Draft2Digital vs Vellum (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Draft2Digital grades higher than Vellum: 2.0 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Draft2Digital grades higher on value for money and platforms. Vellum grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Draft2Digital
Ebook formatting and distribution to online retailers and libraries
Free plan · from $0
Vellum
Mac app for formatting ebooks and print books
Free trial · from $199.99 one-time
Which one is for you
Pick Draft2Digital if
- Fits if you want one upload to reach several ebook stores
- Works for an author who wants print on demand next to the ebook
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to publish for free: the activation fee is $20 and non-refundable
- Watch out: it keeps about 10% of each sale
- Tight if you sell little: accounts earning under $100 a year pay $12 a year
- Not for you if you need Amazon ebook pre-orders
- Watch out: a tax interview must be done before you can publish
Pick Vellum if
- Fits if you self-publish from a Mac and want to format your own books
- Works for authors with several titles, since one license covers unlimited books and pen names
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on Windows or an iPad, as it's Mac only and no native Windows version is planned
- Pricey if you only have one book to format, at $199.99 before tax for ebooks alone
- Not for you if an assistant does your formatting, because a license is tied to one person and can't be shared
- Watch out: adding print after 30 days costs $69.99, more than the $50 gap between the two prices
- Watch out: the free download can't generate any files to publish, and it needs macOS 13 or newer
How we grade them
| 2.0GPADraft2DigitalFair | 1.8GPAVellumWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$20 once to publish, plus about 10% of retail price on each sale. Under $100 a year in sales also brings a $12 yearly maintenance fee. | D$199.99 once for unlimited ebooks, or $249.99 with print, before tax. One-time prices in this category run from $4.99 to $199.99 with $19.99 in the middle, so this is the very top of them, and more than two years of the $8.33 monthly middle. Adding print later costs $69.99. |
| Free plan and trial | CSign-up, formatting tools and an ebook preview are free. Publishing to stores needs the $20 fee, and no trial is listed. | CNothing free gets a book published. But the download is free with no time limit for importing, styling and previewing, so you can see your whole book before paying. Generating the files needs a purchase. |
| Features | CConversion, wide distribution, print on demand, royalty reports, pre-orders and payment splitting. The listing says Amazon does not take ebook pre-orders through it. | CIt does the book-formatting job fully, and that's a smaller job than most of this category: import a .docx, get a title page and contents, apply a Book Style to every chapter, preview it on e-readers, then generate files for Kindle, Kobo and Apple Books, or a print PDF with Press. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You set up an account, a tax interview and your book details first. | BNo store rating on record, so we go on the listing: you import a manuscript, pick a style and watch the preview update with every edit, with nothing to configure first. Trying all of that is free, with no time limit. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, though it reaches many stores. No app is listed. | DMac only, on macOS 13 or newer, which is a single operating system. It doesn't run on iPad, the vendor says it has no plans for a native Windows version, and the listing shows no integrations. |
| Best for | publishing an ebook to many stores | formatting books for self-publishing on a Mac |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Draft2Digital and Vellum. How we grade
Where they differ
- Vellum can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Draft2Digital also covers reports, digital downloads and print on demand.
- Vellum also covers templates.
In commonLong-form writing
At a glance
| Draft2Digital | Vellum | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $0 to sign up; $20 one-time activation fee to publish | $199.99 one-time, before tax (Vellum Ebooks) |
| Free plan | Account signup, book formatting tools and ebook file preview are free; publishing to stores needs the one-time activation fee. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free download with no time limit for importing, styling and previewing. Generating files for publishing requires a purchase. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Made by | Draft2Digital | 180g |
| Price read from | draft2digital.com | vellum.pub |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Draft2Digital
- Draft2Digital keeps about 10% of the retail price of each sale as commission.
- Publishing needs a $20 non-refundable activation fee and a completed tax interview.
- A $12 yearly maintenance fee applies to accounts earning under $100 a year in sales.
- Ebook pre-orders are not supported through Amazon.
Vellum
- Mac only, on macOS 13 or newer. It does not run on iPad, and the vendor says it has no plans for a native Windows version.
- The free download cannot generate files for publishing; that step requires buying Vellum Ebooks or Vellum Press.
- Print editions need Vellum Press. Upgrading from Vellum Ebooks after 30 days costs $69.99, more than the $50 gap between the two prices.
- A license is tied to one individual and cannot be shared with a co-worker or assistant. Listed prices do not include tax.
Key features
Draft2Digital
- Manuscript conversion
- Upload a Word, RTF, OTF or TXT file and the service builds an ebook or print book using genre-based layout templates.
- Wide ebook distribution
- Choose which online storefronts and library platforms receive the ebook; each store is opt-in and can be dropped later.
- Print on demand
- D2D Print makes paperbacks available through Amazon and the channels served by Ingram, including Barnes and Noble.
- Sales and royalty reports
- Charts show which storefronts sell your books, units sold and projected royalties, with customizable views.
- Pre-orders and pricing
- Schedule ebook or print pre-orders up to a year ahead and change prices at any time; ebooks can be priced free at most stores.
- Payment splitting and account sharing
- Collaborative tools let royalties be split between co-authors and an account be shared with others.
Vellum
- Manuscript import
- Imports any .docx file, including ones made in Word, Scrivener or Pages, and builds the book's structure with a title page and table of contents.
- Book Styles
- A chosen style, with drop caps, embedded fonts and flourishes, is applied to every chapter, including ones added later. Custom ornaments and backgrounds can be added.
- Live preview
- Shows how the ebook will appear on a range of devices and how the print edition will look, updating with every edit.
- Ebook generation
- Generates files for Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books and other stores in EPUB 3 or EPUB 2, with image optimization and output the vendor describes as ACE-approved for accessibility.
- Print editions
- With Vellum Press, sets margins, page numbers, headers and footers for 24 trim sizes plus large print, handles widows and spread balancing, and outputs PDF/X-1a.
- Box sets and advance copies
- Combines a finished series into a box set in a few steps and produces advance reader copies for beta readers in EPUB and MOBI.
Plans
Draft2Digital
Account$0
Free signup with formatting and conversion tools; no charge until you activate the account to publish.
Activation$20
one-time, non-refundable, per account
Required to publish. A $12 annual maintenance fee applies only to accounts earning under $100 a year in sales.
Vellum
Vellum Ebooks$199.99
one-time purchase, before tax
Create unlimited ebooks for stores such as Kindle, Kobo and Apple Books. Does not include print editions.
Vellum Press$249.99
one-time purchase, before tax
Create unlimited ebooks plus print editions that can be printed as paperbacks or hardcovers.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Draft2Digital or Vellum?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Draft2Digital starts at $0 to sign up; $20 one-time activation fee to publish, and Vellum starts at $199.99 one-time, before tax (Vellum Ebooks).
Which has a free plan, Draft2Digital or Vellum?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Draft2Digital has a free plan. Vellum does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Draft2Digital and Vellum run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Draft2Digital lists a web app and only Vellum lists a macOS app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.