{
    "products": [
        {
            "slug": "plottr",
            "name": "Plottr",
            "kind": "app",
            "website": "https://plottr.com/",
            "page": "https://listme.name/software/plottr",
            "tagline": "Visual outlining and series planning software for novelists",
            "summary": "Plottr is outlining software for novels and series, built around visual timelines, scene cards and a series bible. It runs as a Windows and Mac app, and the Pro plan adds a browser app and cloud sync. It exports outlines to Microsoft Word and Scrivener, and its site says the product has no AI features.",
            "platforms": [
                "windows",
                "macos",
                "web"
            ],
            "pricing": "paid",
            "price_note": "From $60 a year or $150 lifetime; 30-day free trial",
            "free_to_use": false,
            "open_source": false,
            "strengths": [
                "Visual timelines with scene cards and plot-hole view",
                "Series bible for multi-book projects",
                "Exports the outline to Word and Scrivener"
            ],
            "limits": [
                "Planning only, with no manuscript editor",
                "Browser app and cloud sync need the Pro plan"
            ],
            "checked": "2026-10-10",
            "connected_to_publisher": false,
            "overview": "Plottr places scenes and chapters on visual timelines, with scene cards that record point of view, character goals and conflicts. The vendor's pages highlight plot holes and sagging middles that show up on the timeline. It includes templates for many genres and a series view for every book in a series.\n\nPlottr is sold as a standard plan from $60 a year or $150 for a lifetime license, and as Plottr Pro at $99 a year. The Pro plan adds a browser app, cloud sync and cloud backups, and the site offers a 30-day free trial. It is a planning tool that exports outlines to Word and Scrivener rather than a manuscript editor, so writers still need a separate app for drafting."
        },
        {
            "slug": "vellum",
            "name": "Vellum",
            "kind": "app",
            "website": "https://vellum.pub/",
            "page": "https://listme.name/software/vellum",
            "tagline": "Mac app that formats novels into ebook and print files",
            "summary": "Vellum is a book formatting program for macOS that turns a finished manuscript into EPUB ebooks and print PDFs. It adds title pages, tables of contents and book styles, and it builds box sets when a series is complete. Drafting happens in another app, because Vellum starts from an imported manuscript.",
            "platforms": [
                "macos"
            ],
            "pricing": "paid",
            "price_note": "Paid Mac license; ebook-only and ebook plus print tiers",
            "free_to_use": false,
            "open_source": false,
            "strengths": [
                "Builds ebook and print files from one manuscript",
                "Print output with 24 trim sizes and PDF/X-1a",
                "Chapter styles apply to chapters added later"
            ],
            "limits": [
                "Mac only, with no Windows or web version",
                "Starts from an imported manuscript, not a draft"
            ],
            "checked": "2026-10-10",
            "connected_to_publisher": false,
            "overview": "Vellum imports a manuscript and builds the title page, table of contents and chapter layout automatically. You choose a book style, and it applies to every chapter, including chapters you add later. The preview updates as you edit and shows how the print edition will look, as well as the ebook on a range of devices.\n\nOutput includes EPUB 3 and EPUB 2 files that pass validation, and print editions with 24 trim sizes, full-bleed pages and PDF/X-1a files. Vellum sells two Mac licenses, one for ebooks and one for ebooks and paperbacks, so the price depends on whether you need print. The app runs only on macOS, so Windows authors need another formatting tool."
        }
    ],
    "differences": [
        "Only Plottr runs on Windows.",
        "Only Plottr runs on Web."
    ],
    "shared_rankings": [
        {
            "list": "novel-and-long-form-writing-apps",
            "name": "Novel and long-form writing apps",
            "page": "https://listme.name/best/novel-and-long-form-writing-apps",
            "of": 10,
            "results": [
                {
                    "product": "plottr",
                    "rank": 5,
                    "score": 88.5,
                    "verdict": "The strongest visual outliner here, with timelines, scene cards and a series bible. It does not draft text, so it works best beside a writing app such as Scrivener.",
                    "best_for": "Visual plotting for novels and series",
                    "spec": {
                        "planning": "Visual timelines and scene cards",
                        "export": "Outline to Word and Scrivener",
                        "storage": "Offline app; cloud sync on Pro"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "product": "vellum",
                    "rank": 6,
                    "score": 87.5,
                    "verdict": "Strong ebook and print output, but it runs only on Mac and it starts from a finished manuscript. Atticus covers the same formatting job on Windows and Linux as well.",
                    "best_for": "Mac authors who want polished ebook and print files",
                    "spec": {
                        "planning": "Imports a finished manuscript",
                        "export": "EPUB 2 and 3, print PDF/X-1a",
                        "storage": "Local Mac app"
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "ranks_higher_in_closest_shared_list": "plottr",
    "page": "https://listme.name/compare/plottr-vs-vellum",
    "json": "https://listme.name/api/v1/compare/plottr-vs-vellum.json",
    "notes": [
        "Scores are editorial and only comparable inside one list. Products with connected_to_publisher true receive a disclosed ranking lift: https://listme.name/methodology"
    ],
    "source": "https://listme.name",
    "license": "Free to read and cite with attribution to listme.name.",
    "docs": "https://listme.name/developers"
}