Vellum is the gold standard for book formatting — and it's Mac-only and costs $249.99 for ebook + print. If you write on Windows (or just don't want to spend $250 to format one novel), you have better options in 2026.
| Vellum | Atticus | ManuscriptToEpub | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $249.99 | $147 | Free (EPUB) / $19 once (print PDF) |
| Windows | No | Yes | Yes — any browser |
| Account required | No | Yes | No |
| Manuscript uploaded to a server | No | Yes | No — stays on your device |
| EPUB output | Yes | Yes | Yes (EPUB 3, KDP-ready) |
| Print PDF | Yes | Yes | Yes (Pro, 6×9) |
You drop your .docx manuscript onto the page. It detects your chapters (Heading 1 styles or “Chapter …” lines), preserves italics, bold, and scene breaks, and builds a clean EPUB 3 with a real table of contents — the format Amazon KDP recommends you upload. The conversion runs entirely in your browser: nothing is sent to any server, which matters when the file is your unpublished book.
Vellum has beautiful chapter-art themes, drop caps, and box sets. If you need heavy visual customization, Vellum on a borrowed Mac is still a fine choice. If you need a clean, professional, KDP-accepted ebook file today, without buying software or creating an account, that's what this tool is for. The one-time $19 Pro license adds a print-ready 6×9 PDF with justified text, running heads, and page numbers for paperback publishing.
*** on its own line for scene breaks.© 2026 ManuscriptToEpub · Home