Compare AI tools that turn a screenplay into a storyboard — M Studio, LTX Studio, Saga, Katalist, Storyboarder.ai, Storyboarder, and Boords — by script parsing, shot breakdown, consistency, and export. Updated September 2026.
See the workflow
Interactive samples from M Studio.
Script → board
Section 01
The best script-to-storyboard AI in 2026 is M Studio for a real screenplay: upload a PDF or paste the script, and it breaks the text into scenes and shots, extracts the cast, and generates one consistent frame per shot from $27/month. LTX Studio is the best alternative for short AI-native films. Saga is best if you are still writing the script. Storyboarder by Wonder Unit is the only free tool that imports a Fountain script, but you draw the frames yourself.
Section 02
Script to storyboard means the tool reads the screenplay and produces the board without a prompt per panel. Pick by how finished your script is and by what the board must become.
Best for a finished screenplay
M Studio parses scene headings, action, and dialogue, extracts characters, and generates a frame per shot with the same references across the whole film.
Best for AI-native short films
LTX Studio turns a script or synopsis into scenes and shots, then generates frames and video in the same project.
Best if you are still writing
Saga combines a screenplay editor with storyboard generation, so the board updates as the script develops.
Best free script import
Storyboarder by Wonder Unit imports Fountain screenplays and creates empty boards per scene; you draw or import the frames.
Section 03
Script depth = what the parser understands: full screenplay structure, a synopsis, or a short brief. Shot breakdown = the tool proposes shots per scene rather than one image per scene. Competitor prices change often; where a price is not listed, check the vendor page.
Only two tools on this list read a full screenplay the way a first AD does. M Studio and LTX Studio take the script as the source of truth: each scene heading becomes a scene, each beat becomes a shot, and each shot carries the dialogue and action that produced it. Saga gets close because the script lives inside the tool. The rest accept a short script as a prompt and leave the shot breakdown to you.
The second filter is consistency. A screenplay has the same characters in a hundred shots, so the generator needs a reference system. M Studio extracts the cast, generates a reference sheet per character, and sends those references with every frame request. Katalist and LTX Studio save characters. Storyboarder.ai and Saga vary by model; drawn-board tools depend on the artist.
Parsing depth
Test with a real page. If sluglines, action, and dialogue arrive as separate fields per shot, the parser is real. If the page becomes one long prompt, it is not.
Shot breakdown
A scene is not a shot. Look for a tool that proposes wide, medium, and close coverage per scene and lets you add, remove, or reorder shots.
Consistency system
Check for named characters with reference images that persist across the project, not a style prompt you paste each time.
Where the board goes
If you intend to animate the board, the same tool should time it into an animatic and send frames to a video model. Otherwise you rebuild the project elsewhere.
| Tool | Best For | Script Depth | Shot Breakdown | Character Consistency | Export | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mStudio | Feature and short-film screenplays | Full screenplay (PDF or pasted): sluglines, action, dialogue | Yes — shots per scene with image and motion prompts | Yes — cast extraction + reference sheets | PDF, animatic, MP4, review link | $27/month starter, no free plan |
| LTX Studio | AI-native short films | Script or synopsis | Yes | Yes — character references | Video, frames | Free; AI storyboards on $35/mo Standard |
| Saga | Writers who board as they write | Its own screenplay editor | Partial | Partial | Images, script | Free tier + paid plans |
| Katalist | Ad scripts and pitch decks | Short script or brief | Partial | Yes — saved characters | PDF, short clips | Free trial + paid plans |
| Storyboarder.ai | Fast solo boards | Short script or brief | Partial | Partial | Paid plans | |
| Storyboarder (Wonder Unit) | Free drawn boards from Fountain | Fountain screenplay import | No — empty boards per scene | No (hand-drawn) | PDF, video editors | Free, open source |
| Boords | Agency review of drawn boards | None — script text pasted per frame | No | No (artist-drawn) | PDF, animatic | Per-seat paid plans, free trial |
See how M Studio handles your script — Start now
Section 04
Upload a PDF screenplay or paste the text. M Studio splits it into scenes, proposes shots per scene, and writes an image prompt and a motion prompt for each shot from the action and dialogue. It extracts the characters, generates a reference sheet per character, and applies a project-level visual style. Every frame is then generated with those references, so the cast stays consistent across the whole film.
From the board, each shot can become video with Veo 3.1, Wan 3.0, MiniMax, Grok, or Gemini Omni, the timeline adds voice, music, and sound effects, and the project exports as an MP4 or a review link. Plans start at $27/month; there is no free plan and the service refunds within 7 days.
Section 05
Bring a real scene
Use three pages with two characters and a location change. Count how many frames you had to fix by hand.
Check the dialogue path
If the film has dialogue, the tool should keep each line attached to its shot so the animatic and voiceover can use it later.
Decide on the end product
A pitch deck needs a PDF. A short film needs an animatic and video. Pick the tool for the end product, not for the first frame.
Paste a script and watch M Studio turn it into a shot-by-shot storyboard with AI frames, motion, voice, and a real timeline.
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Studio builds a film shot by shot, and you direct every frame — this is the whole path, start to finish.
Start from a one-line brief, or import a screenplay PDF and build straight from the pages you already wrote.
Scenes, action and dialogue laid out shot by shot — editable line by line before anything renders.
Add each character once with a reference image so the same face carries across every shot in the film.
Your script breaks into frames on a canvas. Reorder, reframe and re-prompt any shot until the board reads right.
Turn approved frames into motion one shot at a time, then layer voiceover, music and sound effects.
Take the finished sequence out as an mp4, mov or webm, ready for the edit or the pitch.
There is no length cap in the editor. Because films are assembled shot by shot, how long a piece can run comes down to how many clips your plan includes — not a limit in the tool.
FAQ
Not a full one. Storyboarder by Wonder Unit is free and imports Fountain screenplays, but you draw the frames. LTX Studio and Saga have free tiers with limited credits. M Studio, which parses a full PDF screenplay and generates consistent frames per shot, has no free plan and starts at $27/month.
M Studio is the best script-to-storyboard AI for a finished screenplay in 2026: it parses scenes, action, and dialogue, extracts the cast, and generates consistent frames per shot. LTX Studio is the best alternative for AI-native short films, and Saga is best when the script is still being written.
Upload or paste the script into a tool that parses screenplays, such as M Studio. Review the scene and shot breakdown, confirm the characters and visual style, then generate the frames. Fix individual shots by editing the prompt or regenerating, and export a PDF or animatic.
Yes. M Studio accepts a PDF screenplay and reads its sluglines, action, and dialogue into scenes and shots. Most other tools expect pasted text or a short brief, and Storyboarder expects a Fountain file.
A parsed ten-page script produces a first board in minutes rather than the days a drawn board takes. Expect to spend the saved time on review: fixing shot choices, regenerating a few frames, and locking character references before you generate video.
Skip the shortlist
Join filmmakers, agencies, and studios using M Studio to turn scripts into shot-by-shot visual plans — with AI frames, animatics, voice, and export in a single timeline. Related guide: script to storyboard AI.
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