Highland 2 Alternatives for Mac, Windows and Fountain Writers

Highland 2, the Mac screenwriting app from John August's Quote-Unquote Apps, has been superseded. Highland Pro launched in March 2025 as version 3.0, and the Quote-Unquote Apps blog says Highland 2 is no longer developed. Owners can still download it from their Mac App Store purchases. Highland Pro is a subscription at US$9.99 a month or US$59.99 a year, with a 30-day trial, and it adds iPad and iPhone apps.

Three things send Highland 2 users elsewhere: the move from a one-time purchase to a subscription, the lack of Windows or web versions, and syncing. In an April 2026 post, John August himself called iCloud syncing a frustrating, unreliable area. The picks below start with Mac apps that read Fountain, then cover one-time and cross-platform editors.

Prices below are as of November 8, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.

Quick comparison

Beat

Beat is the most direct replacement for Highland 2 on a Mac. It writes in Fountain, imports Highland, Final Draft, Fade In and Celtx files, and adds an outline view, scene cards, revisions and statistics. It is free and open source under GPL v3, funded through Patreon.

The developer still posts updates, with a news post dated September 26, 2026 on the Beat website. JavaScript plugins on macOS let you add your own tools.

Best for: Highland 2 owners who want a free Mac app with the same plain-text approach.

Pricing:

• macOS: free (GPL v3)
• iOS: 12.99 euros one-time
• Separate paid edition for schools and organisations

Watch out for:

• There will be no Windows or Linux version, and there is no cloud sync or real-time collaboration.

Official site: Beat.

Slugline

Slugline 2 is a quiet, minimal Mac editor built on Fountain, the same open plain-text format Highland uses. It opens and exports Final Draft files and syncs between Mac, iPhone and iPad through iCloud or Dropbox, so you are not tied to one sync service.

It is free to download and works without limits up to page six. A one-time US$49.99 purchase removes the page limit and adds FDX export, per the Slugline site. Short-film writers may never need to pay.

Best for: Mac writers who liked Highland's plain-text feel and want to pay once.

Pricing:

• Free up to page six
• Unlimited writing and FDX export: US$49.99 one-time
• iPhone and iPad app: price shown in the App Store

Watch out for:

• It is Apple only, needs macOS 10.14 or later, and has no collaboration features.

Official site: Slugline.

Fade In

Fade In answers the biggest Highland complaint. You pay US$79.95 once, updates are free, and the licence covers your own computers on Windows, Mac or Linux, per the Fade In purchase page.

Its trial lacks only realtime collaboration, so you can test it on a real draft before paying. Fade In Access, an optional cloud service, adds iOS and Android apps.

Best for: Writers who want to own their software and switch between Windows and Mac.

Pricing:

• US$79.95 one-time (listed down from US$99.95)
• Free demo with all features except realtime collaboration
• Fade In Access: optional cloud add-on

Watch out for:

• Sync needs the optional Fade In Access service; without it you copy files between machines yourself. Demo printouts carry a watermark after page 10.

Official site: Fade In.

Final Draft

If your script is headed to a studio, an agent or a production office, Final Draft's .fdx file is still what most of them ask for. Final Draft 13 runs on macOS 12 or later and Windows 11, with Beat Board and an outline editor for planning.

You can buy it once or subscribe with Final Draft Cloud. The yearly plan on the Final Draft product page costs US$40 more than a year of Highland Pro.

Best for: Working writers who exchange drafts with producers and studios.

Pricing:

• One-time: US$249.99
• Subscription with Final Draft Cloud: US$16.99 a month, or US$99.99 a year
• 5-day trial on subscriptions; 30-day money-back guarantee

Watch out for:

• Mobile writing means buying Final Draft Go on top, while one Highland Pro subscription already covers iPad and iPhone.

Official site: Final Draft.

Arc Studio

Arc Studio is a cloud editor with desktop and iPhone and iPad apps on its paid plans. Pro puts outlining, season outlines, revision management and collaborators next to the script, which Highland never offered.

Plans are yearly only: Essentials at US$69 and Pro at US$99, per the Arc Studio pricing page. Every account starts with a 7-day Pro trial. Our Arc Studio alternatives page covers its weak spots.

Best for: TV writers who plan seasons and share drafts with a partner.

Pricing:

• Free: 2 scripts, watermarked PDF, no desktop or iOS apps
• Essentials: US$69 a year
• Pro: US$99 a year
• Students with an .edu email: US$70 off Pro

Watch out for:

• Table reads, character images and the research assistant run on credits bought separately.

Official site: Arc Studio.

WriterDuet

Highland is a solo app. WriterDuet is made for writing partners who type in the same script at once, in the browser or in its desktop and iOS apps.

Billing can be monthly, which Arc Studio does not offer. Plus is US$9.99 a month or US$89.88 a year, and the free plan holds 3 projects, per the WriterDuet plan guide.

Best for: Writing teams who need live co-writing.

Pricing:

• Free: 3 projects, one document each
• Plus: US$9.99 a month, or US$89.88 a year
• Pro: US$11.99 a month, or US$107.88 a year
• Premium: US$13.99 a month, or US$125.88 a year

Watch out for:

• The desktop app needs a paid plan; the free tier is browser only.

Official site: WriterDuet.

Story Architect

Story Architect, also called STARC, is the successor to KIT Scenarist and has builds for Windows, macOS and Linux. The free plan already allows unlimited projects and covers screenplays, stage plays, audio dramas, comics and novels.

Pro adds mind maps, a corkboard and timeline, at US$4.17 a month billed yearly or US$150 for life, per the STARC pricing page. Version 0.8.3 shipped on September 22, 2026. See our KIT Scenarist alternatives for its background.

Best for: Writers on Linux or Windows who want planning tools for little money.

Pricing:

• Free: unlimited projects, all writing modules, no AI credits
• Pro: US$4.17 a month billed yearly, or US$150 lifetime
• Creator: US$8.34 a month billed yearly, with real-time collaboration, sync across 5 devices and 5 GB
• AI credits: from US$10 for 50

Watch out for:

• Desktop-to-mobile sync is planned for 2027. Until then you move projects as .starc files.

Official site: Story Architect.

How to choose

When to stay with Highland

Keep Highland 2 if it still runs on your Mac and you only need clean Fountain writing; it will not get new features, but your files stay plain text. Move to Highland Pro if you want the same app on iPad and iPhone and do not mind US$59.99 a year. According to John August's April 2026 post, three quarters of Highland 2's weekly active users moved to Pro within two months.

Frequently asked questions