Sonetia: Plan & Write Novels vs kuku
Side-by-side comparison of features, pros & cons, pricing, and community votes (2026).
🏆 kuku leads with 552 upvotes
The modern novel writing app for Mac
Sonetia: Plan & Write Novels is a modern, native Mac application designed specifically for authors and writers looking to streamline their novel-writing process. Built in Swift for optimal performance and crafted for Liquid Glass, it offers a seamless experience for planning, drafting, and finalizing manuscripts. The app supports exporting in multiple formats such as PDF, DOCX, and ePub, making it versatile for publishing and sharing. Its intuitive interface and native macOS integration provide a distraction-free environment, ideal for both amateur and professional writers aiming for efficient storytelling. One of its standout features is the one-time purchase model, ensuring users own the software outright without ongoing subscriptions, making it a cost-effective choice for dedicated writers.
Pros
- Native macOS experience optimized for performance and stability
- Supports multiple export formats for versatile publishing options
- User-friendly interface tailored for writers' workflows
- One-time purchase with lifetime access
- Built specifically for Liquid Glass, enhancing usability for Mac users
Cons
- Limited information on advanced collaboration features
- No details on cloud storage or syncing capabilities
- Votes on Product Hunt are currently zero, indicating limited visibility or reviews
Best for
- • Planning and outlining a novel before drafting
- • Writing and editing manuscripts in a distraction-free environment
- • Exportting finished work into multiple formats for publishing
- • Authors seeking a native Mac app for seamless integration
Pricing: Pricing not verified
Obsidian — but a lot has changed
Kuku is a native, local-first markdown editor designed for macOS users who prioritize privacy, speed, and flexibility. Built with Tauri instead of Electron, it offers a lightweight, offline-capable experience where notes are stored as plain markdown files, supporting wikilinks, backlinks, and visual graph views. Its standout feature is an integrated AI agent that not only chats but actively searches, edits, and links files, presenting changes with Cursor-style diffs for transparent review. This combination of traditional note-taking with AI-driven enhancements makes Kuku ideal for writers, researchers, and productivity enthusiasts seeking a seamless, privacy-focused environment. Its offline-first design ensures data security and quick access, while its modern UI and robust features offer an Obsidian-like experience minus the bloat and cloud dependencies.
Pros
- Native macOS app built with Tauri for improved speed and stability
- Offline-first with no reliance on cloud storage, ensuring privacy
- Integrated AI agent that searches, edits, and links files intelligently
- Supports markdown with wikilinks, backlinks, and graph view features
- Transparent change tracking with Cursor-style diffs
Cons
- Limited to macOS, no Windows or Linux versions currently
- Still a relatively new tool, with a smaller community compared to established options
- May require some learning curve for users unfamiliar with markdown or AI integrations
Best for
- • Knowledge management and personal wiki building
- • Research note organization with advanced linking and graph views
- • Creative writing and drafting with AI-assisted editing
- • Offline note-taking for privacy-conscious users
Pricing: Likely operates on a freemium model with core features available for free, and premium features or AI capabilities offered via paid plans, though specific pricing details are not publicly confirmed.