← The full comparison

Vellum for Windows or Chromebook? What to use instead

Vellum is a well-made formatting tool, and its print and ebook output is the benchmark a lot of indie authors hold everything else to. The catch is the computer it needs. Vellum's own help pages say it runs only on a Mac (macOS 13 or later), with no Windows version planned and no iPad version.¹

What Vellum does well

• Print: Vellum Press offers 24 trim sizes plus large print, PDF/X-1a output, automatic margins, page numbers and headers/footers.²
• Ebooks: validated EPUB 3/EPUB 2 files for Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books and more, with ACE-approved accessible output.²
• Typography: drop caps, embedded fonts, ornaments, and automatic widow/orphan prevention, spread balancing and hyphenation handling.³
• Previews and stores: Live Preview across devices, and store-specific files with upload guides for each store.⁴⁵

How StoriesDen differs

• It runs in any browser, so Windows and Chromebook are covered.
• It formats print-ready PDF (with trim sizes) and EPUB editions, with typography controls and device previews.
• Formatting is one stage, not the whole product. Vellum describes itself as a tool where you import a manuscript, then style, preview and generate books.² StoriesDen also covers planning, writing and revising before that, and publishing to ten storefronts step by step, launch planning and tracking what sold after it.
• Vellum's free download lets you build, style and preview with no time limit, but making publishable files requires a purchase.¹ StoriesDen has a real free plan.

Who should stay with Vellum: if you're on a Mac and only need formatting, it is hard to beat.