Manutius vs Vellum
The short version
Choose Manutius if you are still writing, or revising, and you want to see the real pages while you do it: where the chapter ends, what the spread looks like, how long the book is. Manutius also designs the print cover with the spine worked out from the page count, keeps chapter versions, has offline proofing and read-aloud, and can talk to Claude. Vellum does none of those.
Choose Vellum if your manuscript is finished, you want a polished ebook and print interior in an afternoon with very little decision-making, and you want the widest choice of trim sizes and styles. Vellum has been doing this for years and its output is reliably good.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Manutius | Vellum |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Mac | Mac |
| What it is for | Writing the book on typeset pages, then exporting | Formatting a finished manuscript |
| Price | $199 once (lifetime), or $15 / month, $99 / year. One license, three Macs | $199.99 once (ebooks only), $249.99 once (ebooks and print) |
| Free trial | 14 days, everything included | Unlimited time, but no export until purchased |
| Write in it | Yesthe pages are the editor | You can edit text, but it is built around importing a manuscript |
| See the printed page while writing | Yesevery page, as it will print | Live preview beside the text |
| Print PDF | Yesexact trim, fonts embedded | YesPDF/X-1a |
| Trim sizes | 7: 5×8, 5.06×7.81, 5.25×8, 5.5×8.5, 6×9, 6.14×9.21, 7×10 | 24, including mass-market and A-series sizes |
| Large print | Yesone-click preset | Yeslarge-print variants of most sizes |
| Hardcover interior | Yes | Yes |
| EPUB | YesEPUB 3 with fallback navigation | YesEPUB 3 and EPUB 2, accessibility-checked |
| Print cover with spine | Yespaperback and KDP hardcover wrap, computed from the page count | Noprint covers are uploaded to the printer, not made in Vellum |
| Ebook cover | YesJPG from the same design | You add an image you made elsewhere |
| Word import | Yessplit into chapters on headings | Yesincluding notes and images |
| Word export | Yesmanuscript format with notes and comments | No |
| Footnotes and endnotes | Yespage-bottom footnotes, chapter or book endnotes | Yesfootnotes and endnotes, pop-ups in ebooks |
| Chapter versions and comments | Yes | No |
| Spelling and grammar, read-aloud | Yesoffline | No |
| Plan, cast, word goals | Yes | No |
| AI | Optional Claude panel and Claude Code tools; off unless you turn it on | No |
| Works offline | Yes | Yes |
Vellum facts from vellum.pub, store.vellum.pub and help.vellum.pub, checked 27 September 2026. Tell us if something has changed.
Where Manutius is better
The writing. Vellum is a place a manuscript goes at the end. Manutius is where it lives: the pages you type on are the pages that print, so you always know the length, the shape of the chapter, what the spread looks like. That changes how you revise. Around that are the things a writing tool needs and a formatting tool does not: versions of every chapter with word-by-word comparison, comments to yourself, a plan panel with goals and cast, offline proofing, a voice that reads the chapter back. And when it is done, the cover comes out of the same file with the spine already right.
Where Vellum is better
Range. Twenty-four trim sizes against seven, a library of named styles with matching ornaments and chapter openers, and years of refinement in the EPUB it writes, including accessibility conformance. If you publish many books in a series and want them identical, Vellum's styles make that trivial. It is also the tool most cover designers and editors already know.
Questions
Is Manutius a Vellum alternative?
For a Mac writer who wants a print PDF and an EPUB from one file, yes. The difference is when the formatting happens: Vellum formats a manuscript you have finished elsewhere, and Manutius is where you write it, with the pages already typeset. Manutius also builds the print cover, which Vellum leaves to the printer.
Which is cheaper, Vellum or Manutius?
Vellum Press, the version that makes print books, is $249.99 once. Manutius is $199 once for a lifetime license, or $15 a month or $99 a year if you would rather not commit. Both offer a free trial: Vellum lets you try everything but export, Manutius gives 14 days of the full app.
Can I use both?
Yes. Manutius exports a Word document in manuscript format, which Vellum imports. Some writers draft in Manutius for the page view and hand a final manuscript to a designer or to Vellum for house styles they already own.
Does Vellum work on Windows?
No. Vellum is Mac only, as is Manutius. If you need Windows, look at Atticus.