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Scrivener is a phenomenal place to draft and research. But screenwriting is a mode there, not the point. Compile to FDX or Fountain, import to Arqo, and write in a tool built for screenplays, on every device, not just the desktop.
Scrivener formats scripts through a compile preset. Arqo is a screenplay engine: real Fountain underneath, FDX that round-trips, industry-standard pagination, not a styling layer over a long-form draft.
Scrivener is desktop with an iOS companion. Arqo is the same editor on iOS, Android, Windows, and any browser. Your phone is the editor, not a viewer.
Character index, location index, the through-line: surfaced when you ask, hidden when you don't. Arqo Assist answers questions about your script. It does not write your dialogue.
Two scripts, full editor, your FDX out via Account → Export everything, no nag. Pro at $9/mo (per-script export from the editor, lossless round-trip) if you outgrow it.
In Scrivener: File → Compile → Final Draft (.fdx), or Fountain (.fountain) for a screenplay project. FDX preserves more production metadata.
Scripts → Import → drop the .fdx or .fountain. Scenes, characters, and elements land in place.
Spot-check the first three scenes: sluglines, character cues, transitions. Export FDX back any time.
Sign in on iOS or Android. Same editor, same script. No "mobile mode" with half the features.
Yes: that's the cleanest flow. Outline and research in Scrivener's binder, compile the screenplay to FDX or Fountain, and draft in Arqo. Round-trip back any time.
No. The binder and corkboard are Scrivener's flagship and we don't replicate them 1:1. Arqo imports the screenplay text and structure via FDX/Fountain, not your research folders. Arqo's mind map and scene list are the closest equivalents.
FDX if your project has dual dialogue, revisions, or locked scene numbers. It carries more production metadata. Fountain is fine for a clean draft with standard elements.
Book mode is a real prose surface, three chapters on Free, unlimited chapters and manuscript DOCX on Pro. Scrivener still wins on research and non-fiction; bring the screenplays and the drafts here.
In Arqo, yes: today. Named presence, live cursors, live co-typing, threaded comments, and suggest mode / track changes, per script. Free has no co-writers; Pro is 2 per script (taking turns: the live room is Studio), Studio is 5 with live cursors. Scrivener is single-writer by design, so this is one of the clearer gaps between the two.
Two scripts on Free. Full editor. Full export. Bring your FDX, see how it lands.