Vellum Review: Cost, the Mac-Only Catch and Who It Suits

Vellum runs only on macOS, so the first question is whether you own a Mac. On its own page as of 2026-11-08, Vellum Press (ebooks and paperbacks) is $249.99 and Vellum Ebooks is $199.99, both excluding tax, and the software needs macOS 14 or newer. If you use Windows, go to Vellum alternatives for Windows.

What Vellum costs

Vellum lists two editions: Vellum Press at $249.99 covers unlimited ebooks and paperbacks, and Vellum Ebooks at $199.99 covers unlimited ebooks. The page says the download is free and you "purchase when you're ready to publish". The purchasing FAQ adds that the download has no time limit, that you can import a manuscript, explore styles and preview, and that you cannot generate publishing files until you buy a licence. It calls the product a one-time purchase.

Other terms from that FAQ, as read on 2026-11-08:

• Refund: you can cancel within 30 days of purchase for a refund.
• Upgrade: moving from Ebooks to Press costs $69.99, available after the 30-day exchange window. Inside that window, the FAQ offers an exchange for the difference in price.
• Updates: free. The company says it may offer optional paid add-ons later, but you will not pay for new versions of the software.
• Licence: tied to an individual and not shareable; you can install it on one additional computer you own using Restore.
• Print costs: depend on the print-on-demand service, book length and colour, and are separate from the licence.
• Limits: no limit on books or pen names. You may format books for other authors, though Vellum says it cannot support those authors.
• Single-book credits: the FAQ says these were discontinued in 2017, so the two editions above are the only ways to buy.

Labelled arithmetic, an estimate from listed prices that ignores tax: buying Ebooks first and upgrading later totals $199.99 + $69.99 = $269.98, which is $19.99 more than buying Press outright. If you will never print, Ebooks saves $50 against Press. Because both are one-time purchases, the five-year cost equals the first-year cost. Inside the 30-day window the exchange costs $249.99 − $199.99 = $50, or $19.99 less than the later upgrade. Spread over your catalogue, Press is $249.99 ÷ 3 books = $83.33 per book and ÷ 5 books = $50.00, before tax and your time.

What it runs on

Vellum requires macOS 14 or newer per its page, which also says "Vellum is only available for Mac". There is no Windows or Linux version and no browser version. Vellum's help says Vellum is Mac-only and describes a rented cloud Mac as a workaround, naming MacinCloud and quoting a pay-as-you-go tier "as low as $1 USD per hour". Caveats on that help page: the Vellum licence is separate, the host manages Vellum updates so your version may lag, and it advises keeping your files in a synced folder in case the rental account lapses. See Atticus vs Vellum for how that compares with a local tool.

Older Macs can still run older builds. Vellum's update help says it stops updating at the last supported version: Vellum 4.1.7 on macOS 13, 3.9.3 on macOS 12 and 3.7.5 on macOS 11, and the purchasing FAQ points to a legacy download. The same FAQ says Vellum runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs, needs 400 MB free, cannot run on an iPad, and that the company has no current plans for a native Windows version.

What it does, according to its pages

• Import: .docx files, which the help page says Word, Scrivener and Pages can create. It detects chapters and preserves character formatting "whenever possible", so some formatting may not carry over. It suggests Word's Heading 1 style for chapter titles, and warns that many blank lines can split a chapter.
• Styles: Book Styles with drop caps, embedded fonts and flourishes, plus custom ornaments and backgrounds. A style applies to every chapter, including new ones.
• Preview: ebook device previews and print layouts that update with every edit.
• Ebook output: validated EPUB 3 and EPUB 2, plus MOBI for beta-reader copies. The page says output is "ACE-Approved Accessible", and mentions box sets and image optimisation.
• Print output: paperback or hardcover, 24 trim sizes plus Large Print, full-bleed pages, "Professional-Grade PDF/X-1a", and automatic margins, page numbers and headers.
• Reimport: reimporting replaces previously imported content, but front and back matter you added in Vellum stays.
• Files per store: Generate makes a separate file for each selected store, plus a Generic EPUB for aggregators. Vellum recommends store-specific files when image quality matters, because Generic uses low-resolution images to fit every store's size limit.
• Automatic print layout: always on, covering widows and orphans, balanced spreads and short final lines, with at least five lines on a chapter's last page when possible. Vellum says it may leave a widow in place to keep a spread balanced.
• Style reuse: dozens of built-in styles, accessible styles, and Saved Styles that are locked once saved and live in your Mac user account.
• Accessibility: the FAQ says ebooks meet basic requirements, including the European Accessibility Act, and that Vellum checks them with Ace. It still asks you to confirm element types and add image descriptions.
• Print covers: Vellum makes the interior only. The cover is a separate file you supply to the print service, and the help recommends ordering review copies, especially on KDP.

The print settings help lists an inside margin default of 0.875 inch (1 inch for Full Size trims) and a default bleed region of 0.125 inch on outside edges, which it says meets KDP and IngramSpark requirements. It lists no page limits, so check KDP's limits in the print formatting checklist.

Lock-in and switching

Your text is a DOCX in, and the finished files are standard EPUB and PDF, so the books you have already published are not locked to Vellum. What you would lose by leaving is the Vellum project and its styling. The pages do not say a Vellum project opens in other software, so keep your DOCX master. Updating a published book means returning to Vellum, which the page frames as a way to fix typos and regenerate files in seconds, so keep the project file backed up if you plan to revise.

Two details change that picture. Vellum's FAQ documents File > Export Content As > Word File, which it says is not meant for publishing but keeps your content, including front and back matter added in Vellum, and basic structure. Your text can leave even if you lose the source DOCX. And your project files stay on the Mac where you made them: Restore brings back only the licence, so copy the files yourself through iCloud, Dropbox or a USB drive. Atticus's help says it cannot import .vellum files, so a move there goes through Word and the styling is rebuilt.

What the free download can and cannot settle

Vellum's free download answers design questions but not file questions, because generating stays locked until you buy. A sensible order for a Mac owner:

1. Import your real DOCX and look for Untitled elements, which the import help says signal a split chapter, often from too many empty lines.
2. Apply a style and configure headings and breaks.
3. In print preview, change the quality from Draft to Proof. Draft omits some automatic layout, and Proof is described as matching the final PDF. The pages read do not restrict this in the free download.
4. Buy only once the look suits you, because the 30-day refund clock starts at purchase.
5. Generate at once. Open the Kindle EPUB in Kindle Previewer and the other store files in the apps the proofing page lists.
6. Upload the PDF to your print service's previewer and compare it with the print formatting checklist.

Honest downsides

• Mac only. No Mac, no local Vellum.
• Highest listed price of the two formatters compared here. The print-capable edition is $249.99, against $147 listed for Atticus.
• Print costs more. Paperback formatting is in the Press edition, not the cheaper one.
• Formatter only. The pages describe no writing environment.
• Unverified output. We have not run it, so any claim about its appearance would be borrowed.
• No finished file before you pay. The free download stops short of generating.
• Working files stay local. The pages read describe no automatic cloud backup of a Vellum project.

Decision table

Who should and should not buy it

It suits Mac owners who want a dedicated formatter and will pay for it. It does not suit Windows or Linux users, authors on a tight budget, or anyone who wants to write and format in one program. If you will make paperbacks, check KDP's limits first.

If you plan an audiobook

The Vellum page says nothing about preparing a title for narration, so check the ebook file yourself. For Google Play's auto-narration, the policy page asks for an .epub, uploaded or taken from your Partner Center account, and you must own the audiobook rights; see also the Learning Center page. KDP's Virtual Voice beta, invite-only, requires a reflowable title with an NCX or Kindle Interactive table of contents. See prepare a manuscript for AI narration.

More choices are in the formatting software hub.

Last verified 2026-11-08. Rules and prices change: check the linked primary page before you rely on this.