Published August 10, 2025
Pacemaker.press has been around for years. It's a respected tool with a loyal user base and a proven track record. Authorlytica is new, built from the ground up with a different approach to motivation and tracking. Both solve the same problem, but in different ways.
Pacemaker.press is a writing planner that helps you calculate how many words you need to write each day to hit your deadline. You set a target word count, pick an end date, and Pacemaker generates a schedule. You can customize your writing pace (more on weekdays, less on weekends), and it adjusts your daily targets accordingly.
The core feature is the daily plan. Pacemaker tells you exactly how many words to write today based on your schedule and any days you've already written. If you fall behind, it recalculates your remaining days and adjusts the targets. If you get ahead, it shows you the buffer you've built.
It's practical, reliable, and focused on planning. Many writers love it because it takes the guesswork out of "am I on track?"
Authorlytica also tracks your progress toward a deadline, but the focus is different. Instead of giving you a rigid daily plan, it emphasizes momentum, motivation, and self-knowledge. You log your words after each session, and Authorlytica shows you streaks, charts, XP, achievements, your writer profile, and personalized insights.
The interface is designed to make progress feel visible and rewarding while helping you understand yourself as a writer. You see how many days in a row you've written, how your pace is trending over time, and how many days are left until your deadline. Plus, you get Authorlytica Rewind (your personal writing year-in-review), discover if you're a Speed Demon or Steady Giant (Writer Profile Radar), unlock 40+ achievements, and see when you write best with time-of-day analysis.
It's less about rigid planning and more about building consistency through visible progress and self-knowledge.
Pacemaker is built for planning. It tells you what to do each day. The daily target is front and center, and the tool is designed to help you follow the schedule you set.
Authorlytica is built for motivation. It shows you what you've already done. The streak counter and progress charts are front and center, designed to make you want to keep going.
Pacemaker lets you customize your schedule extensively. You can set different targets for weekdays vs weekends, skip specific dates, and adjust your pace mid-project. If you know you can't write on Tuesdays, Pacemaker will account for that.
Authorlytica is simpler. You set a goal and a deadline, and it calculates your daily average based on the days remaining. If you write more one day, the next day's target adjusts automatically. But you can't pre-schedule rest days or customize weekly patterns.
Pacemaker has a functional, straightforward interface. It's clean, text-focused, and gets out of your way. The design hasn't changed much over the years because it doesn't need to. It works.
Authorlytica emphasizes visual feedback. Charts, progress bars, and streak counters are prominent. The interface is designed to feel rewarding when you open it, not just informative.
Pacemaker doesn't have gamification or deep analytics. There are no streaks, no XP, no achievements, no "Wrapped" insights, and no writer identity profiling. It's purely functional—a progress bar. Some writers prefer this because it feels more serious and less gimmicky.
Authorlytica leans into gamification and analytics. You earn XP for every session, level up over time, and unlock 40+ achievements (Common to Legendary). You get Authorlytica Rewind showing your top days and patterns. You discover your writer identity (Speed Demon vs Steady Giant) with the Writer Profile Radar. You see your personal records and when you write best. If you're motivated by self-knowledge, identity, and seeing progress visualized, Authorlytica delivers.
Pacemaker.press is free for basic use. Premium features (like multiple projects and advanced customization) require a subscription, but the core functionality is available without paying.
Authorlytica is free during beta, with a permanent free tier planned. The pricing model isn't finalized yet, but the goal is to keep essential tracking features accessible.
You should try Pacemaker if:
You should try Authorlytica if:
Technically, yes. Some writers plan their schedule in Pacemaker and track their streaks in Authorlytica. But honestly, most people just pick one. They serve similar purposes, and maintaining two trackers adds friction instead of removing it.
If you're already using Pacemaker and it works, there's no urgent reason to switch. If you tried Pacemaker and found it too rigid or not motivating enough, Authorlytica might be a better fit.
Pacemaker is a mature, well-tested tool with a clear purpose: help you plan your writing schedule and stick to it. It does that job well. If you're a planner who thrives on structure, Pacemaker is built for you.
Authorlytica takes a different approach. Instead of giving you a plan, it makes your progress visible and rewarding. The focus is on consistency, momentum, and motivation. If you've struggled to stay consistent in the past, this approach might work better.
Neither is objectively better. They're solving the same problem (finishing a book) with different philosophies. Pick the one that matches how your brain works.
Not automatically right now. You'd need to manually add your historical data if you want to switch. Most people just start fresh and keep their Pacemaker history for reference.
Both work for 50,000 words in 30 days. Pacemaker is great if you want to pre-plan rest days or different targets for weekends. Authorlytica is great if you want visible streaks and progress charts to keep you motivated through the month.
No. Pacemaker has more granular control over your schedule. Authorlytica keeps it simple: set a deadline, write, log your words. Your daily target adjusts automatically based on how much you've written and how many days are left.
Both work on mobile. Pacemaker's text-focused design works fine on small screens. Authorlytica is optimized for quick logging on mobile (open, type your word count, hit enter, done). The charts and streak counter display well on phones.