FAQs

Yes. To download a trial version of our macOS or Windows versions, visit our Downloads page and click the “Download” button for your platform. If you don’t own a licence, Scrivener will automatically run in trial mode. The trial is exactly the same as the full version, except that it will only last for 30 days of use. (This means that if you use it every day, it will stop working after 30 days, but if you use it only every other day, it will last for 60 days.) This gives you plenty of time to get to know Scrivener and decide if it’s the writing app for you.

Unfortunately we are unable to offer a trial version of Scrivener for iOS because Apple’s App Store does not allow it.

Yes. Each licence we sell covers only one platform. So if you buy Scrivener for macOS, for instance, you will not be able to use the macOS licence to unlock the Windows version. Offering single-platform licences allows us to keep prices as low as possible for users who do not need to run Scrivener on more than one operating system. Note that Scrivener on iOS is sold separately.

Absolutely! Scrivener comes with what we call a “household” licence, which means that you can install Scrivener on any machines you own and of which you are the primary user. You can also install it on the computers of family members living in the same house as you. (Please refer to the ‘Do I need different licences for each platform?’ FAQ above.)

Please note that this does not apply if you buy from Apple’s App Store, however. Apple has its own licensing for software it sells. If you buy from the App Store, you can still use Scrivener on multiple computers, but only computers that are set up to use your Apple account.

If you bought from our web store (or from a reseller such as Amazon), simply click on the appropriate “Download” button on our Downloads page. If you haven’t yet entered your licence, the software will run in trial mode. To unlock it, enter the serial number you were sent after purchase.

If you own a licence for an older version of Scrivener, please visit our Legacy Downloads page.

If you bought from Apple’s App Store, visit the “Purchased” area of the App Store app and download from there.

Don’t worry! We understand how easy it is to lose serial numbers as you move between computers. The first thing to do is check your email for the original purchase receipt, which will contain your serial number. If you can’t find it, then visit our Serial Number Retrieval page. Follow the instructions on that page to retrieve your serial number. If that still doesn’t work, though, drop us a line and we’ll look it up for you.

Note that if you purchased from Apple’s App Store, you will not receive a serial number. Instead you use the App Store app to reinstall your software.

Refunds will be provided within 30 days of purchase. We do have 30-day free trials of all the software we sell on our store, so please do be sure to try before you buy.

If you purchased from Apple’s App Store, all refunds are dealt with by Apple so you will need to contact Apple directly. We have no access to App Store customer sales records.

All minor updates are free, but we occasionallly release more major updates that are paid-for. For instance, if you buy Scrivener 3, then all 3.x updates will be free—3.1, 3.2, 3.7 and so on. But when one day we release Scrivener 4, then you would need to pay an upgrade fee if you wanted to update to it. We do not release paid updates often, however, and are committed to enhancing and improving each version of Scrivener through numerous free updates. Please see this page for more information.

Absolutely. When going through the purchase process in our store, be sure to enter your own e-mail address during the checkout process. Please see this page for further details.