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Scheduling & budgeting comparison

Story Maker vs Gorilla Scheduling

A long-established desktop toolset with serious budgeting depth — including a union ratebook nothing else integrates. Here is the honest split.

Gorilla, from Jungle Software, is a long-standing scheduling and budgeting toolset for film and television. It's available both as installed desktop software (Mac/Windows) and as Gorilla Online, a browser-based, collaborative version — this is not a desktop-only product, which an earlier version of this page got wrong. It covers screenplay import, breakdown sheets, stripboards, cast, crew and location management, with Gorilla Budgeting alongside it and add-ons for call sheets and union rates.

Its budgeting is the part to take seriously. Globals, fringes, tax credits, expense tracking and multiple currencies are a professional feature set, and the Gorilla Ratebook — Jungle Software's own page now describes it as "thousands" of union labour rates rather than a specific count, free to browse with an account, integrated directly into the budget — is something no other product in this comparison offers.

The Story Maker takes a different shape: cloud-native, script-first, AI-assisted, and spanning development through distribution. Facts below were read from Jungle Software's own site on 25 September 2026.

⚡ Quick Verdict

Gorilla wins decisively for US union productions — the Ratebook, integrated into budgeting, has no equivalent here.

The Story Maker wins for script-first, cloud-collaborative and non-English production, and for anyone who wants the schedule generated from the screenplay rather than built from it.

Gorilla's core scheduling and budgeting are subscription-only (desktop or Online); Koala call sheets and the annual Ratebook are one-time purchases. This is a browser platform throughout, with pay-as-you-go credits.

Facts checked on 2026-09-25, sources

FeatureThe Story MakerGorilla Scheduling
Integrated union ratebook
The Gorilla Ratebook — Jungle Software's page currently says "thousands" of union labour rates rather than a specific figure — integrates directly with Gorilla Budgeting and is free to browse with an account. Nothing here is comparable.
Deep budgeting mechanics
Globals, fringes, tax incentives, multiple currencies and expense tracking — a mature professional budgeting feature set. (Sub-groups, deferments and fourth-level budgeting were not confirmed on Gorilla's current product pages.)
AI screenplay generation and development
Beat boards, character bibles, drafting, coverage, scoring. Gorilla imports screenplays rather than helping write them.
Automated breakdown from the script
Elements tagged automatically from the screenplay, feeding the stripboard and DOOD. Gorilla offers a separate Breakdown Assistant AI Web product ($14.95/mo).
Cloud-native and collaborative by default
Browser-based with shared workspaces and role permissions on every plan. Gorilla Scheduling and Budgeting are primarily desktop software; Gorilla Online now offers a browser-based, collaborative alternative.
Full offline authoring as installed desktop software
Gorilla's desktop products run locally, so you can build a schedule with no connection at all. Here, pages of a project you've already opened on that device while signed in stay readable with no signal, and screenplay, call-sheet, continuity-log and shoot-day edits are saved on the device and sync when you reconnect. Signing in, starting new work and every AI generation need a connection.
Subscription pricing with monthly pausing
Gorilla's core Scheduling and Budgeting are subscription-only (desktop $24.99–$199/yr or Combo $39.99–$369/yr); monthly plans can be paused for up to 30 days. Koala ($49) and the annual Ratebook ($39.95) are one-time purchases.
17 languages with native screenplay formatting
Including 10 Indian languages, formatted correctly per language.
Budgets in 110 currencies
Denominated in the production's own currency with regional rate bands, rather than US-union-shaped by default. Gorilla Budgeting also supports multiple currencies.
Call sheets included rather than an add-on
Gorilla's Koala handles call sheets as a paid add-on ($49 one-time) with many industry templates, distributed by print and email; here they generate from the schedule directly.
Post, VFX costing, EPK and festival planning
The lifecycle past the shoot sits in the same project.
Academic pricing
Jungle Software publishes dedicated academic pricing for students and institutions ($109/licence/year; Combo $209).

Where Gorilla Scheduling is better

The Gorilla Ratebook is the strongest single argument for Gorilla and it is not close. Jungle Software's own page now describes it as "thousands" of union labour rates rather than a specific figure, integrated directly into the budgeting software and free to browse with an account — a data asset rather than a feature, the kind of thing that takes years to compile and maintain. For a US union production, budgeting without accurate current rates is guesswork, and nothing in this comparison offers an equivalent. If that describes your work, this page probably ends here.

Gorilla Budgeting is a serious professional tool in its own right. Globals, fringes, tax incentives, multiple currencies and expense tracking cover mechanics a line producer actually needs on a properly financed picture (we could not confirm sub-groups, deferments or fourth-level budgeting on Jungle Software's current pages, so we're not claiming those specifically). Depth like that comes from a long time spent with people who budget for a living, and a newer generalist platform should not pretend to match it.

Being available as installed desktop software is a genuine advantage for some people rather than a legacy trait. It runs locally, without a browser or a connection, which matters on location, on a plane, or anywhere connectivity is unreliable — and some productions have security policies that favour local files over cloud storage. Gorilla Online now also offers a browser-based, collaborative version, so this is a choice Jungle Software offers rather than a limitation.

Their commercial model gives more flexibility at the edges than ours. Jungle Software's core Scheduling and Budgeting are subscription products, but Koala ($49) and the annual Ratebook editions ($39.95) are one-time purchases, and monthly subscriptions can be paused for up to 30 days — useful between productions, even if it isn't the blanket one-time-purchase option an earlier version of this page implied. Academic pricing is published as well.

And Koala, the call sheet add-on, ships many industry-standard templates with print and email distribution, usable from studio features down to student productions.

Where we're better

Gorilla begins with a screenplay you have written; The Story Maker can write it with you. Beat boards, character bibles, scene drafting, dialogue polish, coverage and screenplay scoring cover the development stage that a scheduling and budgeting toolset deliberately does not address. For a writer-director-producer, that is most of the work before a schedule is even possible.

Cloud-native and collaborative by default changes how a team works. Shared workspaces, role-based permissions, pooled credits and organisation billing mean a director, 1st AD and line producer look at the same project rather than passing files. Desktop software has real advantages, but concurrent multi-user work is not among them.

Language and currency are where the two diverge most sharply for non-US productions. Screenplays are generated and formatted natively in 17 languages including ten Indian languages, and budgets are built in the production's own currency across 110 supported currencies with regional rate bands. Gorilla's budgeting depth is shaped substantially around US union structures — which is exactly right if that is your market and much less useful if it is not.

The pieces also come as one platform rather than a product plus add-ons. Call sheets generate from the schedule rather than requiring a separate call sheet application; breakdown, scheduling, budgeting, continuity, VFX costing, post planning, EPKs and festival strategy sit in one project. Gorilla's model of a core product with Koala and the Ratebook alongside is coherent, but it is more moving parts to buy and keep in sync.

And credits suit irregular work. There is no monthly fee during months when nothing is shooting — though it is worth noting Gorilla's pausing policy and one-time purchase options address the same problem from a different angle.

Choose Gorilla Scheduling if…

Choose Gorilla if you are budgeting a US union production. The Ratebook, integrated into the budget, has no equivalent here and would be the deciding factor on its own. Its budgeting mechanics — globals, fringes, tax credits and multi-currency support — are deeper than ours, and if you need software that runs locally without a connection, Gorilla's desktop products offer that in a way a browser platform does not; Koala and the annual Ratebook are also available as one-time purchases rather than a subscription.

Choose The Story Maker if…

Choose The Story Maker if you are writing as well as producing, if your team needs to work in the same project simultaneously from different places, or if you are producing outside the US union system — particularly in one of the 17 supported languages or budgeting in a currency other than USD. It also suits productions that want breakdown, scheduling, call sheets, continuity, post planning and festival strategy as one platform rather than a core product plus add-ons.

Switching from Gorilla Scheduling

The screenplay is the portable part. Export as .fdx or Fountain from whatever you drafted in and import it here; scene headings, characters, dialogue and action carry over, and the script becomes the canon the automated breakdown reads from.

Schedules and budgets do not transfer between the two in either direction. Gorilla's files are its own, and The Story Maker exports to PDF and XLSX rather than to Gorilla formats. If you are mid-production on a Gorilla schedule, finish on it — changing scheduling software during principal photography is a bad idea regardless of direction.

If union rates are central to your budgeting, treat that as a reason to stay rather than a migration problem to solve. The Ratebook is a data asset, and no import path substitutes for it.

Frequently asked questions

Does The Story Maker have union rate data?

Not in the way Gorilla does. Cast and crew rate bands are regional rather than a licensed union ratebook, and there is nothing here equivalent to the Gorilla Ratebook, which Jungle Software's own page currently describes as "thousands" of union labour rates. For a US union production that is a real gap, and we would rather say so than let you find out at budget review.

Is Gorilla desktop-only?

No — an earlier version of this page said so, and that's now out of date. Gorilla Scheduling and Budgeting are available as installed desktop software (Mac/Windows) and as Gorilla Online, a browser-based, collaborative version. Jungle Software also publishes a separate web-based Breakdown Assistant AI product.

Which is better for a low-budget independent film?

It depends on where your difficulty is. If you are still writing, or working in a language other than English, or need the whole lifecycle in one place, this is the better fit. If you are budgeting against union agreements, Gorilla's Ratebook is well suited to that. Its core scheduling and budgeting are subscription products (desktop or Online); Koala and the annual Ratebook are one-time purchases, and monthly subscriptions can be paused for up to 30 days — their pausing policy and academic pricing are genuinely thoughtful for smaller productions.

Do I need a separate product for call sheets with Gorilla?

Call sheets come from Koala, a Gorilla Scheduling add-on ($49 one-time) with many industry-standard templates, distributed by print and email. Here call sheets are generated from the shooting schedule as part of the platform rather than as a separate purchase.

How does budgeting depth compare honestly?

Gorilla's is deeper on professional mechanics — globals, fringes, tax credits, multiple currencies and expense tracking are confirmed; we could not confirm sub-groups, deferments or fourth-level budgeting on their current pages. Ours is broader in reach: 110 currencies, regional rate bands, and a budget that derives from the breakdown and schedule automatically. Depth against integration, and which matters more depends on the production.

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