Which book writing software for Mac is best? It depends on the job.

Book writing software is not one kind of app. A drafting app, a formatter and a cover tool do different work, and plenty of authors use one of each. So rather than rank them in one list, this guide sorts the Mac options by the job you need done: drafting, formatting, the cover, or the whole book in one place.

The short answer

Find the job you need done, then read that app's section below.

Ours is last on purpose. The section on where Inkbound fits says plainly who should pick something else.

How we compared them

This is not a hands-on review. We compared what each maker says about its own app, on its own website, help center or App Store listing, and we checked every page on October 22, 2026. Prices are in US dollars and change from time to time, so confirm them on the maker's page before you buy.

We looked at the same things for every app:

• Where it runs. A Mac app or a web app, and the macOS version it needs.
• How you pay. Once, or a subscription that renews, and what a trial includes.
• Drafting tools. Chapters, outlines, goals, and notes on characters and places.
• Interior formatting. Trim sizes and a print-ready PDF.
• The print cover. Whether the app builds the full wrap: back cover, spine and front cover in one file.
• Export. EPUB, print PDF and Word (.docx).
• AI. None, optional, or built in.
• Offline use and where your book is saved. On your computer, or in the maker's cloud.

Where a maker's pages say nothing about something, the tables say Not stated. That does not mean the feature is missing. It means we could not confirm it from the maker.

Side by side

Every cell comes from the maker's own pages, listed under Sources and checked October 22, 2026. Not stated means the maker's pages did not say when we checked.

Each app, and who it suits

Scrivener: for drafting long or complex books

Literature & Latte describes Scrivener as tailor-made for long writing projects, and it is built around the first draft. You write in sections of any size, move them around in the Binder, plan on a corkboard of index cards or in an outliner, and keep research files open beside the page. Word targets and a Writing History track your progress. When you are done, Compile turns the project into a Word file, a PDF, an EPUB or another format.

• Price: $59.99 once for Mac or for Windows, or $95.98 for both. The iPad and iPhone version is sold separately. A license covers the version you buy, and a future major version would be a paid upgrade, at a discount for owners.
• Runs on: macOS 11 or later, 64-bit Windows 10 or later, iPad and iPhone.
• Try it: the full app for 30 days of actual use on Mac and Windows. Only the days you use it count.
• Good fit if: you plan with index cards and outlines, keep research inside the project, or write across a Mac, a PC and an iPad.
• Not a fit if: you want the finished interior and the print cover in the same app. Compile sets the final look, and Scrivener documents no cover design tool.
• AI: Literature & Latte says Scrivener contains no AI of its own. On a Mac, Apple's Writing Tools can appear in it.

Read Inkbound vs Scrivener for the full comparison.

Ulysses: for a clean editor on every Apple device

Ulysses is a writing app for Mac, iPad and iPhone with a markup-based editor, so your hands stay on the keyboard. Everything you write sits in one library that syncs over iCloud. You can set goals and deadlines, split a long text into chunks and reorder them, and run a built-in grammar and style check. When you are done, Ulysses exports PDF, Word, ebook and HTML files in styles you choose.

• Price: a subscription, $39.99 a year or $5.99 a month in the US, through the App Store. Apple Family Sharing is included.
• Runs on: Mac, iPad and iPhone. The Mac app needs macOS 15.4 or later.
• Try it: every plan includes a fully functional trial, with export and sync.
• Good fit if: you write in short bursts on different Apple devices and want the same library everywhere.
• Not a fit if: you want to pay once, or you need KDP trim sizes and a cover wrap. The Ulysses pages we checked do not describe either.
• AI: Ulysses' App Store notes say it supports Apple's latest Siri, including Write with Siri, outside the EU.

Vellum: for a polished interior from a finished manuscript

Vellum is a Mac app built around formatting. You import a finished manuscript, choose a book style and a trim size, and it sets the ebook and print editions, with 24 trim sizes plus large print. It is not only a formatter: Vellum says its Text Editor works for anything from fixing a typo to writing a whole novel from scratch, with search and replace across the book. It can also export your text as a Word file for an editor.

• Price: $199.99 once for Vellum Ebooks, or $249.99 once for Vellum Press, which adds paperbacks. Vellum says updates are included.
• Runs on: Mac only, macOS 13 or newer.
• Try it: the download costs nothing and has no time limit. You build, style and preview your book, then buy when you are ready to generate files. Vellum says you can cancel a purchase within 30 days for a refund.
• Good fit if: your manuscript is finished, your cover is designed, and you want a refined interior on a Mac.
• Not a fit if: you want the print cover in the same app. Vellum's FAQ says you upload the print cover file straight to your print service. It has no Story Bible and no AI of its own. Apple's Writing Tools are off by default in Vellum and can be turned on in its settings.

Read Inkbound vs Vellum for the full comparison.

Atticus: for writing and formatting on any computer

Atticus puts writing and formatting in one app. It is built as a progressive web app, so it runs in a web browser on Windows, Mac, Linux or a Chromebook. It has find and replace, 17 templates and a custom theme builder, and it exports EPUB, PDF and DOCX. Atticus says it works offline as well as online, and backs your words up to its cloud.

• Price: $147 once, with future updates included. One price covers every platform.
• Runs on: Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook.
• Try it: you buy first, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
• Good fit if: you write on Windows, Linux or a Chromebook, or move between computers.
• Not a fit if: you need a custom trim size or the print cover. Atticus's help center says it does not support custom trim sizes, and that it is not a graphic design program, so the cover is made in another tool. It also says Atticus has no AI features built in.

Read Inkbound vs Atticus for the full comparison.

Lacuna: for a one-time formatter on Windows, Mac or Linux

Lacuna is desktop formatting software for a manuscript you import. You set the trim size, margins, gutters, headers, footers and page numbers, then export an EPUB and a print-ready PDF. It runs entirely on your computer, with no cloud and no account. It makes interior files only: Lacuna says covers are designed outside it.

• Price: $149 once for one computer, with updates included. Lacuna also sells licenses for two or three computers.
• Runs on: Windows 10 or newer, macOS 12 Monterey or newer, and Linux.
• Try it: use every feature, on as many books as you like. Exports are preview only until you buy.
• Good fit if: your manuscript is finished and you want a desktop formatter you pay for once, on any of the three systems.
• Not a fit if: you want to draft the book in it, or need the cover wrap made for you.

Kindle Create: Amazon's own formatter

Amazon's Kindle Create turns a completed manuscript into a Kindle eBook or a KDP print book, on Windows or a Mac. Amazon lists cover formatting and publishing outside Kindle as unsupported. Our page on Kindle Create alternatives covers it in full.

Dabble: for plot-heavy writing in the cloud

Dabble is a novel-writing app that lives in your web browser and on your phone, with nothing to install. Its Plot Grid lays every scene against your plot lines, and character profiles and a story notebook sit beside the manuscript. It works offline and syncs when you reconnect. The Author plan adds comments, track changes, grammar and style checks, and Read-to-Me. When you are ready, it exports a clean manuscript to Word or plain text.

• Price: billed yearly, Writer is $15 a month ($180 a year), Author $23 a month ($276) and Bestseller $39 a month ($468). Lifetime Author access is $699 once, and Lifetime Bestseller $899. Dabble says that if you stop subscribing, your manuscripts stay readable and exportable.
• Runs on: a web browser on any device, and your phone.
• Try it: 14 days with every feature and no credit card. Dabble also offers a money-back guarantee.
• Good fit if: you plot in detail, write on several devices, or co-author.
• Not a fit if: you want print formatting in the same app. Dabble's pages describe exporting a manuscript to Word and text, not print or EPUB files.
• AI: Dabble says it does not use your writing to train AI, and that any AI features it ships would be strictly opt-in.

Reedsy Studio: for writing and formatting in a browser at no cost

Reedsy Studio is a writing app you use in a web browser. You write with a chapter sidebar, set goals, and keep notes, characters and research on Boards. You can invite an editor or co-author into the draft for track changes and comments. When the book is done, you pick a template and a trim size and export an EPUB and a print-ready PDF.

• Price: Reedsy says the core writing and formatting features cost nothing. Paid plans at $4.99 and $7.99 a month add extras such as advanced outlining, writing stats and dark mode.
• Runs on: a web browser. There is no dedicated mobile app, but it works in mobile browsers.
• Try it: the paid features for 30 days, with no credit card.
• Good fit if: you want to write and format without spending anything, or to work with an editor in one shared draft.
• Not a fit if: you want a desktop app that keeps the book on your Mac, or the print cover wrap. Reedsy's Studio page does not describe a cover tool.

Pages: for writing with what is already on your Mac

Pages is Apple's word processor. Apple says it is included with every new Mac, iPad and iPhone, and Pages for iCloud runs in a web browser. For books, Apple offers EPUB templates: a Portrait template can export reflowable text that adjusts to each screen, and a Landscape template keeps a fixed layout, which suits books with lots of images. Pages also exports Word and PDF files.

• Price: included with every new Mac. An Apple Creator Studio subscription adds premium templates, content and intelligence features.
• Good fit if: you are starting a first draft and want to spend nothing yet, or you are making an image-heavy book for Apple Books.
• Not a fit if: you want a KDP paperback interior or a cover wrap set up for you. The Apple guides we used cover EPUB, Word and PDF export, not KDP's print specs.

Word or Google Docs: for working with an editor

These are general word processors, and both are built for marking up a draft with someone else. In Word for Mac, Track Changes is on the Review tab, and Word marks every change and shows which author made it. In Google Docs, an editor can suggest edits without changing your text, and you choose which to keep. Google says anyone with a Google Account can create in Docs, with some features kept for Google Workspace plans. Docs can also edit Word files directly and work offline.

• Good fit if: an editor or co-author wants a file they can mark up.
• Not a fit if: you want the book typeset. When the draft is done, take the Word file into a formatter such as Atticus, Lacuna or Inkbound, which all import .docx files. KDP also takes a Word file directly for an eBook, though it warns that files with complex formatting may not convert as well.

Inkbound: for one Mac project from first draft to KDP cover wrap

Inkbound is our Mac app. You write with your chapters beside the page and find and replace across the whole book, and you keep characters, a cast map and a world map in the Story Bible. The Interior screen typesets the book with 13 Looks in all 16 of KDP's paperback trim sizes and all 5 hardcover sizes, plus custom paperback sizes from 4 × 6 in to 8.5 × 11.69 in. The Cover lab builds the full wrap (back, spine and front) as one print PDF, with a 3D book to check it. Publish checks the whole book, previews the eBook on Kindle and Kobo devices, and exports an EPUB 3, interior and cover PDFs, a Word file and narrated chapters as an MP3.

Every stage shares one project. The spine width comes from your book's page count and paper, and the cover wrap is sized to match. Inkbound estimates the page count from your manuscript at your trim and type size, and Publish flags it when the book and the count drift apart. An optional AI staff of six specialists works in one chat, on pay-as-you-go credits. They suggest. You decide.

• Price: $1 for the first 7 days, then $14.99 a month until you cancel, or $129 once for Lifetime, for as long as we offer Inkbound. AI credits are separate, from $9.99, and every new account includes 50. At launch, Inkbound is available in the US, including US territories.
• Runs on: Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 12 or later.
• Try it: the $1 week includes everything except downloading the finished publishing files. Those unlock with your first $14.99 month, or with Lifetime.
• Good fit if: you write on an Apple Silicon Mac and want to draft, typeset and build the KDP cover wrap in one project, so the page count, the spine and the files agree.
• Not a fit if: you are on Windows, an Intel Mac or an iPad, or you want something that costs nothing. The section on where Inkbound fits has the full list.

See how Inkbound works, step by step.

Pay once or subscribe?

Scrivener, Atticus, Vellum and Lacuna are one-time purchases. Ulysses and Dabble are subscriptions, though Dabble also sells Lifetime access. Reedsy Studio's core costs nothing, and its extras are monthly. Inkbound offers both: Monthly, or $129 once for Lifetime, with AI credits separate on either plan.

A one-time price is not always the cheaper one over time, and a subscription is not always the dearer one. Count how long you will use the app, and what the price covers. A Scrivener license covers the major version you buy, and a future major version, such as Scrivener 4, would be a new license at a discount. Ulysses at $39.99 a year passes Scrivener's $59.99 with its second yearly payment.

For Inkbound, the $1 week plus twelve monthly payments comes to $180.88, and the $1 week plus 24 payments comes to $360.76. By the ninth $14.99 payment, Monthly has cost more than Lifetime, so if you expect to keep Inkbound longer than that, Lifetime costs less. Monthly or Lifetime walks through the math month by month.

For how each app lets you try it before you pay, and how their one-time and subscription prices line up, see Atticus vs Vellum vs Scrivener.

Book writing software on a Mac that costs nothing

You can write a whole book without buying anything. Three options:

• Pages. Included with every new Mac. It exports EPUB, Word and PDF files, and Apple's EPUB book templates come in reflowable and fixed layouts.
• Google Docs. Google says anyone with a Google Account can create in Docs. It runs in a browser, works offline, lets an editor suggest changes and can edit Word files directly.
• Reedsy Studio. Reedsy says its core writing and formatting features cost nothing, including EPUB and print-ready PDF export.

Some paid apps let you do a lot before you pay. Vellum's download costs nothing and has no time limit, and you pay when you generate files. Lacuna lets you use every feature until you export. Scrivener's trial lasts 30 days of actual use, Dabble's lasts 14 days, and Ulysses includes a fully functional trial.

Inkbound is paid. There is no version that costs nothing. The way to try it is the $1 first week, which includes everything except downloading the finished publishing files. Payments are non-refundable, except where the law requires. You can cancel anytime.

Do you need different software for writing and formatting?

No, but many authors use two or three apps for one book: a drafting app such as Scrivener, a formatter such as Vellum, and a cover made in a design tool or by a designer. That chain works. The trouble comes at the handoffs, because the numbers in each app depend on the others.

Here is the one that catches people out. On KDP, a paperback's spine width is the page count times the paper's thickness: 0.002252 in per page on white paper and 0.0025 in on cream. The page count comes from the typeset interior, so it only settles once the formatting is done. The cover wrap is the back cover, the spine and the front cover, plus 0.125 in of bleed on the outside edges, so its width depends on the spine.

Say your 300-page 6 × 9 novel on white paper has a 0.676 in spine. A late round of edits adds 20 pages, and the spine grows to 0.721 in. The cover made for 300 pages is now too narrow, and KDP's Print Previewer stops a cover whose size does not match the book. The same thing happens if you change the trim size, the font or the paper after the cover is made.

So if you split the work across apps, finish the interior first and size the cover last. Our guide to KDP book cover size has the full formula, and the KDP cover calculator works out the spine and the wrap for your trim, page count and paper.

Some apps keep more of the book in one place. Atticus and Reedsy Studio are built to write and format in the same app, and Vellum's Text Editor can hold a whole book. Inkbound also builds the print cover wrap from the same project: when the page count moves a little, the spine is refitted, and when it moves a lot, Inkbound tells you to repaint the cover. See how Inkbound handles the handoffs.

What software do professional authors use?

There is no single standard app for drafting. Authors draft in Scrivener, Word, Google Docs, Ulysses, Dabble and plenty more, and the right one is the one you keep opening.

What comes closer to a standard is the file you hand over. Many editors mark up a Word file with Track Changes, so whichever app you draft in, make sure it can export a Word file (.docx). Of the apps in this guide, Scrivener, Ulysses, Vellum, Atticus, Dabble, Pages and Inkbound all say they export one. Reedsy Studio and Google Docs let an editor work inside the draft instead. Ask your editor what they prefer before the edit starts.

At the end, KDP wants the same files whatever you used. For an eBook, it takes a Word file, an EPUB or a KPF from Kindle Create. For a paperback, you upload the interior, usually as a print-ready PDF, and the cover as one full-wrap PDF.

If this is your first book

Choose for now, not for the end. At the start, all you need is a place to write that you will open every day and that can hand your words on later as a Word file or an EPUB. The formatting and the cover can wait until the draft is done.

1. Draft somewhere comfortable. Pages, Google Docs and Reedsy Studio cost nothing. If you like to plan in detail, try Scrivener's 30-day trial or Dabble's 14 days. To aim at a length, see novel word counts by genre.
2. Keep notes on your characters and places as you go. A story bible template shows what to track, in whatever app you use.
3. Choose a trim size when the draft is done. It sets the margins and the page count. Our list of KDP trim sizes covers every option, and how to format a book for KDP covers the rest of the interior.
4. Make the cover last, from the final page count, so the spine is right.
5. Upload to KDP. Our guide on how to self-publish a book on Amazon walks through each step, and what it costs to self-publish helps you budget.

If you would rather do all of that in one app on an Apple Silicon Mac, that is what Inkbound is for. If not, any of the apps above will carry a first draft.

Where Inkbound fits, and where it does not

Inkbound fits if you write on an Apple Silicon Mac and want the whole book in one project: the manuscript, a Story Bible, the typeset interior, the full KDP cover wrap and the files you upload. Here is where it does not fit.

• Your computer. Inkbound needs an Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 12 or later. It does not run on Intel Macs, Windows, iPad or in a browser. A Windows version is on the way. Scrivener, Atticus and Lacuna run on Windows today. See which computers Inkbound runs on.
• Where you live. At launch, Inkbound is available in the US, including US territories.
• Your budget. Inkbound is paid: $1 for the first week, then $14.99 a month until you cancel, or $129 once for Lifetime. If you want to spend nothing, start with Pages, Google Docs or Reedsy Studio.
• AI. The AI staff is optional, and it only runs when you start an AI action, on pay-as-you-go credits. If you want a writing app with no AI of its own, Atticus and Scrivener say theirs have none.
• Planning tools. Inkbound has no corkboard, no outliner and no folder for outside research files. If you plan on index cards, Scrivener does that well.
• A money-back guarantee. Atticus offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, and Dabble offers one too. Inkbound does not. Payments are non-refundable, except where the law requires. You can cancel anytime.

If none of those rule it out, see how writing works in Inkbound, or read Inkbound pricing.

Sources

Every fact about another app on this page comes from its maker's own website, help center or App Store listing, checked October 22, 2026. Prices are in US dollars. If something has changed since, tell us at hello@inkbound.design and we will fix it.

• Scrivener: prices as the Literature & Latte store checkout shows them, and system requirements; features and export formats on the Scrivener overview; the trial on the download page; licenses on how our licensing works; AI on the Literature & Latte blog.
• Ulysses: prices and platforms on ulysses.app/pricing; features and the trial on ulysses.app; the macOS version, export formats, trial and Siri support (in its version notes) on its App Store listing.
• Vellum: prices, macOS 13 and trim sizes on vellum.pub; the download, updates and refunds in the Purchasing FAQ; the Text Editor and Apple's Writing Tools in Vellum Help; the print cover and the Word file in the Vellum FAQ.
• Atticus: price, platforms, templates, exports, cloud backup and the money-back guarantee on atticus.io; the help center on custom trim sizes, covers, AI and find and replace.
• Lacuna: price, platforms, system requirements, the trial, covers and local files on lacuna.pub.
• Kindle Create: KDP Help, Getting Started with Kindle Create.
• Dabble: plans, the trial, the guarantee and AI on dabblewriter.com/pricing; features, devices and export on dabblewriter.com/features.
• Reedsy Studio: features, prices, the trial and mobile use on reedsy.com/studio.
• Pages: included with every new Mac, iPad and iPhone, and Apple Creator Studio, in About Apple Creator Studio; EPUB templates in Create an EPUB book in Pages; Word and PDF export in the Pages User Guide; Pages for iCloud on Pages Support.
• Word: Track changes in Word, Microsoft Support.
• Google Docs: accounts, Word files and offline use on Google Docs; that Google's consumer apps cost nothing, in the Google Workspace Individual FAQ; Suggest edits in Google Docs.
• KDP eBook file formats: KDP Help, supported eBook formats.
• Inkbound: Inkbound pricing and section 4.1 of the Terms.