against theft or water damage. How to keep drafts and versions cleanly apart is described in Managing manuscript versions.
Switching devices without sync
If you write on two computers without sync, you need a clear rule so that two versions never grow at the same time:
- One device is the main device. Only there does the valid version take shape.
- Hand over with a backup. At the end of a session, back up the project, take the backup with you and restore it on the other device.
- Name handovers clearly, for example with date and device. Then you can see at once which version is the newest.
That is one step more than automatic sync. If you switch several times a day or write on your phone while out and about, a program with sync is the more convenient choice.
An example: a backup routine without the cloud
Suppose you are writing a suspense novel about ferrywoman Rika: a boat repair makes her dependent on her childhood friend Hauke, who has her unknowingly carry drugs. The writing project includes manuscript, profiles, delivery chronology and island notes. A Word file alone would not preserve all this material.
A possible routine: back up the complete project to a separate device after a writing session. Before a major rearrangement, such as explaining the anonymous tip later, create a clearly named version. Regularly check that a backup can actually be restored.
An additional manuscript export can support feedback. It does not replace the project backup containing notes and links. This is a routine for the teaching project, not a claim that every program provides these functions automatically.
Common mistakes
- Backing up to the same drive. If the drive fails, original and backup are both gone.
- Not reading what “lifetime” means. Whether new major versions, sync or support are included is in the terms, not in the name.
- Comparing subscription and one-time purchase over one year. The only fair comparison is over the time you expect to use the program.
- Writing on in two versions at once. Without sync, you quickly end up with chapters that exist twice in different states.
- Never restoring. A backup you have never opened is only an assumption.
Practical tips
- With free programs, check when the last version was released and whether it supports your operating system.
- Before you buy, read how many devices a license covers and whether it applies to both Windows and Mac.
- If you also want to avoid AI features in your writing software, read Writing software without AI.
- Check whether helper features such as a thesaurus or spell checker work offline. Some rely on an online service, which means your text leaves your device.
Try Faustica free for 30 days
With Faustica, your novel and its planning stay together: chapters, characters, settings and research are close to your text. Write and plan offline, keep your projects on your own device and get started without a Faustica account. You can import existing text as Word or Markdown files and continue working on it in Faustica.
Try Faustica free for 30 days and see how it fits your writing process. You can then buy the version for your platform as a one-time purchase: Windows through the Microsoft Store and macOS through the Mac App Store. Each version is sold separately through its respective store.
For the steps above, Faustica has its own versions and backups: a version is created automatically with your first change of the day, and up to 30 can be restored. You create complete backups at a location of your choice, such as an external drive, optionally encrypted with AES-256-GCM. With the app lock in the settings, you can also protect Faustica at startup with a PIN or password. Every backup includes readable Word and Markdown copies of your manuscripts. Via Export you get the whole manuscript as Word, PDF, EPUB or Markdown.
Use backup and restore to move your project to another Windows PC or Mac. For feedback, export individual chapters as Word files with comments and track changes, send them to beta readers or your editor, then bring the revised version back in and compare it with the original in split view.
Frequently asked questions
Is there good writing software that is completely free?
Yes. LibreOffice Writer, novelWriter and yWriter for Windows are free, according to their developers, and store your work locally. They differ a lot: Writer is a word processor, while yWriter and novelWriter divide your novel into chapters and scenes.
Can I use a program without cloud together with Dropbox or OneDrive?
Often you can put backups or exports in such a folder. Whether the project itself may live directly in a sync folder depends on the program; some support it explicitly, with others you risk conflicts if two devices access it at the same time. Check the vendor’s guidance.
What happens to a one-time purchase when a new version comes out?
You can usually keep using the version you bought. Whether the upgrade is free, discounted or a full new purchase is set by the license. Also check whether older versions keep running on new operating systems.
Is a program without cloud more secure?
It protects you from access via someone else’s servers and from a service shutting down. It doesn’t protect you on its own against drive failure, theft or mistakes. It only becomes safe with a copy on a second storage device.
Sources
Research on other companies’ software: October 2026, based on the vendor pages linked below. Pricing models and plans may change.
- LibreOffice: libreoffice.org · libreoffice.org/download/download-libreoffice
- Google Docs: workspace.google.com/products/docs
- Scrivener, licensing: literatureandlatte.com/how-our-licensing-works · Features and platforms: literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview
- Atticus: atticus.io
- Plottr: plottr.com
- yWriter: spacejock.com/yWriter7.html
- novelWriter: novelwriter.io