What is Novel.sh?
Novel is a markdown-first WYSIWYG editor built on top of Tiptap. It’s styled with Tailwind and built for React and Next.js apps, offering a slick UI out of the box.
It’s a great fit for indie devs and startups who want a plug-and-play writing experience without spending time on customization or infrastructure.
How Tiptap is different
Tiptap is the open-source toolkit under the hood of Novel – but it's far more than just a library. It gives developers everything needed to build custom editor UIs from scratch.
Here’s what makes Tiptap stand out:
- Framework-agnostic, headless core (React, Vue, or Vanilla)
- Extension-first architecture for deep customization
- Collaboration-ready with multiplayer editing via Yjs
- Enterprise-grade features like RBAC, SSO, and audit logs
- Open-source with commercial support available for Cloud and On-Prem
Feature comparison
| Feature |
Tiptap |
Novel |
| Based on ProseMirror |
✅ |
✅ (via Tiptap) |
| Markdown Output |
✅ |
✅ |
| Headless / UI-Agnostic |
✅ |
❌ (UI included) |
| Visual Styling Included |
❌ (BYO UI) |
✅ (Tailwind) |
| Collaborative Editing |
✅ (via Yjs) |
❌ |
| React Support |
✅ |
✅ |
| Next.js Ready |
✅ |
✅ |
| Custom Extensions |
✅ |
⚠️ (limited via Tiptap underneath) |
| Enterprise Features (SSO, RBAC) |
✅ |
❌ |
| Community Support |
Large (OSS + Discord) |
Growing |
When to use novel
- You want a beautiful editor fast
- You’re using React + Next.js
- You don’t need collaboration or fine-grained UI control
- You’re building an internal tool or MVP
When to use Tiptap
- You’re building a custom writing or editing experience
- You need real-time collaboration or multiplayer
- You want control over extensions, layout, and logic
- You’re an enterprise team with security, SLA, or compliance needs
- You want to scale up from OSS to supported Cloud or On-Prem
Summary
Novel is great if you want a polished writing experience with minimal setup.
But if you need flexibility, collaboration, or enterprise features, Tiptap gives you full control without reinventing the editor core.
Want to build your own version of Novel? You already can – using Tiptap’s Starter Kit and our open extension system.
Note: We’ve done our best to provide an accurate, respectful comparison based on publicly available information as of publishing. If you work on Novel and spot anything that’s out of date or incorrect, we’d love to fix it — just email us at growth@tiptap.dev.
