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If you searched for ScreenCraft Pricing, here is the most important thing to know: ScreenCraft shut down in 2025. That means its contests, coverage services, fellowship programs, and related submission pathways are no longer active.
This article looks at what ScreenCraft used to cost before the shutdown, but because ScreenCraft’s website is no longer fully accessible, some historical figures are difficult to verify directly.
The numbers in this article reflect the last recorded fees we could trace through public sources before the closure, and we treat them as the best available reference rather than a definitive archive. When we cannot confirm a figure, we say so.
Quick Summary: ScreenCraft Pricing
- ScreenCraft shut down permanently on February 28, 2025, following Cast and Crew’s acquisition of its parent company.
- Historical competition entries ranged from about $69.99 to $149, depending on the competition type and whether the entry included feedback.
- Related platforms, including Coverfly, WeScreenplay, and The Script Lab, also shut down in 2025.
- Greenlight Coverage, The Black List, and Stage 32 now serve parts of the same screenwriting audience at different price points.
What Happened to ScreenCraft? The 2025 Shutdown Explained
ScreenCraft did not fade quietly. Its closure followed a corporate consolidation that swept through several screenwriting platforms in early 2025, ending more than a decade of competition history in a matter of weeks.
The ownership chain helps explain why the closures happened. Industry Arts owned or operated several overlapping screenwriting brands, including Coverfly, ScreenCraft, WeScreenplay, The Script Lab, Final Draft, Tracking Board, and Launch Pad.
Backstage acquired Industry Arts and FilmFreeway, then Cast & Crew acquired Backstage. After that consolidation, Cast & Crew shut down several services that served similar audiences. Coverfly, which had managed most ScreenCraft submissions, then shut down on August 1, 2025.
The impact was immediate because these platforms collectively served more than 100,000 screenwriters. These writers built careers, portfolios, and industry contacts through these platforms. Many lost archived scripts, contest records, and saved feedback overnight.
ScreenCraft Pricing Table: What It Used to Cost
ScreenCraft’s pricing was not a single number but a stack of separate line items: competition entries, optional feedback add-ons, fellowship entry fees, and page overage charges.
Competition Entry Fees
ScreenCraft used a deadline-tiered pricing structure across most of its genre competitions in its final years. By 2024, the platform charged tiered deadline pricing for genre competitions, with standard entries reaching $79.99 at the final deadline.
| Competition Type | Standard Entry | Entry + Feedback |
|---|---|---|
| Feature Film | $79.99 | $149.00 |
| Drama Series | $79.99 | $149.00 |
| Comedy | $79.99 | $149.00 |
| Sci-Fi and Fantasy | $79.99 | $149.00 |
| Horror | $79.99 | $149.00 |
| True Story / Public Domain | $79.99 | $149.00 |
| Short Film | Pricing varied by contest | Pricing varied by contest |
Note: Treat these as historical pre-February 2025 prices, not current rates.
ScreenCraft also charged page overage fees for longer scripts. All entry fees were non-refundable, and writers could substitute revised drafts for a fee. More details in the following sections.
Script Coverage and Feedback Add-Ons
ScreenCraft offered an optional professional reader feedback add-on at the time of entry for writers seeking development notes. The premium ran approximately $69, bringing the total entry cost from $79.99 to $149.00.
In exchange, writers received over a page of written notes from a professional script reader covering plot, character, pacing, dialogue, and marketability.
Fellowship and Mentorship Programs
The ScreenCraft Fellowship used the same basic pricing structure as its major competition entries in its final available listings: $79.99 for Standard Entry and $149.00 for Entry + Feedback.
The fellowship was different from a standard contest because the prize package focused on access and career development. Each cycle selected three winning writers who received 5 days of intensive professional meetings with literary agents, managers, and studio executives, then 3 months of one-on-one consultation with the ScreenCraft writer development team.
ScreenCraft helped past winners and finalists sign with managers and agents at CAA, WME, UTA, Paradigm, and boutique firms. The program also connected winners with credited mentors, including Oscar-winning and Emmy-nominated writers, for post-competition development. Past Grand Prize Mentors include Oscar-winning David Rabinowitz.
Hidden Costs and Add-Ons
The headline entry fee was not the only expense ScreenCraft contestants encountered. Several smaller charges and policy limits added up over a competition season.
- Page overage fees: Scripts over 120 pages incurred a $0.50 per-page overage fee without feedback, climbing to $1.00 per page with feedback. A writer submitting a 135-page feature with feedback paid an extra $15 on top of the base $149.
- Multiple contest entries: Writers who entered across multiple genre categories paid the full fee per submission. A full-slate approach across 4 or 5 competitions could range from $320 to $745, depending on whether each entry included feedback.
- Re-entry fees: ScreenCraft allowed writers to substitute a revised draft for a $6 reentry fee through Coverfly, provided the writer submitted the change before the competition deadline.
- No refund policy: All entry fees were non-refundable regardless of the competition outcome. Writers who withdrew, missed deadlines after payment, or failed eligibility requirements did not receive their money back.
Was ScreenCraft Worth the Price?
ScreenCraft’s biggest strength was access. Finalists and winners could receive industry introductions, career support through its Writer Development Program, and visibility with a jury network that included active literary managers, agents, producers, and development executives.
The limitations were just as concrete. The feedback add-on provided writers with notes, but it was closer to a brief reader response than to a full script development process. Costs also added up quickly. A writer entering several genre contests, adding feedback, and submitting revised drafts could spend hundreds of dollars without any guarantee of results.
Some industry professionals have also questioned the weight writers place on Pass, Consider, and Recommend ratings, since paid coverage scores do not carry the same weight as a real industry referral.
The Verdict: ScreenCraft was worth the price for competition-ready scripts seeking exposure. It was less valuable as an early-stage development tool.
How Greenlight Coverage Compares on Price
The screenwriting services market looks very different in 2026. ScreenCraft is gone, Coverfly has shut down, and writers now have to separate three different needs: script coverage, industry exposure, and competition entry.
| Platform | Status | Script Coverage Cost | Competition Access | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ScreenCraft | Closed | Historical: $69 add-on with entry | No longer active | N/A |
| Greenlight Coverage | Active | $50 to $260/month (Billed annually) | Greenlight Opportunities and The Greenlight List | Fast, development-focused coverage |
| The Black List | Active | $30/month hosting per project and $100 per evaluation | Industry hosting and score-based visibility | Industry exposure, Nicholl partnership |
| Stage 32 | Active | $49 to $99 add-on with entry | Annual contests, 1M+ member network | Networking and meetings |
| Script Pipeline | Active | Not a coverage-first platform; notes available with entry | Annual contest with a $20,000 grand prize | Competition-focused writers |
| Austin Film Festival | Active | Not a coverage-first platform; notes available with entry | 2026 script entries range from $25 to $90 | Conference plus contest combination |
Where Former ScreenCraft Users Should Go
No single active platform replaces everything ScreenCraft offered. The platforms below do not serve the same purpose, so compare them by outcome first and price second.
Greenlight Coverage (Best for Instant Script Feedback)
Greenlight Coverage is the closest fit if you used ScreenCraft mainly for script coverage, reader notes, and draft improvement. It’s an AI-driven script analysis platform that delivers a coverage report in 15 to 60 minutes per submission, depending on the subscription tier.
Instead of waiting for a competition result, you upload your screenplay and receive a coverage report that you can use during the rewrite process. The system returns a structured coverage report covering plot, character, dialogue, pacing, marketability, and theme, with the option to ask Follow-Up Questions on specific scenes or notes.
| Plan | Monthly Price | Annual Price | Scripts | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | $0 | $0 | 1 (snapshot only) | Within minutes |
| Basic | $75 | $50 | 2 per month | 1 hour |
| Essential | $129 | $90 | 5 per month | 30 minutes |
| Pro | $345 | $260 | 15 per month | < 15 minutes |
| Non-recurring | $209 | 3 screenplays | 2 hours |
All tiers include an IP safety commitment: your screenplay is never used to train Greenlight Coverage’s AI model. The platform also offers a full refund within the first month if a writer is not satisfied with the notes.
The Black List (Best for Industry Exposure)
The Black List is the script-hosting platform that writers use to get their work seen by Hollywood readers, agents, managers, and producers. Hosting costs $30 per month or $360 per year with annual billing.
Each script evaluation costs $100 for a feature or one-hour pilot, and $70 for a half-hour pilot. Writers Guild of America (WGA) members receive a 20% discount on both hosting and evaluations.
The Black List is now the official portal for public submissions to the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. A script that scores 8 or higher on an evaluation earns free hosting and additional reader evaluations, which can offset the platform’s recurring costs for strong material.
One limitation worth noting: The Black List may help a strong script get noticed, but it doesn’t serve as a comprehensive script-development process. You pay for marketplace exposure and a scored evaluation, not months of revision support.
Stage 32, Script Pipeline, and Austin Film Festival
Stage 32 combines a social network of over 1 million members with contest infrastructure. Stage 32 flies grand prize winners to Los Angeles for in-person meetings with industry judges, and distributes finalist loglines to over 500 development executives. Coverage is available as an optional contest add-on at $49 to $99 per script.
Script Pipeline, founded in 1999, awards a $20,000 grand prize alongside long-term development mentorship for finalists. The platform has facilitated more than $8 million in spec sales to studios and offers ongoing 1-on-1 guidance to quarterfinalists and higher.
Austin Film Festival, often called the Writers Festival, pairs its annual screenplay competition with the largest screenwriters conference in the world. Feature entry runs $60 early, $70 regular, and $90 at the late deadline, including optional reader comments at no extra cost.
How to Get the Most Value from Your Screenwriting Budget
The smartest investment a screenwriter can make is in the quality of the script itself. But screenwriting costs can add up fast when you combine coverage, contest entries, hosting, and add-ons. That doesn’t mean you have to spend as little as possible. You just have to spend in the right order.
- Start with free options
Greenlight Coverage offers a free first screenplay snapshot, which gives you a limited view of the Plot Assessment and Enhancement section before you commit to a paid plan. The Black List also offers free hosting and evaluations for projects that earn an overall score of 8 or higher.
- Use AI-driven coverage for rapid iteration
Early drafts usually need multiple revisions before they even need industry exposure. AI coverage delivers a structured report in minutes, which means you don’t have to wait weeks between drafts.
- Be strategic with competitions
Entering 10 smaller contests can drain your budget before the script is ready. So, just choose two or three high-prestige contests that fit your genre and format.
- Annual billing saves money
Greenlight Coverage’s annual plans are roughly 30% below the monthly rate, saving several hundred dollars per year on the Essential or Pro tiers.
- Do not pay for industry access before the script is ready
Coverage and revision come first. Hosting and contest entries come after polishing. Use your budget to improve the draft first, then pay for exposure once the script is ready for judging, hosting, or submission.
Check out our list of the top screenplay coverage services to elevate your script.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ScreenCraft still active in 2026?
No, ScreenCraft is not active in 2026. The platform shut down permanently on February 28, 2025, and its competitions, coverage services, fellowship programs, and Coverfly-based submission pathways are no longer available. ScreenCraft also managed all submissions through Coverfly, which itself subsequently shut down in August 2025.
How much did ScreenCraft competitions cost?
ScreenCraft competition pricing varied by contest, deadline, and feedback option. The last available figures show standard entries around $79.99 and entries with feedback around $149. ScreenCraft maintained genre-specific contests covering action, adventure, horror, sci-fi, comedy, drama, family, TV pilot, and more, so costs could add up quickly.
What is the best ScreenCraft alternative in 2026?
Greenlight Coverage is the strongest ScreenCraft alternative for writers who need fast script coverage and structured revision support. ScreenCraft left a significant gap in the genre-specific contest and coverage market, which is now partially filled by active alternatives. The Black List, Stage 32, Script Pipeline, and Austin Film Festival serve different exposure, networking, or competition needs.
How much does The Black List cost compared to ScreenCraft?
The Black List costs $30 per month to host each project, or $360 per year if kept live for 12 months. Evaluations cost $100 for features and hour-long pilots, and $70 for half-hour pilots. ScreenCraft’s final listed entry-with-feedback pricing was about $149.
Is Greenlight Coverage a good replacement for ScreenCraft’s script feedback?
Yes, Greenlight Coverage is a strong replacement for ScreenCraft’s script feedback if your main goal is to improve your draft. ScreenCraft offered an optional professional reader feedback add-on at the time of entry for writers seeking development notes. Greenlight Coverage serves that revision need through faster coverage reports and Follow-Up Questions.
Why did ScreenCraft shut down?
ScreenCraft shut down after a corporate consolidation in the screenwriting services market. Cast & Crew acquired Backstage, which had acquired Industry Arts, the company connected to ScreenCraft, Coverfly, WeScreenplay, The Script Lab, Final Draft, Tracking Board, and Launch Pad.
Try Greenlight Coverage: Get Instant Script Analysis Today
With ScreenCraft and Coverfly gone, Greenlight Coverage gives screenwriters AI-driven script analysis at a fraction of the cost of traditional coverage services, delivering a structured coverage report in 15 to 60 minutes per submission.
The Free Trial is a zero-risk entry point: upload your first screenplay and receive a complimentary snapshot of the Plot Assessment and Enhancement section of the full report.