Vellum alternative for Mac · 2026

Inkbound vs Vellum. The whole book, or the last step?

Looking for a Vellum alternative on your Mac? Vellum has long been the Mac formatting standard, and its typesetting polish is real. But it is built for the last step, and your cover comes from somewhere else. Inkbound is the whole studio: you write it, format it, design the cover and export for Amazon KDP, all in one Mac app.

Opens October 22 See pricing

$1 for your first week, then $14.99 a month until you cancel. Or $129 once for Lifetime, for as long as we offer Inkbound. That is about half the price of Vellum Press at $249.99. Available in the US.

Inkbound vs Vellum, feature by feature.

Feature	Inkbound	Vellum
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.	$199.99 once for Vellum Ebooks, or $249.99 once for Vellum Press, which adds print. Vellum says updates are included.
Try before paying full price	$1 for your first 7 days. Finished-file downloads unlock with your first $14.99 month.	A no-cost download. Import, style and preview your book, then buy a license when you are ready to generate files.
System requirements	Mac only: Apple Silicon, macOS 12 or later. A Windows version is on the way.	Mac only: macOS 13 Ventura or newer. No Windows version.
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.	Yes Vellum says its Text Editor can take a whole novel from scratch, with search and replace across the book. Most of its tools are for formatting.
Print and ebook formatting	Yes 13 Looks, KDP trim sizes, custom paperback sizes from 4 × 6 in, and facing pages shown as they will print.	Yes The long-time standard for typesetting polish. Print files need a Vellum Press license.
Letters, notes and text messages	Yes Passage fonts set a letter, a text message or a clipping in its own typeface from the editor toolbar, carried into the print PDF.	Yes Text Conversations format texts between characters, and Written Notes set letters and notes, with a writing style for each character.
Cover design	Yes A Cover lab built on KDP's print specs: back, spine and front as one print PDF, with the bleed and spine built in, and a real 3D book.	No You add a finished ebook cover image. The print cover is a separate file you make elsewhere and upload to KDP.
AI writing help	Yes Six specialists in one chat, on pay-as-you-go AI credits. They suggest. You decide.	No
Story Bible	Yes Characters, a cast map and a world map, read by your AI staff. It finds the chapters where each character and place appears.	No
KDP listing check	Yes Publish checks the whole book and counts your listing against KDP's limits of 4,000 characters, 7 keywords and 3 categories.	None documented. Vellum makes the files you upload.
Export EPUB and print PDF	Yes EPUB 3 with its cover, interior PDF, print cover PDF and a Word file.	Yes Ebook files for Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books and more, plus a print PDF with Vellum Press.
Whole book in one project	Yes Manuscript, interior and cover share one project, so the page count, the spine and the files agree.	Partly Text and interior, yes. The print cover is a separate file made in another app.

Why Mac authors look for a Vellum alternative

Vellum is good at the job it was built for: turning a manuscript into clean ebook and print files. The reasons authors look past it sit around that job, not inside it.

The writing happens somewhere else. Vellum's Text Editor can hold a whole book, but Vellum is built around formatting, and many authors draft in Scrivener or Word, then import. That is two apps for one manuscript.
There is no cover tool. Vellum takes a finished ebook cover image, and the print cover is a separate file made elsewhere. The spine width depends on your final page count, so that file has to keep up with the interior. Inkbound has KDP cover design built in and sizes the full wrap from the same book.
There is no AI help. Vellum has no writing assistant. Inkbound has an AI writing staff of six, from a Co-Writer to a Line Editor and a Publishing Coach. Using them is up to you.
The price comes up front. Vellum Press is $249.99 before you generate a single print file. Inkbound starts at $1 for your first week, and Lifetime is $129 once.

One thing does not change: Inkbound is Mac only too. It needs an Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 12 or later, and a Windows version is on the way.

Vellum price vs Inkbound price

Vellum is a one-time purchase in two tiers. Inkbound starts with a $1 week, then you choose Monthly or a one-time Lifetime license.

Option	What you pay	What it covers
Vellum Ebooks	$199.99 once	Ebook files only
Vellum Press	$249.99 once	Ebook and print files
Scrivener for Mac plus Vellum Press	$309.98 once	Drafting in one app, formatting in another, and the cover made in a third
Inkbound Monthly	$1 for the first week, then $14.99/month	Writing, formatting, the cover wrap and export in one app
Inkbound Lifetime	$129 once	The same, with every future version, for as long as we offer Inkbound

If you start with Vellum Ebooks, Vellum says the upgrade to Press is $69.99. In Inkbound, finished-file downloads unlock with your first $14.99 month, not during the $1 week.

Monthly is the cheaper way in, not the cheaper way to stay. Your first week plus 17 months comes to $255.83, a little more than Vellum Press. If you plan to keep Inkbound, Lifetime at $129 costs less than either Vellum tier.

The AI staff is billed apart from any plan. Credits come in packs from $9.99, bought in the app when you want them, and every new account starts with 50. See Inkbound pricing for the full details.

The honest version

Vellum is not a bad choice, and for some books it is the better one.

Where Vellum honestly wins

Its typesetting is mature and polished, refined over many releases. Text Conversations lay out texts between characters in several styles, and Written Notes set letters in handwritten typefaces, with a different style for each character. If your manuscript is finished and your cover is already designed, Vellum has earned its reputation for that final pass.

You can also download Vellum at no cost, format and preview your whole book before you pay, and Vellum says you can cancel a purchase within 30 days for a refund. Inkbound payments are non-refundable, except where the law requires, so the $1 week is how you try it.

Pick Vellum if

Your manuscript is finished, your cover is already designed and you only need the interior.
You want Text Conversations or handwritten Written Notes laid out for you.
You want to format and preview the whole book before you pay anything.
You want a 30-day refund window after you buy.

Pick Inkbound if

You work on an Apple Silicon Mac and are still writing the book.
You want the full KDP cover wrap sized from your real page count, with a 3D book to check it.
You want an AI staff on hand when you are stuck, and a Story Bible it reads.
You would rather start for $1, or pay $129 once instead of $249.99.

Coming from Scrivener or Word?

You do not have to start over. If you are drafting in Scrivener, compile your project to a Word file (.docx) and import it into Inkbound. If you write in Word, import your manuscript directly. Already have a book in Vellum? Its File menu can export your text as a Word file, which imports the same way.

From there, interior formatting on Mac starts from KDP trim sizes, the Cover lab builds the wrap from your page count, and EPUB and print PDF export makes the files you upload to KDP. If you need Windows today, read Inkbound vs Atticus.

See full pricing How it works Cover design Inkbound vs Atticus Inkbound vs Scrivener

Vellum alternative questions, answered.

Can I write a book in Vellum?

You can. Vellum says its Text Editor works for anything from fixing a typo to writing a whole novel from scratch, and it has search and replace. Vellum is built around formatting, though, and many authors draft in Scrivener or Word, then import. It has no Story Bible, no AI help and no cover tool. Inkbound puts a writing studio, a Story Bible and an AI staff in the same app that formats the book.

How much does Vellum cost compared with Inkbound?

Vellum is a one-time purchase: $199.99 for Vellum Ebooks, or $249.99 for Vellum Press, which adds print. Inkbound is $1 for your first 7 days, then $14.99/month until you cancel, or $129 once for Lifetime, with every future version included for as long as we offer Inkbound. Inkbound's AI credits are separate, pay as you go, from $9.99. Inkbound is available in the US. See Inkbound pricing.

Can I try Vellum or Inkbound before paying full price?

Yes, in different ways. Vellum is a no-cost download: you can import, style and preview your book, then buy a license when you are ready to generate files, and Vellum says you can cancel a purchase within 30 days for a refund. Inkbound's first 7 days are $1. The $1 week includes everything except downloading finished files (print PDFs, EPUB, eBook cover and audiobook). Those unlock with your first $14.99 month, or right away if you choose Start my month now. Inkbound payments are non-refundable, except where the law requires.

Does Vellum design book covers?

No. In Vellum you add a finished ebook cover image, and the print cover is a separate file you make elsewhere and upload to KDP. Inkbound's Cover lab builds the full wrap (back, spine and front) from your book's page count and paper, and shows it as a 3D book. Our guide to KDP book cover size explains the spine math.

Does Vellum have AI writing help?

No. Vellum has no AI writing assistant. Inkbound has an AI staff of six specialists, from a Co-Writer to a Line Editor, who run on pay-as-you-go AI credits, and every new account includes 50 credits. They suggest and you decide. Using them is up to you.

Is there a Vellum alternative for Windows?

Not from us yet. Vellum is Mac only, and its own help suggests renting a Mac in the cloud to use it from a PC. Inkbound is Mac only too: it needs an Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 12 or later, and a Windows version is on the way. Atticus runs on Windows today, as well as Mac, Linux and Chromebook. Read Inkbound vs Atticus.

The whole book, in one app. From October 22.

Opens October 22

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