Galley as a Novel Factory alternative
Last reviewed July 2026
The facts first: The Novel Factory (subscription, $8.25–22/month billed annually, or a ~$649 lifetime licence; browser-based) is a structured planning tool: a plot manager, character/location/item tracking, and a ten-step writing roadmap, deliberately built with no AI anywhere in it. It exports to Word, not a print-ready book. Galley (€199 one-time, web app) covers the same planning ground with a lighter structure (chapters, parts, synopses, timeline) and adds what The Novel Factory doesn't attempt: print-interior PDF and EPUB export with a KDP preflight, in the same tool you drafted in.
The Novel Factory's whole pitch is structure and guidance: a named, ten-step roadmap from concept to publishing, with worksheets and a plot manager to match. For a writer who wants a course built into their writing software, that's a real and specific strength, and it's earned genuine testimonials from published authors. It is also, like Galley, built on a hard no-AI rule — worth saying plainly, since most of the planning tools in this category now bolt AI on somewhere.
Where it stops is publishing. The Novel Factory organises and drafts the novel, then hands you a Word export; getting from there to a print interior or a store-ready EPUB is a separate tool, same as with Dabble or Scrivener. Galley's story-bible tools are less prescriptive — no named roadmap, no worksheets — but it carries the manuscript all the way to the files a printer or Kindle store actually accepts.
| Feature | Galley | The Novel Factory |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | €199 once | $8.25–22/mo billed annually · ~$649 lifetime |
| AI anywhere in the product | Never, in your prose | Never, by design |
| Print-interior PDF & EPUB export | Yes, with KDP preflight included | No, Word export only |
| Structured writing roadmap / worksheets | No, lighter-touch story bible | Yes, named ten-step process |
| Plot manager | Chapters, parts, synopses, timeline | Yes, dedicated plot manager |
| Character / location / item tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Write on a true trim-size book page | Yes, six trims, 35 book typefaces | No |
| Revision analytics | Overused words, name consistency, pacing | No |
| Runs on | Any desktop browser | Any desktop browser |
Two AI-free tools, different jobs
It's worth naming what these tools agree on before the differences: both refuse to put AI anywhere near your prose, on principle rather than as a missing feature. From there they diverge. The Novel Factory's answer to "how do I structure a novel" is a named roadmap and dedicated worksheets; Galley's answer is a story bible that stays attached to the manuscript with less ceremony around it. Neither is wrong; they're built for different relationships with process.
What The Novel Factory does that Galley won't
Walk you through a ten-step, named process from concept to publishing, with worksheets at each stage and a dedicated plot manager. If you want software that teaches structure as much as it holds your notes, that's a real strength Galley doesn't try to match.
Choose The Novel Factory if…
- You want a guided, named process from concept through to a finished draft
- The dedicated plot manager and worksheets are how you like to plan
- A subscription (or its lifetime tier) fits your budget better than a single payment
Choose Galley if…
- You want to stop paying rent on your writing tool
- You want the finished book — print PDF, EPUB, KDP preflight — to come out of the same app the draft went into
- You'd rather plan lightly (chapters, synopses, timeline) than follow a fixed roadmap
Common questions
How much does The Novel Factory cost compared to Galley?
The Novel Factory runs $8.25/month (Basic) or $22/month (Standard) billed annually, with a lifetime licence around $649. Galley is €199 once. A Standard subscription over three years (~$792) already costs more than a Galley licence, and the lifetime tier alone is over three of them.
Does The Novel Factory have AI features?
No, deliberately. Its own marketing states it is "completely AI-free and always will be." Galley makes the same promise about your prose — no AI ever generates, rewrites, or trains on it — so the two tools agree on this more than most comparisons on this site.
Can The Novel Factory produce a print-ready book?
Its export feature is manuscript-level (Word), not a print-interior PDF with proper trim size and margins or a store-ready EPUB. That is exactly the half Galley is built for, after you draft and plan the book.
Competitor details are from The Novel Factory's own public pricing and features pages, checked July 2026. Verify at novel-software.com. I've tried to be fair; if I've got something wrong, email me and I'll correct it.
No subscription. No second tool at the end. €199, once.
Launch Galley