Celtx covers a lot of ground: screenplay, AV two-column, and stageplay editors, a beat sheet and storyboard for development, and production tools for breakdowns, a catalog, shot lists, schedules, script sides, call sheets, and budgets. Collaboration is built in, with text-anchored comments and a history of revisions and approvals.
The friction is in the plan structure. On Celtx's pricing page, Writer ($11.24 a month billed yearly) caps you at 3 projects and Writer Pro ($18.74 a month billed yearly) adds unlimited projects and story development tools, but neither includes production planning. Those tools come with Team, Education, and Student plans, or as optional add-ons. Team starts at $44.99 a month billed yearly for up to 3 members. A writer who only wants to break down one short film ends up weighing an add-on or a team plan against a separate, cheaper planning tool.
The other common reason is fit. Screenwriters going into a writers' room often need Final Draft files anyway. ADs scheduling a feature want a stripboard tool built for that job. And some people only used Celtx for call sheets. The alternatives below are grouped with that split in mind. For a feature-by-feature table, see Storiara vs Celtx.
1. Storiara
Storiara skips the writing part. You write in Final Draft, Word, or whatever you like, then upload the script as .fdx, .docx, or PDF. Storiara parses the scene headings (numbered or not), counts each scene's length in eighths from the page layout, and uses AI to pull out characters, extras, locations, props, wardrobe, and music and effects. You can read the script in a side panel, highlight any term, and add it as an element, which is how most people fill in what the AI missed.
Once scenes exist, the rest of prep opens up. The schedule is a drag-and-drop stripboard with a day-length limit. Cast Day Out of Days fills in from it. Call sheets combine the day's scenes, cast, crew, location, and weather, and go out by email immediately or at a set time, with a public link for the date. Budget builds a top sheet from your entered rates and exports to Excel. There is also a Shotlist page for planning shots per scene and uploading reference images.
Limits worth knowing if you are coming from Celtx: there is no script editor at all, and Celtx project files aren't accepted, so export a PDF first. There is no storyboard tool; the Shotlist page takes reference images you upload. The stripboard doesn't sort itself or suggest an order. Call sheets have no SMS or confirmations. There is no CSV export for schedules or breakdowns, only print.
Pricing: new accounts start on the free Beginner plan with a 30-day trial of unlimited stories, after which a paid plan is needed to keep working. Producer is $39.99 a month plus $19.99 a month for each extra collaborator. Studio is custom.
2. StudioBinder
StudioBinder is the nearest match to Celtx's all-in-one approach. It has screenwriting and AV scripts, a document editor, element tagging for breakdowns, stripboards with auto sorting by location and time of day, script sides, mood boards, shot lists, storyboards, calendars, and call sheets with auto-filled weather and nearest hospital.
Its pricing is also tiered by feature. A free plan covers 1 project. Starter is $29 a month for 10 projects and includes breakdowns, a stripboard, and the call sheet builder. Indie at $49 a month adds text-message call sheets, tracking, and script revisions. Professional at $99 a month adds branded call sheets and task boards. Yearly billing brings those to $25, $42, and $84. See StudioBinder vs Celtx.
3. Final Draft
If you mostly used Celtx to write, Final Draft is the alternative producers will ask about. Final Draft 13 is desktop software for macOS 12 or later and Windows 11, with Beat Board, Outline Editor, and Structure Lines for planning, production reports, collaboration with other writers, and PDF export. One license activates on two computers. Final Draft Go is a separate iOS app.
It won't schedule your shoot or build a call sheet, so you'll pair it with a planning tool. Final Draft 13 lists at $249.99 (shown at $199.99 when we checked), or you can subscribe to Final Draft Suite at $99.99 a year or $16.99 a month, each with a 5-day trial and Final Draft Cloud. Compare the two writing tools in Celtx vs Final Draft.
4. Filmustage
Filmustage starts where the writing ends. It imports scripts in any language and format, then runs an AI breakdown that tags cast, props, locations, VFX, and wardrobe, links every mention, and feeds a stripboard, DOOD reports, a budget draft, and call sheets. Script annotations in departmental layers are free on every plan. Exports include PDF, Excel, and Movie Magic formats.
The weak point is cost predictability. AI runs on coins: Director's Cut includes 1,700 per cycle, which Filmustage says covers a full AI breakdown of a typical 100-page script plus a budget and synopsis. If you cancel, projects built with a full AI breakdown pause until you return. The free plan keeps manual tools open and runs AI on 20% of scenes. Director's Cut is $79 a month or $55 a month billed annually. See Storiara vs Filmustage.
5. Gorilla Scheduling
Gorilla is a scheduler first. It imports Final Draft, Movie Magic Screenwriter, and PDF scripts, builds breakdown sheets and stripboards, and prints the one-line schedule, shooting schedule, Day Out of Days, and Exhibit G. It comes as Gorilla Scheduling Online in a browser and Gorilla Desktop for Mac and Windows.
For someone leaving Celtx, the draw is paying only for scheduling. Online Solo is $19 a month for 3 projects; Production is $49 a month for 3 users and 10 projects. Desktop Scheduling is $24.99 a month or $199 a year. What you lose is any writing tool, and on desktop, call sheets need the Koala add-on. The online free tier is capped at 20 editable scenes. See Storiara vs Gorilla Scheduling.
6. Yamdu
Yamdu is aimed at production companies and bigger productions. The core set includes script import and breakdown, AI breakdown suggestions, shooting and production scheduling, day out of days reports, call sheets, budgeting, cast management, location scouting, costume and production design tools, crew management with time cards, and document distribution. It imports and exports Final Draft and exports CSV and Excel, and it has iOS and Android apps.
For a solo writer-director it is more system than the job needs. Flex is $45 a month for 1 user and 1 project, with $22 per extra user and $45 per extra project. Studio is $199 a month billed annually ($265 monthly) for 10 users and unlimited projects. Yamdu offers sponsored plans for students. See Storiara vs Yamdu.
7. SetHero
SetHero only does call sheets and what hangs off them: a contact database and production reports. You build the sheet in a drag-and-drop editor, publish by email and text, and see who received, opened, and confirmed. There is no script, breakdown, or schedule in it.
Plans are sized by projects per year, people, and shooting days. Starter starts at $19 a month (35 people, 4 days per project), Pro at $49 a month (65 people, 8 days), and Studio at $129 a month (125 people, 12 days). Yearly billing saves 25%. See Storiara vs SetHero.
Splitting writing and planning
Leaving Celtx usually means running two tools, one to write in and one to plan with. That works fine as long as the planning tool reads your script file. Final Draft .fdx and PDF are the safest handoff formats; Storiara, Gorilla, and Yamdu all read .fdx, and Storiara and Gorilla read PDF.
Pick the planning side by the size of the job. A 12-page short with 9 scenes and a two-day shoot doesn't need a production office; a free tier or a stripboard template will do. A 100-page feature with 110 scenes over 20 days needs a real board, a cast Day Out of Days, and call sheets that go out the night before. A company running four projects at once needs shared crew lists, which points to StudioBinder's higher tiers or Yamdu.
Before you commit, run the same locked draft through two tools and check the breakdown against a manual pass on one scene. Our script breakdown sheet template is a good reference, and the full library is at /templates.