Kindle Create alternatives for Mac. A KPF file, or the whole book?

Kindle Create is Amazon's own app for PC or Mac. It turns a completed manuscript into a KPF file that you upload to KDP, and KDP recommends it for text-heavy books with simple layouts. If you want to choose your paperback's type and spacing, or need the cover made in the same place, there are other ways to do the job on a Mac. Inkbound is one of them: the Mac app where you write the book, set the interior, build the full cover wrap and export every file KDP asks for.

This page is about Kindle Create, Amazon's formatting app for Kindle Direct Publishing. Inkbound is made by Five Line Studio and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Amazon. Amazon and Kindle are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Opens November 21 Inkbound pricing

$1 for your first week, with everything except downloading the finished publishing files. Then $14.99 a month until you cancel, or $129 once for Lifetime, for as long as we offer Inkbound. macOS 12 or later on Apple Silicon. Available in the US.

Kindle Create vs Inkbound, feature by feature.

Feature	Inkbound	Kindle Create
Made by	Five Line Studio. Inkbound is our app.	Amazon, for Kindle Direct Publishing.
Runs on	Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 12 or later. A Windows version is on the way.	Windows 10 or later, Intel Macs with OSX 10.15 or later, and Apple M1 Macs with macOS 11 or later, as KDP lists them.
Price	$1 first week, then $14.99 a month, or $129 lifetime Lifetime includes every future version, for as long as we offer Inkbound. AI credits are separate, from $9.99. Available in the US.	No charge. Amazon offers it as a download for PC and Mac.
Write your book in it	Yes A calm writing column with your chapters beside it, find and replace across the whole book and autosave to your Mac.	Partly Amazon says you can, but does not recommend it. It suggests writing in an app like Word, then importing the finished manuscript.
Book types	Novel, Memoir, Non-fiction, Cookbook, Coffee table and Poetry, each as a print interior and a reflowable EPUB.	Reflowable books such as novels and memoirs, Print Replica eBooks for image-heavy books, and comics and kids' books with Guided View.
Paperback typefaces	Yes Choose from 24 body and 22 heading typefaces, or start from one of 13 Looks.	No KDP says the paperback font and font size can't be changed. A theme sets the look.
Text size and line spacing	Yes Text from 9 to 18 pt and line spacing from 1.2 to 1.9, large print included.	No KDP says you can't change them in Kindle Create, and suggests Word if you need to.
Margins	Mirrored for left and right pages. If your inside margin is narrower than KDP's minimum for your page count, it is widened for print. If it is wider, yours is kept.	Calculated for you from the trim size and page count when you upload. You can't change them.
Tables, footnotes and endnotes in print	Partly No tables. Book Pages has an Endnotes page at the back of the book, where you list your notes one per paragraph.	No KDP says Kindle Create doesn't support paperbacks with tables, footnotes or endnotes.
Images that bleed in print	No Images sit inside the margins, and the print interior has no bleed.	No KDP says paperback images that bleed to the edge are not supported.
Trim sizes	All 16 of KDP's paperback trim sizes and all 5 hardcover sizes, plus custom paperback sizes from 4 × 6 to 8.5 × 11.69 in.	Any trim size, chosen on KDP when you upload the paperback.
Preview	The interior at your real trim, page by page or as spreads. The eBook as a Kindle Paperwhite, the Kindle phone app, a Kobo Clara and an iPad with Apple Books show it.	A built-in previewer for tablets, phones and Kindle e-readers. You see the printed pages later, in KDP's print previewer after you upload.
Files you get	EPUB 3 with its cover, interior PDF, print cover PDF and a Word file. Finished-file downloads unlock with your first $14.99 month or with Lifetime.	KPF, the file KDP prefers for Kindle eBooks and print books, and EPUB for reflowable books. Amazon lists publishing outside Kindle as unsupported.
Cover design	Yes A Cover lab that builds the full wrap (back, spine and front) as one print PDF sized from your page count and paper, plus the eBook cover, with a 3D book to check it.	No KDP lists cover formatting as unsupported. You make the cover in KDP's Cover Creator or another tool.

Kindle Create details come from KDP's help pages and Amazon's Kindle Create page, checked October 22, 2026. Each source is listed at the end of this page.

Kindle Create alternatives for Mac

Kindle Create is one way to make a file for KDP, not a requirement. KDP also accepts EPUB files for eBooks and PDF files for print interiors and covers, so any of these can do the job on a Mac.

Inkbound. Write, format and build the full cover wrap in one Mac app, then export an EPUB 3, an interior PDF and a print cover PDF. It runs on Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 12 or later: $1 for your first 7 days, then $14.99/month until you cancel, or $129 once for Lifetime.
Vellum. A Mac-only formatting app for macOS 13 or newer, with a Text Editor you can write in. $199.99 once for Vellum Ebooks, or $249.99 for Vellum Press, which adds print. Read Inkbound vs Vellum.
Atticus. Writing and formatting in one app, $147 once, on Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook as a progressive web app. Atticus says it does not support custom trim sizes. Read Inkbound vs Atticus.
Lacuna. A desktop formatting app for Windows, Mac and Linux that imports a .docx manuscript. You can use it until you are ready to export, then pay $149 once.
Reedsy Studio. Plan, write and format your book in a web browser, then export EPUB and print-ready PDF files. Reedsy says its core writing and formatting features cost nothing, and its Studio Essential ($4.99/month) and Outlining ($7.99/month) plans add extras.
Apple Pages. Apple's help shows how to export a Pages document as an EPUB book. For print, you set the page size and margins yourself, and KDP's help has a step-by-step guide for Pages.
Scrivener, for drafting. Literature & Latte's writing app for macOS, Windows and iOS, built for the first draft. It can compile an EPUB and a print-ready PDF. Read Inkbound vs Scrivener.

To see Inkbound, Vellum, Atticus and Scrivener in one table, read all our app comparisons. Still choosing where to write? Our guide to book writing software for Mac sorts the options by the job each one does.

What Kindle Create does well

Kindle Create is good at the job Amazon built it for, and for some books it is the right tool.

It is Amazon's own tool, at no charge. It is made for KDP, and Amazon offers it as a download for PC and Mac.
KPF carries Kindle's own features. KDP says its EPUB export does not carry every Kindle feature, such as image bleeds and chapter start images, so it recommends KPF files for Kindle apps and devices.
A built-in previewer. You see the eBook as it will look on tablets, phones and Kindle e-readers, and you can change the device, the text size and the font while you check it.
Book types Inkbound does not make. Print Replica eBooks keep a print layout and can add audio, video and image pop-ups, for textbooks, cookbooks and travel books. Comics and kids' books get Guided View, which moves the reader through the art one panel at a time. Inkbound makes neither.
Windows and Intel Macs. Kindle Create runs on Windows 10 or later and on Intel Macs. Inkbound needs an Apple Silicon Mac.
Any paperback trim size. You choose the trim on KDP, and the margins and page numbers are fitted to it. Kindle Create also works to minimize widows and orphans in the print book.

Where Kindle Create honestly wins

If your book is a novel, an essay collection or a memoir, you publish only on Amazon, and you are happy for KDP to set the paperback's type and margins, Kindle Create does the job at no charge. For comics, kids' books with Guided View and interactive Print Replica eBooks, it does things Inkbound does not.

Kindle Create for paperbacks: what you can and cannot change

KDP's help says you can prepare an eBook and a paperback from the same manuscript file, and publish the paperback in any trim size. Amazon's Kindle Create page adds hardcovers to that. KDP designed the feature for text-heavy books with simple layouts, such as novels, essays and memoirs.

Much of the paperback is set for you when you upload the KPF file to KDP. The margins are calculated from your trim size and page count. Page numbers are added to the contents page and the footers. The first chapter starts on a right-hand page, and each later chapter starts on the next available page.

What you can change

The theme. KDP says a theme updates the book's layout and font, and the themes themselves can't be edited.
The front and back matter, such as a title page, copyright page, dedication and about the author page.
Where page numbering starts, and whether the book has a contents page.
The position and alignment of the author name, the book title and the page numbers in the headers and footers, from Print Settings.

What you cannot change

The font and its size. KDP's help puts it plainly: "Font and font size for paperbacks can't be changed."
The line spacing. If you want to set font size and line spacing yourself, KDP suggests formatting the book in Microsoft Word.
The margins. KDP calculates them to meet its specifications.
Tables, footnotes and endnotes. KDP says Kindle Create doesn't support paperbacks with any of them.
Images that bleed. Only paperbacks without bleed are supported, and an image that does not fit can leave a blank space at the foot of a page.

You also check the paperback later than you might expect. Kindle Create's previewer shows the eBook. To see the printed pages, you export the KPF, upload it to KDP, choose your trim size and open KDP's print previewer. You upload the KPF twice: once for the eBook and once for the paperback.

How Inkbound handles the same jobs

In Inkbound, those settings are yours. Choose from 24 body and 22 heading typefaces, set the text from 9 to 18 pt and the line spacing from 1.2 to 1.9, or start from one of 13 Looks. Margins mirror for left and right pages, and if your inside margin is narrower than KDP's minimum for your page count, it is widened for print. One click adds the blank pages that start every chapter on a right-hand page. The preview is drawn at your real trim size, page by page or as spreads, before you export.

Two limits are the same in both apps. Inkbound sets images inside the margins with no bleed in the print interior, and it has no table layout. For notes, Book Pages has an Endnotes page at the back of the book, where you list them one per paragraph. See book formatting on Mac for every setting, read how to format a book for KDP for the rules behind them, or check KDP trim sizes before you pick one.

Type size matters beyond looks. Bigger text and looser spacing make more pages, and KDP works out a paperback's printing cost from its page count. The KDP royalty calculator shows the printing cost and your royalty for a page count.

Kindle Create on a Mac

Kindle Create has a Mac version, and it is a desktop app you install. KDP's system requirements list three kinds of computer:

Windows 10 or later
Intel Mac OSX 10.15 or later
Apple M1 macOS 11 or later

KDP recommends 8 GB of RAM, with 4 GB at least, and a 2 GHz processor, with 1.2 GHz at least. The Mac download is on KDP's Getting Started with Kindle Create page, where the button reads macOS 10.15 or later. Once it is installed, you open Kindle Create from Launchpad. Requirements can change between versions, so check that page for the current list before you download.

Kindle Create keeps your project on your computer. When you save, it stores a KCB work file and its resources in a folder you choose, and Amazon says it does not keep copies of your Kindle Create file. Back up that folder, because you need the KCB file to update your book later.

Inkbound runs on Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 12 or later, and not on Intel Macs. Each book is saved on your Mac, and you can write and edit without internet for up to 7 days at a time. AI features need a connection. If you work on an Intel Mac or a PC, Kindle Create covers a computer Inkbound does not. See which computers Inkbound runs on.

Where the cover comes from

Kindle Create formats the inside of the book. KDP lists cover formatting as unsupported, and Amazon's Kindle Create page calls it an interior formatting tool. You upload the cover to KDP as its own file. For a paperback, that file is one PDF with the back, the spine and the front, and the spine's width depends on your page count and paper.

KDP's own answer is Cover Creator, a tool inside your KDP account that builds a cover from templates and layouts, with your own image or one from its gallery. Because the spine depends on the page count, KDP asks you to upload your interior and let it finish processing before you launch Cover Creator. KDP's help also says Cover Creator, and covers made with its stock images, cannot be downloaded for use outside the KDP website. KDP is testing a newer editor, Cover Studio, with a select group of authors in a beta that is not open to new sign-ups.

The other route is a cover designer, or KDP's cover template and your own design software. Either way, the cover is sized from the interior's page count, so if the book gains or loses pages, the spine has to change with it.

In Inkbound, the Cover lab works from the same project as the interior. It builds the full wrap from your page count and paper, custom paperback sizes included, and shows it as a 3D book. The flat view marks the trim line, the folds, the safe area for text and KDP's barcode area. You can paint the wrap from a description, which uses AI credits, or set a typographic cover from your title or import your own art, which use no credits. The print cover PDF and the eBook cover are saved on your Mac.

See KDP cover design in Inkbound, work out any book's spine and wrap with the KDP cover calculator, or read KDP book cover size for the math behind it.

Kindle Create vs Vellum, Atticus, Reedsy Studio and Word

Weighing Kindle Create against one other tool? Here is the short version, from each maker's own pages.

Feature	Kindle Create	Vellum	Atticus	Reedsy Studio	Word
Runs on	Windows 10 or later, Intel Macs and Apple M1 Macs	Mac only, macOS 13 or newer	Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook, as a web app	A web browser	Windows and Mac desktop apps, plus Word for the web
Write the book in it	Possible, but Amazon suggests finishing the manuscript in a writing app first	Yes, in its Text Editor	Yes	Yes, with Boards for planning	Yes
Paperback interior	Set for you, with no changes to the font, its size, the line spacing or the margins	Print files with Vellum Press, in 24 trim sizes plus large print	A print PDF, from the trim sizes it offers. No custom trim sizes.	A print-ready PDF, with your choice of trim size, theme and appearance	Set by hand. Microsoft's help shows mirror margins for facing pages, with inside and outside widths.
Files you get	KPF for KDP, and EPUB for reflowable books	Ebook files for Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books and more, and a print PDF with Press	EPUB, PDF and DOCX	EPUB and a print-ready PDF	Your .docx, or a PDF saved from it

Kindle Create or Word? They can work together. Amazon suggests writing the book in an app like Word, then importing the finished manuscript into Kindle Create. If you want to set the paperback's font size and line spacing yourself, KDP's help points you to formatting the book in Word instead, and it has step-by-step guides for Word on PC and Mac. Microsoft's help shows how to set mirror margins for facing pages. You set the page size and an inside margin for your page count yourself, then save a PDF.

For the full two-way comparisons, read Vellum vs Inkbound and Atticus vs Inkbound. Reedsy Studio and Word details come from reedsy.com and Microsoft's support site, checked October 22, 2026.

Which one fits you

Pick Kindle Create if

You publish only on Amazon, and your book is simple and text-heavy, such as a novel, essay collection or memoir.
You are making a comic or kids' book with Guided View, or a Print Replica eBook with audio and video.
You work on Windows or on an Intel Mac.
You are happy for KDP to set the paperback's font, spacing and margins.
You would rather not pay for a formatting app.

Pick Inkbound if

You want to choose the print typeface, the text size and the line spacing yourself.
You need the full cover wrap (back, spine and front) sized from your page count, and an interior PDF you can check page by page before you upload.
You want to write the book, keep a Story Bible and call on an AI writing staff in the same app. They suggest and you decide.
You also want an EPUB 3 for Apple Books, Kobo and Google Play.
You write on an Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 12 or later.

Moving a book from Kindle Create to Inkbound

Start from your original Word file. Kindle Create keeps your book as a KCB work file and exports a KPF file that is only used for publishing on KDP, and Amazon does not keep copies of your Kindle Create file. Inkbound opens Word (.docx) manuscripts, not KCB or KPF files, so the .docx you first imported is the way in. If you fixed typos in Kindle Create after importing, make the same fixes in the Word file first.

Import the .docx. Inkbound splits it into chapters at your chapter headings, keeping bold, italics and links. Pages titled Copyright, Dedication or About the Author go to Book Pages.
Set the interior. Pick a Look and a trim size, then adjust the typeface, size and spacing if you like.
Build the cover. The Cover lab sizes the full wrap from your page count and paper.
Check and export. Publish checks the whole book, then you export the EPUB 3, the interior PDF and the print cover PDF to upload to KDP.

Finished-file downloads unlock with your first $14.99 month or with Lifetime, not during the $1 week. Coming from Scrivener or Pages instead? Compile or export your manuscript to a Word file and import it the same way. See how Inkbound works for every step, and EPUB and print PDF export for the files each edition needs.

Sources

Every Kindle Create detail on this page comes from Amazon's own pages, and every other app's details from its maker's website or help center, all checked October 22, 2026. Prices are in US dollars.

KDP Help, Getting Started with Kindle Create: system requirements, book types, supported and unsupported features, export formats and KCB work files.
KDP Help, Prepare Your eBook and Paperback with Kindle Create: paperback limits, margins, fonts, line spacing and uploading.
KDP Help, Prepare Reflowable and Print Books with Kindle Create: themes, front and back matter, special fonts and print settings.
KDP Help, Previewing and Publishing Your Kindle Create Book: the eBook previewer and the print preview on KDP.
KDP Help, Format Your Paperback: when KDP recommends Kindle Create.
KDP Help, eBook manuscript formats: the files KDP accepts for eBooks.
KDP Help, Cover Creator and Cover Studio.
Amazon's Kindle Create page: the price, the book types, writing advice and covers.
vellum.pub, atticus.io and the Atticus help center on custom trim sizes.
lacuna.pub and Reedsy Studio.
Apple Support, Create an EPUB book in Pages.
Microsoft Support, Set mirror margins for facing pages and Save or convert to PDF.

Monthly or Lifetime Book formatting Cover design Inkbound vs Vellum Inkbound vs Atticus All comparisons

Kindle Create questions, answered.

Is Kindle Create good?

For the right book, yes. It is Amazon's own app, it costs nothing, and KDP recommends it for text-heavy books with simple layouts, such as novels, essays and memoirs. It also makes comics and kids' books with Guided View, and Print Replica eBooks. It is less of a fit if you want to choose your paperback's font, size, line spacing or margins, need tables or footnotes in print, or want the cover made in the same app, because Kindle Create does not format covers.

Can I use Kindle Create for a paperback?

Yes. KDP's help says you can prepare an eBook and a paperback from the same manuscript and publish the paperback in any trim size. You upload the KPF file twice, once for each format, and KDP calculates the margins and adds page numbers when you upload. Paperbacks made this way cannot include tables, footnotes, endnotes or images that bleed, and you preview the printed pages on KDP after uploading.

Can I change the font in Kindle Create?

Not in a paperback. KDP's help says the paperback font, font size and line spacing can't be changed, and it suggests formatting in Microsoft Word if you need to set them. In an eBook, you pick one of four themes, and you can give special text its own font, though readers then cannot change that text's font on their device. In Inkbound you choose from 24 body and 22 heading typefaces, text from 9 to 18 pt and line spacing from 1.2 to 1.9.

Does Kindle Create make book covers?

No. KDP lists cover formatting as unsupported in Kindle Create, and you upload the cover to KDP as a separate file. KDP's Cover Creator, inside your KDP account, can build one from templates. Inkbound's Cover lab builds the full wrap, with the back, spine and front in one print PDF sized from your page count and paper, plus the eBook cover. See KDP cover design in Inkbound.

Does Kindle Create work on an Apple Silicon Mac?

KDP's system requirements list Apple M1 Macs with macOS 11 or later, as well as Intel Macs with OSX 10.15 or later and Windows 10 or later. Check KDP's Getting Started with Kindle Create page for the current list before you download. Inkbound runs only on Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 12 or later. See which computers Inkbound runs on.

Can I use a Kindle Create file outside Amazon?

Not the KPF file, which is made for publishing on KDP, and Amazon lists publishing outside Kindle as unsupported. For reflowable books, Kindle Create can also export an EPUB, though KDP says EPUB does not carry every Kindle feature, such as image bleeds and chapter start images. Inkbound's EPUB 3 is made for Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo and Google Play.

Can I bring my Kindle Create book into Inkbound?

Yes, through your original Word file. Inkbound opens Word (.docx) manuscripts, not Kindle Create's KCB or KPF files, and Amazon does not keep copies of Kindle Create files. Import the .docx and Inkbound splits it into chapters at your headings. Then pick a Look, build the cover wrap and export for KDP.

How much does Inkbound cost compared with Kindle Create?

Inkbound is a paid app: $1 for your first 7 days, then $14.99 a month until you cancel, or $129 once for Lifetime. Lifetime includes every future version, for as long as we offer Inkbound. The $1 week includes everything except downloading finished publishing files, which unlock with your first $14.99 month or with Lifetime. AI credits are separate, pay as you go, from $9.99. Kindle Create costs nothing: Amazon offers it as a download for PC and Mac. Inkbound is available in the US. See Inkbound pricing.

The whole book, in one app. From November 21.

Opens November 21

macOS 12+ · Apple Silicon · $1 first week, then $14.99/mo