Choosing a writing tool
Why LoreLynx?
An honest comparison with the two tools writers ask about most. Both are good at what they do. Here is where we differ, plainly.
vs Sudowrite
If you are looking at Sudowrite
Sudowrite is an AI-first drafting tool: the model writes alongside you, and bundled AI credits are the product. If a co-writer is the main thing you want, it is a fine choice. LoreLynx is built on a different bet:
- We never sell AI. Connect your own key (OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, Gemini, OpenRouter) or run a free local model with Ollama or LM Studio. What AI costs is between you and your provider.
- AI is a layer, not the point. Every AI feature can be switched off, and what remains is still a complete planning, writing, and worldbuilding studio.
- No credit meter. One flat subscription. Heavy AI use never raises what you pay us, because you never pay us for AI.
- Local means private. With a local model, your words never leave your machine for AI features. No cloud AI ever sees your manuscript unless you choose one.
vs NovelCrafter
If you are looking at NovelCrafter
NovelCrafter is the closest cousin: bring-your-own-key pricing with a codex at the core, and it has earned its reputation. LoreLynx goes further in three directions:
- Deeper worldbuilding. Interactive maps with pinned locations, timelines, relationship graphs, faction matrices, and codex progressions that follow your characters scene by scene.
- Writing together. Team workspaces with owner, editor, and reader roles, invites, and live scene locking so collaborators never overwrite each other.
- Readers built in. Publish chapters or serials straight to the book feed. Readers follow, comment, and keep their place without leaving the app.
- The whole board. Kanban planning, a scene matrix, story threads, and archive and trash safety nets around every destructive action.
LoreLynx is built by one person, and today it is in public beta. That means a direct line to the developer and no pressure to ever sell you AI. It also means you should never have to trust us blindly: your work exports to JSON anytime, snapshots live on your own device, and everything about leaving is documented on Your Words. If one of the tools above fits your work better, use it. We would rather earn the comparison than blur it.