Pressbooks vs Vellum (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pressbooks grades higher than Vellum: 2.2 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Pressbooks 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.
Pressbooks
Book publishing platform that exports EPUB, PDF and web books
Vellum
Mac app for formatting ebooks and print books
Which one is for you
Pick Pressbooks if
- Fits if you publish a book or textbook online and export files
- Works for one author who accepts paying per book
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you write several books, since each needs its own subscription
- Watch out: editing stops if the subscription lapses
- Watch out: there are no sales tools, and ISBNs are on you
- Tight if you add video, as media storage is 250 MB on Single Author
- Not for you if you want to run it yourself without managing a server
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
| 2.2GPAPressbooksFair | 1.8GPAVellumWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$12 a book a month, or $120 yearly, near the dearer quarter of writing tools. Collaboration is $40 a book a month. | 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 | CA free 7-day trial for each new book. No free plan, and the listing doesn't say if a card is needed. | 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 | CWriting, import, cloning, exports, web publishing, accessibility, H5P and themes. There are no sales tools, and storage is 250 MB on Single Author. | 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 a book, a theme and exports. | 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 | BA web platform with Google Docs, Hypothes.is and H5P. No desktop or phone 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 | writing and publishing a book on the web | 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: Pressbooks and Vellum. How we grade
Where they differ
- Pressbooks is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Vellum can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Vellum also covers templates.
At a glance
| Pressbooks | Vellum | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $12 per book / month ($120 billed yearly) | $199.99 one-time, before tax (Vellum Ebooks) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free 7-day trial for each new book | Free download with no time limit for importing, styling and previewing. Generating files for publishing requires a purchase. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Made by | Pressbooks | 180g |
| Price read from | dev.pressbooks.com | vellum.pub |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Pressbooks
- Each book needs its own subscription, and editing stops if the subscription lapses, though openly licensed books stay hosted.
- Media storage is 250 MB on Single Author and 1 GB on Collaboration, with large video expected to be embedded from elsewhere.
- There are no sales or monetization tools: you export files and sell them yourself, and ISBNs are your responsibility.
- Whole-organization use is sold separately as Enterprise Networks; hosting the open-source software yourself means managing a server and its updates.
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
Pressbooks
- Write, import and clone
- Write original content, import from sources such as Google Docs, or clone and adapt openly licensed books.
- Export formats
- Produces digital and print-ready PDFs, EPUB, XML, XHTML and Common Cartridge files.
- Web publishing
- Make all or part of a book public on the web and list it in the Pressbooks Directory.
- Accessibility
- The vendor says books can be published as fully accessible (WCAG 2.2 compliant) digital books.
- H5P and annotation
- Embed H5P quizzes and interactive activities on the Collaboration plan, and allow social annotation through Hypothes.is.
- Themes and custom CSS
- Choose from 20+ themes and add custom CSS to change how the web book, EPUB and PDF look.
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
Pressbooks
Single Author$12
per book / month, or $120 per year
One author, 250 MB of media storage, EPUB and PDF exports without watermarks, 20+ themes and custom CSS.
Collaboration$40
per book / month, or $400 per year
Unlimited collaborators, 1 GB of media storage, plus H5P quizzes and interactive activities.
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.
Ways to pay less
Pressbooks
- Annual discount
Yearly billing: $120 or $400 a year
The plans page lists Single Author at $12 a month or $120 a year, and Collaboration at $40 a month or $400 a year.
Vellum
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Pressbooks or Vellum?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pressbooks starts at $12 per book / month ($120 billed yearly), and Vellum starts at $199.99 one-time, before tax (Vellum Ebooks).
Which has a free plan, Pressbooks or Vellum?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Pressbooks nor Vellum has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Pressbooks and Vellum run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Pressbooks 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.