OpusWriter vs Vellum
Vellum set the standard for indie book formatting. Publish brings that work into the rest of your writing process.
Vellum’s focus is book formatting: import a finished manuscript, choose a style, make any final text changes, and generate ebook and print files. If one of its excellent built-in styles suits your book, the path from manuscript to professional-looking result is exceptionally short. OpusWriter’s Publish workspace covers that work inside the app where you planned, wrote, and edited the book, on Windows and Linux as well as Mac.
Vellum
$249.99 once
- Vellum Press, for print and ebook. Vellum Ebooks, $199.99, makes ebooks only.
- Mac only, macOS 13 or newer. Windows users can access it through a rented remote Mac.
- Free to download and use for as long as you like. You pay when you generate files. Updates are free.
OpusWriter
$129 once
- Windows, macOS, and Linux on one license, on up to three computers.
- Every version 1 update included. No subscription.
- 30 days free with every feature unlocked. 14-day refund after purchase.
Where Vellum is stronger
- The shortest path from a Word manuscript to a professional-looking book. If one of its built-in styles suits your book, very little setup is required.
- More than a decade of polish, and a format widely trusted by indie authors.
- Box sets. Combine a series into one ebook in a few clicks.
- Footnotes and endnotes, imported straight from Word. OpusWriter doesn’t have footnotes yet.
- Device previews that simulate a Kindle Paperwhite or Fire, and advance copies in EPUB and MOBI.
- Twenty-four standard print trim sizes plus six large-print presets.
- No time limit on trying it. Pay only when you export.
Where OpusWriter is stronger
- It runs on Windows and Linux. Vellum does not.
- No import step. The manuscript you drafted is the one you publish, and Styles chosen while writing carry into every edition.
- More kinds of output: paperback, hardcover, ebook, ARC, submission manuscript, critique copy, web page, and audiobook script, each with its own settings.
- A Shunn-style submission DOCX with a blind mode for contests and queries.
- Critique copies whose Word comments and tracked changes come back into Edit.
- Planning, drafting, and revision in the same file, for about half the price.
Side by side
Checked against Vellum 4.1 and OpusWriter 1.1 in September 2026. If something here is out of date, tell me and I’ll fix it.
| Feature | Vellum |
OpusWriter |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Mac only. Windows through a rented remote Mac. | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Manuscript workflow | Import a DOCX created by Word, Pages, Scrivener, or another app. Its text editor is well suited to corrections and shorter additions, and can also be used for longer drafting. | Written in the same project. Nothing to import or keep in sync. |
| Book designs | Dozens of built-in style options, configurable features, and reusable saved styles | 17 designs, 25 bundled font families, plus your own fonts |
| Typography controls | Drop caps, ornaments, embedded fonts, backgrounds, flourishes | Drop caps, small caps, ornaments, running heads, page numbers, HarfBuzz shaping, hyphenation |
| Print output | 24 trim sizes, large print, paperback and hardcover, PDF/X-1a, full bleed | 15 trim sizes covering every size KDP and IngramSpark print, in inches or millimeters, paperback and hardcover, mirrored margins, PDF/X-1a:2003 with ICC intent, automatic bleed |
| Ebook output | Validated EPUB for Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, and others | Reflowable EPUB 3 for Apple Books, Kobo, IngramSpark, and a Kindle/KDP version, checked before export |
| Preview | Simulated devices and print pages | Print preview built from the export’s own pagination, plus EPUB and DOCX previews |
| Box sets | Yes | Not yet |
| Footnotes and endnotes | Yes, imported from Word | Not yet |
| Advance and critique copies | ARCs in EPUB and MOBI | ARC edition, plus critique copies whose Word comments return to Edit |
| Submission manuscript | None | Shunn-style DOCX, US Letter or A4, with blind mode |
| Audiobook script | None | Narrator DOCX with chapter cues, pronunciation guide, and performance notes |
| Planning, drafting, and revision | No planning or dedicated revision workspace. Its text editor supports direct writing and manuscript changes. | Plan, Write, Edit, and Manage workspaces in the same file |
Prices in USD, from each product’s own website. Vellum is a trademark of 180g. Compare all tools.
Publish is part of the project, not a separate destination
Vellum is exceptionally good at the handoff it was built for. Import a prepared Word manuscript and, if one of its built-in designs suits your book, you can reach polished print and ebook files remarkably quickly. Its editor is useful for corrections and additions, and Vellum can reimport an updated Word file without removing the front and back matter you added there.
When you want something more individual, either formatter asks more of you. The difference is where that work happens. In OpusWriter the manuscript you drafted is the one you publish. Each format is its own edition with its own trim size, typography, and front matter, but they all read the same chapters. Fix a typo in Write and every edition has it fixed. Styles you applied while drafting, like a letter or a text message, keep their meaning and get their own look in each format.
Vellum’s Proof preview and OpusWriter’s print preview both match the final PDF. OpusWriter’s distinction isn’t preview fidelity. It’s that the preview, every edition, the manuscript, its plans, and its revisions all belong to the same project.
Which should you choose?
Vellum Press costs $249.99 and formats books. OpusWriter costs $129 and includes formatting alongside everything that comes before it.
Choose Vellum if
You write on a Mac, you need box sets or footnotes today, or you format books for other authors and want the tool your clients already know.
Choose OpusWriter if
You write on Windows or Linux, you want print and ebook editions without an import step, or you also need submission manuscripts, critique copies, and audiobook scripts from the same book.