# Vellum review, pricing and alternatives

Source: https://listme.name/software/vellum
Website: https://vellum.pub/

Mac app that formats novels into ebook and print files

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.

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.

Output 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.

- Paid | macOS
- Price: Paid Mac license; ebook-only and ebook plus print tiers
- Checked: 2026-10-10

## 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

## Rankings

- #6 of 10 in [best Novel and long-form writing apps](https://listme.name/best/novel-and-long-form-writing-apps), score 87.5: 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.

## Alternatives

- [Scrivener](https://listme.name/software/scrivener), score 94.5
- [Atticus](https://listme.name/software/atticus), score 91.5
- [Ulysses](https://listme.name/software/ulysses), score 90.5
- [Reedsy Studio](https://listme.name/software/reedsy-studio), score 89.5
- [Plottr](https://listme.name/software/plottr), score 88.5
- [Novelcrafter](https://listme.name/software/novelcrafter), score 86.5
- [Dabble](https://listme.name/software/dabble), score 85.5
- [novelWriter](https://listme.name/software/novelwriter), score 83.5