Vellum

Vellum is the premium book formatting tool of choice for Mac-based indie authors. Built by Brad Andalman and Brad West — two former Pixar engineers — it launched in 2014 with one purpose: to make professionally formatted books accessible to every author. A decade later, it remains the benchmark for output quality, with free updates continuously delivered to every customer since launch. Version 4.0 shipped in November 2025, adding subheads and heading customization; version 4.0.3 followed in February 2026.

Pricing

| Tier | Price | What's Included | |---|---|---| | Vellum Ebooks | $199.99 one-time | Unlimited ebook exports, all future updates | | Vellum Press | $249.99 one-time | Unlimited ebooks + print (paperback and hardcover), all future updates | | Upgrade | $99.99 | Upgrade from Ebooks to Press after the 30-day window |

No subscription fees. A free download lets you use all features indefinitely — you only pay when you're ready to export publishable files. 30-day money-back guarantee. Installs on up to two Macs.

What Vellum Produces

Ebooks:

• EPUB 3 (default, KDP-ready) and EPUB 2 (legacy, for older readers and stores)
• Kindle-ready EPUB that KDP accepts and converts internally — Vellum does not produce KFX directly
• MOBI export option still available, but KDP stopped accepting MOBI in August 2021 — useful today only for ARC distribution and beta readers

Print:

• PDF/X-1a — the professional print standard, compatible with both KDP and IngramSpark
• 24 trim sizes plus large print options
• Paperback and hardcover layouts
• Full-bleed images, page backgrounds, page borders (added Vellum 3.9, June 2025)
• Widow-handling and spread-balancing handled automatically

Key Features

• 26 chapter themes across 8 book style families (Decorum, Metro, Stardust, Kindred, Verdict, and others) — with drop caps, embedded fonts, ornaments, and heading backgrounds
• Heading and subhead control: 4 levels of subheading hierarchy, spacing, alignment, and chapter number format (3 / Chapter Three / III) — new in Vellum 4.0
• Multi-device live preview: See your book on Kindle, iPad, phone, and print before generating a single file
• Box set and series support: Linked back matter, series management
• One-click generation: Produce all format variants simultaneously from a single source manuscript
• ACE-approved EPUB: Accessible output that meets digital accessibility standards
• Forced edge artwork workflow: Compatible with Painted Wings and other services for printed edge designs (added 2025)
• Import: .DOCX (Word) only — no direct EPUB or RTF import
• No cloud dependency: Native Mac app, fully offline

Who Vellum Is For

Vellum is best suited for:

• Mac users publishing multiple fiction books — the one-time pricing becomes economical across a backlist; the aesthetic output is particularly strong for genre fiction
• Authors who prioritize output polish over feature breadth — Vellum does fewer things than Atticus but does them beautifully
• Authors already in a Mac ecosystem — Scrivener + Vellum is one of the most common production pipelines in indie fiction

It is a poor fit for:

• Windows, Linux, or Chromebook users — there is no Windows version and the developers have stated they will not build one
• Authors on a tight budget publishing their first book — Atticus ($147, cross-platform) offers strong value for new authors
• Authors who need true footnotes (Vellum converts footnotes to endnotes), complex image placement, or nonfiction with heavy layout requirements

Platform Requirements

• macOS Ventura (13), Sonoma, Sequoia, or Tahoe — older macOS versions not supported
• Mac only — no Windows, Linux, iOS, or web version
• 200MB free space minimum
• Windows workaround: rent a cloud Mac via MacInCloud (~$1/hour or ~$25–49/month depending on plan)

Strengths

• Consistently produces the most polished ebook and print output available to indie authors
• Free lifetime updates — customers from 2014 have every 2026 feature at no extra cost
• Fast, intuitive workflow: import DOCX, pick a style, generate — takes minutes
• Both KDP and IngramSpark print PDF compatibility out of the box
• Native Mac app performance with no internet requirement

Limitations

• Mac only — the single biggest barrier for most potential users
• Higher price than Atticus ($249.99 vs. $147 for the comparable ebook + print tier)
• No true footnotes in ebooks — footnotes are converted to endnotes
• Limited image placement flexibility — no full-spread custom image control
• Poor undo functionality (letter-by-letter rather than word or sentence level)
• macOS Ventura or newer required — older Macs are excluded
• Import limited to .DOCX only

Alternatives

• Atticus ($147 one-time, all platforms) — cross-platform alternative with more features and a lower price, though output is marginally less polished than Vellum for fiction
• Reedsy Studio (free core, up to $10.99/month for premium tiers) — web-based, good for simple books, fewer design themes
• Jutoh ($45–$90 one-time) — cross-platform with the deepest format coverage, but a dated UI and no native print PDF
• Kindle Create (free) — Amazon-only ecosystem with very limited styling options