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Visual novel apps for mobile

Every tool we know of for making a visual novel that plays on a phone or a tablet, split by where you do the making. Descriptions and links, no scores.

You make it on the phone or tablet

Authoring happens on the device itself. The list is short because most engines were designed for a desktop first.

  • Paperbox
    FreeiPhone, iPad and Android

    Mobile-first and artist-friendly, with no code. Choices, variables and multiple endings, and a finished game publishes to a permanent link or exports as an HTML file you keep.

    Best for Writers and artists making the whole thing on a phone or tablet, alone or with someone else.

  • RouteVN Creator
    Free, open sourceAndroid, iPhone and iPad, and Windows, macOS and Linux

    Runs fully offline. Supports branching scenes with choices, variables and conditionals, along with music, sound effects and voice acting, without scripting.

    Best for Creators who want an open source, offline Android workflow, with the same project openable on a desktop when they want one.

  • Tadasu Novel Maker
    FreeThe web, so any phone with a browser

    A browser-based editor built around drag-and-drop blocks. Projects are published and shared from the same page, with nothing to install. Originally released in Japanese and since translated into English.

    Best for Writers who want to start in a browser tab with nothing to install, and share the result the same way.

  • KochoRemoved
    Was freeAndroid and iOS

    An offline visual novel maker and player, first released in 2020 by Scandiacus LLC. Removed from both app stores; no current download exists. Games built with it remain on itch.io.

You make it on a computer, and it plays on the phone

Authoring runs on a desktop. What reaches a phone is the exported build.

  • Ren'Py
    Free, open sourceWindows, macOS and Linux, exporting to Android and iOS

    Scripting-based, using a language of its own. One project exports to desktop and both mobile platforms. Accounts for a large share of commercially released visual novels.

    Best for Complex, desktop-first projects headed for PC and Steam, made by somebody willing to learn a scripting language.

  • TyranoScript and TyranoBuilder
    Free engine, paid editorWindows and macOS, exporting to Android, iOS and the web

    TyranoScript is the open engine; TyranoBuilder is a drag-and-drop editor built on top of it. Both produce the same HTML5 build, which runs on the web and on both mobile platforms.

    Best for Drag-and-drop authoring on a desktop, with one HTML5 build that lands on the web and both phones.

  • Naninovel
    PaidAnywhere Unity builds, which includes iOS and Android

    An extension for Unity rather than a standalone application. Inherits Unity's build targets, which include iOS and Android.

    Best for A novel that is part of a larger Unity game, or a team already working in Unity for something else.

  • Monogatari
    Free, open sourceThe web, so any phone with a browser

    A JavaScript engine that runs as a web page rather than an installed application. Scenes are defined in script files and presented with CSS.

    Best for Front-end developers who would rather write the novel in JavaScript than learn an engine.

  • Twine
    Free, open sourceThe web and desktop, playing in any browser

    An editor for branching text rather than a visual novel engine. Output is a single HTML file that opens in any browser; images and audio are added manually.

    Best for Stories that are mostly words, and getting one playable in the least possible time.

More visual novel tools for Android on itch.io

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