The 8 Best Content Outline Generators [2023 Update]

Want to save time the next time you write a blog post or article? Then you need an outline generator to help you get the job done. 

Today, you don’t have to just lean on your own writing chops to create stellar content that grabs your audience’s attention, brings in leads and grows your brand. AI has come a long way in the content generation space, which is why we created this guide. 

Specifically, we want to highlight the best tools to create content outlines. As you probably already know, the best tools incorporate keyword research, tone, and even length. But more on that later. 

In this guide we’ll walkthrough:

• What is an outline generator?
• When to use outlines?
• 8 Best outline generators

What is an outline generator?

An outline generator creates an outline–a summary of the most important points in chronological order–of a blog post or article that works as the framework you use to create a finished content piece.

Think of it as your most important bullet points that follow the general beginning, middle, and end framework of just about any piece of writing. 

A good outline generator saves you time, arranges key information in a way that makes sense, and makes minimal errors through the process. As you use an outline generator, you skip the process of outlining content from scratch yourself and you speed up your production process. 

When to use content outlines?

Outlines can be used for all kinds of writing. It isn’t only for blog post creation or articles–though those are some of their most popular uses. The good thing is there are plenty of outline generators out there–some better than others–that can be the go-to tool for your outline needs. 

If you:

• Have writer’s block and are struggling to create an outline
• Aren’t sure of how you should organize your main points
• Don’t have enough time to write an outline from scratch
• Need help brainstorming ideas

Then it’s time to look into outline generators. Below we go through some of the best ones in both free and paid categories. 

8 Best outline generators

1. Jasper - Best AI-powered outline generator

Jasper is one of the most versatile content generator tools out there. Not only does it come with a specific outline generation option for anyone that doesn’t want to create an outline from scratch, but it also lets you set the tone and add the keywords that’ll direct the creation of your outline.

Jasper even comes with a Chrome extension built-in. Meaning you don’t have to worry about missing typos or sacrificing quality for speed. Probably one of Jasper’s best features as an outline generator is that it actively works to improve your copy rather than just creating bland writing.

Plus, you can use it in more than 25 languages and it comes with a Surfer SEO integration feature in case you want to optimize your outline for search engine results pages. Don’t want to spend the time creating your outline’s body paragraphs? Let Jasper write the actual blog content for you. 

If you’re wondering what else Jasper can do besides outline generation, it can also create:

• Personal bios
• Blog posts
• Product description
• Social media ad copy
• Website copy
• Video scripts
• Blog post conclusions
• Quora answers
• Press releases

The list is too long to include here. But you can check out the rest here. 

Pros

• Comes with plenty of templates created for all kinds of writing needs
• Designed to create attention-grabbing content that speaks to your audience
• Let’s you edit and compare content in real-time 

Cons

• Might be pricey for absolute beginners who might not need to work with outlines

Price

• Starter - $29 for 20,000 words a month
• Boss Mode - $99 for 100,000 words a month

2. Writecream - Best outline generator for multiple language needs

Writecream isn’t your run-of-the-mill outline generator. While it can generate blog outlines, it can also create blog conclusions and compelling bullet points. 

One of its standout features is that it uses AI to generate content in more than 75 languages–which is a lot for an outline generator. 

Pros

• Comes with more uses than only outline creation
• Generates cold email and LinkedIn Inmail copy
• You can try it out for free for the first 20 credits
• Can also help with backlink outreach copy generation

Cons

• It might not offer as many uses for content generation as other tools

Price

• Free Forever - 20 monthly credits
• Standard - $49 for 200 monthly credits
• Extended - $69 for 750 monthly credits
• Custom - Contact support or create your own plan

3. Rytr - Best for small business content needs 

Outline makers like Rytr are accessible one-click blog post outline generators for small businesses that want to work with a quick tool that helps them brainstorm ideas. One of Rytr’s perks is that its paid tiers come with access to a community where you can share ideas and ask questions to other writers. 

Pros

• 30+ use cases
• Write outlines in over 30 languages
• Built-in plagiarism checker
• Choose from 20 different tones

Cons

• If you’re a content marketer, you’ll want to look elsewhere for better and more advanced outlining features that Rytr doesn’t have

Price

• Free - 5,000 characters a month
• Saver - $9 for 50k characters a month
• Unlimited - $29 a month for unlimited characters

4. Clearscope - Best for SEO optimized outline generation

While Clearscope is mainly an SEO tool, it’s recently stepped its game up with its additional Outline tab. It takes in content information from your keyword’s top competitors and lists their strongest headers in outline format. 

If your focus is mainly on creating search-optimized outlines, this is a tool worth considering. However, it’s an expensive tool that could seem like a big investment. 

Pros

• Picks out outline best practices from competitors
• Clearly outlines h2 and h3 headers
• Let’s you create your own outline in its editor and helps you optimize it in real-time

Cons

• Can be pricey for content creators on a budget

Price

• Essential - $170 for 20 content reports a month
• Professional - $350 for 50+ content reports a month
• Enterprise - custom pricing

5. Thruuu - Best for outline generation using a scraper

Thruuu is an outline generator that uses a scraper to find the best h2 and h3 headers being used by your competitors to write the same content that’s ranking high in search engine results pages. Besides creating content briefs and outlines, you can also discover intent and content gaps, get an average word count, and generate content ideas. 

Overall Thruuu is a practical tool that marketers can use to create optimized outlines in half the time. Plus, it comes with affordable credit-based plans. 

Pros

• Scrapes the highest-ranking competing content in seconds
• You can start using it for free
• Comes with plenty of complimentary SEO tools like keyword research and on-page competitor data 

Cons

• It gives you the possible pieces of an outline but you have to put it together

Price

• 10 credits a month - Free
• 20 credits a month - $10 
• 100 credits a month - $20
• 500 credits a month - $50 

6. Simplified - Best beginner-friendly outline generator

If you want a beginner-friendly outline generator tool consider Simplified as a good starting point. You can start using some of its best features for free up to 1,000 words. 

This gives you a chance to try out its outlining features for yourself. One of the perks of using Simplified is that you can collaborate on outline creation and other content generation projects with your team. 

Pros

• Quick and easy workflow for beginners
• Includes search optimization
• Let’s you write your 1,000 first words for free

Cons

• Comes with limited use cases

Price

• Free - 1,000-word limit
• Small Teams - $8 for 10,000 words a month
• Businesses - $24 for 50,000 words a month
• Enterprise - Contact Simplified

7. Surfer - Best free blog content outline generator

Surfer SEO’s outline generator tool is a solid option for marketers that want to focus on search optimization in their outline without spending too much. As you create and work on your outline, it gives you a content score to ensure you’re covering all your SEO bases. 

Pros

• Accessible to all marketers
• Easy to use along with the rest of Surfer SEO tools

Cons

• Only works for blog content

Price

• Free for seven days 

8. StoryLab.ai - Best for generating outline ideas

StoryLab.ai is a pretty easy outline generator to use. While you don’t have to go through a steep learning curve to use it, it also doesn’t come with the additional features other outline generators offer.

That’s why it’s a great tool for generating outline ideas. If you feel stuck and want to generate some outline ideas to get your creativity flowing, Storylab.ai can be a solid tool to turn to. 

Pros

• Easy to use
• Accessible to anyone
• Several different uses beyond only outlines

Cons

• Too simple for most needs
• Not enough ways to personalize your outline

Price

• Free

Generate outlines faster with AI

The right outline generator can save you a ton of time. That’s why it can be worth taking the time to really look through each tool and what it offer. That way, you’re making sure you’re using the best AI-powered features at your disposal.

As an AI-powered tool, Jasper accelerates the outline creation process. It takes in tone, keywords, length, and topic and outputs content that’s written for you in less time than what it takes to start from scratch. 

Ready to try Jasper? Get started for free here.