Comparison
Movie Magic Scheduling alternative for Mac
Movie Magic Scheduling is the scheduling tool most ADs learned on, and on a union feature it is often the format the production office expects. If you are looking for an alternative, it is usually the price, the subscription, or the fact that the schedule lives apart from the script.
What Movie Magic Scheduling costs now
Entertainment Partners sells the current Movie Magic Scheduling as a subscription only. On EP's store the monthly plan is $42.99 a month ($515.88 a year), the annual plan is $299.88 a year with a 12-month commitment, and there is an academic plan at $125.88 a year. EP's licence terms grant use for as long as the subscription is valid.
| Year 1 | Year 3 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Movie Magic Scheduling, annual plan | $299.88 | $899.64 | $1,499.40 |
| Scriptease (script, schedule, budget, paperwork) | $99.99 | $99.99 | $99.99 |
Movie Magic Scheduling details checked on 22 October 2026 on ep.com (store, support and licence terms). Prices change; check EP's store before you decide.
Where Movie Magic Scheduling is the better choice
- The production office expects MMS files. If the studio, the UPM or the payroll company works in Movie Magic, staying in it removes a conversion step. Scriptease can import a Movie Magic Scheduling schedule, but it does not export MMS files.
- Several ADs work on one schedule at the same time. Current MMS versions support real-time multi-user work. Scriptease is single-user.
- You are on Windows. MMS runs on Windows and macOS. Scriptease is macOS only.
- Large multi-unit shows. Sub-boards for several units, conflict flags and years of studio workflow are MMS's home ground.
What Scriptease does differently
The schedule starts from the script. Movie Magic Scheduling is scheduling only: you import a script or enter scenes, and budgeting is a separate product. In Scriptease the script, breakdown, stripboard, Day Out of Days, budget and call sheets are one project file. Change a scene and the strip, the cast days and the call sheet change with it.
A real stripboard. Strips coloured by INT/EXT and day/night, with day breaks, eighths, locations and cast numbers. Move a strip by dragging or with the keyboard and the day reflows; the Day Out of Days is generated from the board you just built, in Movie Magic codes (SW, W, WF, H, SWF and so on).
No script required. If you are the AD and nobody hands you a screenplay, build a scene list by hand with page counts and schedule from that.
Bring an MMS schedule with you. A Movie Magic Scheduling import lands on your own scenes and keeps your schedule, so a board you started in MMS does not have to be rebuilt by hand.
Owned, and offline. $99.99 once for two Macs, updates included. The project is a file on your disk and the app works offline day to day; it only goes online for the trial, licence checks and updates.
Movie Magic Scheduling vs Scriptease
| Scriptease | Movie Magic Scheduling | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $99.99 once | $42.99/month or $299.88/year |
| Platform | macOS | macOS and Windows |
| Offline | Yes, day to day | Yes, syncs when reconnected; EP account sign-in |
| Stripboard | Yes | Yes |
| Day Out of Days | Yes | Yes |
| Screenwriting | Yes — the schedule reads the script | No — imports scripts |
| Budgeting | Included | Separate product (Movie Magic Budgeting) |
| Call sheets and paperwork | Included | Not listed on the MMS pages we checked |
| Multi-user | No | Yes, each collaborator needs a licence |
| MMS file exchange | Import only | Native |
Is there a free Movie Magic Scheduling alternative?
Free schedulers exist but stop early. StudioBinder's free plan schedules up to 10 scenes, and Gorilla's online free tier is a demo with 20 editable scenes. For a short you can also board by hand with our free production templates. We compare the options on our stripboard software page.