Fountain+ TL;DR
Better Fountain is the most-engaged Fountain editor for VS Code. Fountain+ Exporter is a Fountain exporter for Google Docs. They don't compete — they sit at different points in the same writer's pipeline.
At a Glance — Fountain+ Exporter
Free Google Docs Add-on. Reads Fountain or Mangaplay markup from your Doc, writes Final Draft .fdx, FadeIn .fadein, PDF, TXT and Fountain. 14 locales. Lives where the writer already lives.
At a Glance — Better Fountain
Free, open-source (MIT) VS Code extension by Piers Deseilligny. Around 440 GitHub stars — one of the most-engaged Fountain open-source projects. Syntax highlighting, autocomplete for character names and scene headings, live PDF preview that follows the editor caret, PDF export.
Pricing
Fountain+ Exporter — Free
- Google Docs Add-on
- All export formats included
- No element cap, no paid tier
Better Fountain — Free (OSS)
- VS Code extension
- MIT licensed — auditable, forkable
- No paid tier
Feature Matrix
| Feature | Fountain+ | Better Fountain |
|---|---|---|
| Surface | Google Docs | VS Code |
| Fountain markup | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live preview | Docs native | Inline PDF preview |
| Syntax highlighting | Docs plain text | ✓ |
| Autocomplete (characters, slugs) | No | ✓ |
| .fdx export | ✓ | No |
| .fadein export | ✓ | No |
| PDF export | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mangaplay / comic format | ✓ | No |
| Real-time collaboration | Google Docs | VS Code Live Share |
| Open source | No | MIT |
| Offline | Docs is cloud | ✓ |
| Locales | 14 | Community forks |
Why Pick Fountain+ Exporter
- You already draft in Google Docs and want to leave with a real
.fdxor.fadeinfile. - You collaborate with non-developer writers, producers or readers who don't have VS Code.
- You need real-time collaboration on the script itself (Google Docs handles this natively).
- You write comics or manga and need Mangaplay page/panel format.
Why Pick Better Fountain
- You live in VS Code for everything else and want Fountain editing without leaving your editor.
- You want syntax highlighting, autocomplete, and a live preview that follows the editor caret.
- You want a fully-offline tool with no cloud dependency.
- You want open source you can fork, audit or contribute to.
Workflows
The combined workflow. If you're a developer-screenwriter who lives in VS Code, draft in Better Fountain for the editing experience, then drop the Fountain text into a Google Doc and run Fountain+ when you need .fdx for Final Draft or .fadein for FadeIn Pro. Better Fountain's maintainer has historically declined to add FDX export — the two tools fill each other's gaps.
For writers who don't live in VS Code. Fountain+ does the whole job inside Docs. There's no migration story because Better Fountain was never an option for you.
Switching Direction
Fountain is portable plain text — it moves between tools without losing anything. There's no "switching" here, just deciding where you do the work.
1. To take a Better Fountain script to Fountain+ Exporter: copy the Fountain text from VS Code, paste into a Google Doc, run Fountain+ Exporter → Export FDX (or FadeIn, PDF, TXT). 2. To take a Fountain+ Exporter script to Better Fountain: Extensions → Fountain+ Exporter → Export Fountain. Open the resulting .fountain file in VS Code with Better Fountain installed.
Bottom Line
Pick Better Fountain if you're a VS Code resident who wants to write in Fountain with a strong in-editor experience.
Pick Fountain+ Exporter if you draft in Google Docs and need to leave with a real industry-format file. Many writers will use both at different points in the same script.
FAQ
Does Better Fountain export to FDX? No. The maintainer has historically declined this feature due to FDX schema complexity. Fountain+ fills that gap.
Can I use Better Fountain on a Google Doc? No — VS Code can't open a Google Doc directly. Export the Fountain text out of Docs first, then open it as a .fountain file in VS Code.
Is Better Fountain still maintained? As of mid-2025, yes — though cadence has slowed. Still among the most-engaged Fountain open-source projects.
Does Fountain+ Exporter have syntax highlighting? No — Google Docs is plain text inside the Add-on's surface. For an editing experience with highlighting, draft in Better Fountain and export via Fountain+.