What Are the Alternatives to Vellum for Formatting Books on PC?

Vellum alternatives for PC include Atticus, Affinity Publisher, Scrivener, Reedsy Studio, Sigil, and Kindle Create. Atticus is the closest feature-for-feature replacement at $147, while Affinity Publisher (now free through Canva) offers professional print layout tools comparable to Adobe InDesign. The right choice depends on whether you need print-ready PDFs, EPUB export, or both.

What Is Vellum and Why Do Authors Want Alternatives?

Vellum is book formatting software that produces polished print-ready PDFs and EPUB files from a single manuscript. It costs $249.99 for the combined ebook and print package (or $199.99 for ebook-only), and it runs exclusively on macOS. There is no Windows version, and the developer has stated there are no plans to build one.

What makes Vellum popular is its simplicity. Authors import a Word document, choose from eight built-in styles, and export a print-ready PDF and EPUB with one click. It automatically generates a table of contents, handles front and back matter, and applies consistent chapter headings with decorative ornaments. For authors who want professional output without learning page layout, Vellum set the standard.

The Mac-only limitation is the reason this question comes up constantly in self-publishing forums. Most of the alternatives below aim to replicate that same workflow (import, style, export) on Windows, though each makes different trade-offs between simplicity, control, and cost.

What Does Atticus Offer as a Direct Vellum Replacement?

Atticus is the closest direct alternative to Vellum and works on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chromebook. It costs $147 as a one-time purchase with lifetime updates and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Like Vellum, Atticus lets you import a Word document, apply a visual theme, and export both a print-ready PDF and an EPUB from the same file. It offers over 17 base templates with more than 1,200 unique combinations through its customization options, plus a theme builder for custom designs. You can add front and back matter pages (copyright, dedication, about the author) with a few clicks, and Atticus generates a linked table of contents automatically.

For print formatting specifically, Atticus exports PDF files that meet the specifications for both Amazon KDP and IngramSpark. You can set custom trim sizes, adjust margins, and control font size and line spacing for your interior. It also exports to DOCX if you need to hand a file to a professional formatter later. The one format Atticus does not support is MOBI, though that format is increasingly obsolete.

Atticus runs as a Progressive Web App, which means it works through a browser window but can also function offline. Your projects sync automatically when your internet connection is restored.

Can Affinity Publisher Format a Print Book for Free?

Affinity Publisher is a professional page layout application that now costs nothing. Canva acquired the developer (Serif) in 2024 and made the entire Affinity suite free in 2025. It runs on Windows, Mac, and iPad.

For print book formatting, Affinity Publisher is genuinely powerful. It supports master pages, linked text frames, paragraph and character styles, and exports print-ready PDFs in PDF/X-1a format with bleed, crop marks, and CMYK colour profiles at 300 DPI. These are the same capabilities that make Adobe InDesign the industry standard for professional book layout; the difference is that InDesign costs $22.99 per month while Affinity Publisher is free.

The trade-off is complexity and scope. Affinity Publisher is a general-purpose layout tool, not a book-specific formatter. There are no built-in book templates, no automatic table of contents generation tuned for novels, and no one-click chapter styling. You set up your page dimensions, margins, and master pages manually, then flow your text and apply styles yourself. Authors who are comfortable with layout software will find it extremely capable; authors who want a Vellum-style guided workflow will find it overwhelming.

The other significant limitation is that Affinity Publisher does not export EPUB files. It produces PDFs and raster image formats only. If you need an ebook alongside your print interior, you will need a second tool (such as Sigil or Calibre) to create the EPUB separately.

Does Scrivener Work for Print Book Formatting?

Scrivener is primarily a writing application, but its Compile feature can produce print-ready PDFs, EPUBs, MOBI files, and DOCX documents. It costs $49 on Windows or $59.99 on Mac as a one-time purchase, and offers a 30-day free trial with full functionality.

The Compile feature is where Scrivener handles formatting. You define a compile format that specifies fonts, margins, chapter headings, page size, and other layout details, then Scrivener applies those settings to your entire manuscript and exports the result. This means you can write and format in the same application without ever leaving Scrivener.

For print books, Scrivener can produce PDFs with custom trim sizes and margins that meet KDP and IngramSpark requirements. It also has the widest format support of any tool on this list: EPUB, PDF, MOBI, DOCX, RTF, and several others.

The learning curve is the main drawback. Scrivener’s Compile system is powerful but notoriously complex. Many authors use Scrivener for writing and then export to a different tool for final formatting. If you are willing to invest the time to learn Compile, it can handle both print and ebook output from a single project. If you are not, Scrivener’s formatting capabilities may go largely unused.

What Other Tools Can Format Books on a PC?

Reedsy Studio

Reedsy Studio is a free, web-based formatting tool that produces both print-ready PDFs and EPUB 3 files. It works in any browser on any operating system. You import a DOCX file, choose from its built-in templates, and export. For authors who want something close to the Vellum workflow at no cost, Reedsy Studio is worth evaluating. Optional premium plans ($4.99 to $7.99 per month) add features like real-time collaboration and advanced export options.

Kindle Create

Kindle Create is Amazon’s free desktop formatting tool for Windows and Mac. It exports to KPF (Kindle Package Format) and EPUB, both optimised for the Kindle ecosystem. It does not produce print-ready PDFs, which makes it unsuitable as a standalone tool for authors publishing print books. If you are publishing exclusively to Amazon and only need an ebook, Kindle Create is simple and effective. For print formatting, you will need another tool entirely.

Sigil

Sigil is a free, open-source EPUB editor available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. The current version (2.7.5, released March 2026) supports EPUB 2 and EPUB 3 with full code-level editing. Sigil is not a visual formatter in the way Vellum or Atticus is; it exposes the underlying HTML and CSS of an EPUB file directly. This makes it extremely powerful for authors or formatters who want precise control over their ebook structure, but it requires familiarity with HTML. Sigil does not produce print-ready PDFs. It is strictly an ebook tool.

How Do You Choose the Right Formatting Tool?

The decision comes down to three questions. First, do you need print-ready PDFs? If so, your realistic options are Atticus, Affinity Publisher, Scrivener, or Reedsy Studio. Kindle Create, Draft2Digital, and Sigil do not produce them.

Second, do you also need EPUB output from the same tool? Atticus, Scrivener, and Reedsy Studio handle both print and ebook from a single file. Affinity Publisher handles print only; you would need a separate tool for your ebook. This matters if you plan to publish on Apple Books, Kobo, or other non-Amazon retailers that require EPUB files.

Third, how much manual control do you want? Atticus and Reedsy Studio offer a guided, template-driven workflow similar to Vellum. Affinity Publisher and Scrivener offer deep control but require more setup. Sigil gives you code-level access to EPUB internals. The hallmarks of a professionally formatted book (consistent margins, proper font sizing, clean chapter openings) are achievable with any of these tools; the difference is how much of that work the software automates versus how much you configure yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you run Vellum on a Windows PC using a virtual machine?

Technically, some authors run macOS in a virtual machine on Windows hardware to access Vellum, but this violates Apple’s End User License Agreement unless you are running macOS on Apple hardware. It is also unreliable and unsupported by Vellum’s developer. A native PC alternative is a more practical solution.

Is Affinity Publisher really free now?

Yes. After Canva acquired Serif in 2024, the entire Affinity suite (Publisher, Designer, and Photo) was made free to download with a Canva account in 2025. There is no subscription and no feature gating; you get the full professional application at no cost.

Which Vellum alternative is best for someone who just wants the simplest workflow?

Atticus and Reedsy Studio both offer a guided, template-based workflow similar to Vellum’s approach: import your manuscript, pick a style, and export. Atticus costs $147 as a one-time purchase; Reedsy Studio’s core features are free. Both produce print-ready PDFs and EPUBs.

Do any of these tools support MOBI format?

Scrivener and Draft2Digital both export MOBI files. However, MOBI is being phased out; Amazon now accepts EPUB and KPF uploads, and most other retailers use EPUB exclusively. Unless you have a specific need for MOBI, EPUB is the current standard for ebook distribution.

Can you use Microsoft Word to format a print book instead?

Yes. Word can produce print-ready PDFs that KDP and IngramSpark accept. The challenge is that Word is not designed for book layout, so you need to manually configure trim size, mirrored margins, headers, and page numbering. It works, but it requires more effort and attention to detail than a dedicated book formatting tool.

Every tool on this list can produce a professional result with the right approach. The differences are in workflow, cost, and which output formats each tool supports natively. If your priority is print book formatting with minimal friction, Atticus and Reedsy Studio are the most direct Vellum alternatives on PC. If you want maximum layout control for print at no cost, Affinity Publisher is worth the steeper learning curve. And if you already write in Scrivener, its Compile feature may be all you need to avoid adding another tool to your workflow.