Vellum software costs $199.99 for Vellum Ebooks or $249.99 for Vellum Press, as of October 2026, in US dollars before tax. Both are a one-time purchase with free updates, not a subscription. Ebooks formats ebooks only. Press adds print editions. The download is free, but it can't generate publishing files until you buy.
Every fact on this page comes from Vellum's own site (vellum.pub, the Vellum Store and Vellum Help), read on 2026-10-20. Vellum is made by 180g and runs only on a Mac.
What do Vellum Ebooks and Vellum Press include?
Vellum sells two tiers. The store lists them like this:
| Tier | Price (as of October 2026) | Vellum's description |
|---|---|---|
| Vellum Ebooks | $199.99 | "Create Unlimited Ebooks" |
| Vellum Press | $249.99 | "Create Unlimited Ebooks + Paperbacks" |
The store adds: "Price does not include tax".
Vellum Help states the difference in one line each. "Vellum Ebooks allows you to format your book in ebook form only." "With Vellum Press, you can also create a print edition, which you can have printed as a paperback or hardcover."
The print features that Press unlocks are listed on vellum.pub: "24 Trim Sizes + Large Print", "Paperback or Hardcover", "Full-Bleed Pages & Backgrounds" and "Professional-Grade PDF/X-1a". That last point matters for print: Amazon KDP's own file guidance says "PDF/X-1a is preferred". The full print workflow is in KDP's print file requirements.
Both tiers share the same licence limits, from Vellum's Purchasing FAQ:
- Books: no limit. "Create as many books as you can write."
- Pen names: no limit.
- Other authors: you can format books for other authors, though Vellum won't support authors who are not its customers.
- Computers: "You can use Restore to install your license on an additional computer."
- Sharing: "A license is tied to an individual, and cannot be shared with others."
Is Vellum a one-time purchase or a subscription?
Vellum is a one-time purchase. Its Purchasing FAQ answers the question directly: "It's a one-time purchase."
Updates are free. Vellum's exact words are "Updates to Vellum are free. In the future, we may introduce new, optional functionality available for an additional purchase. But you will not need to pay for updated versions of the software."
Free updates have one practical limit: the Mac they run on. Current versions "require macOS 13 (Ventura) or newer". Vellum Help lists the last version each older macOS can run: Vellum 3.9.3 on macOS 12, 3.7.5 on macOS 11, and 3.5.4 on macOS 10.15. A Mac that can't update past macOS 12 stays on Vellum 3.9.3. The current version is 4.1.7, released October 15, 2026, according to the Vellum Blog.
How do you upgrade from Vellum Ebooks to Vellum Press?
There are two upgrade paths, and the timing decides the cost.
- Within 30 days of buying Ebooks: "please contact us and we can make an exchange for the difference in price." The difference between the two list prices is $50.00.
- After 30 days: "you can upgrade from Vellum Ebooks to Vellum Press for $69.99 USD." The upgrade is in the app: open the Vellum menu, select Purchases, then press Upgrade.
Buying Ebooks and upgrading later costs $269.98 in total, which is $19.99 more than buying Press at the start. If a print edition is in your plans, the 30-day window is the time to decide.
Vellum also notes that "Individual ebook credits were discontinued in 2017 and are no longer available." Owners of old credits can upgrade to either tier from the same Purchases menu.
What is Vellum's refund policy?
Vellum offers refunds for 30 days. The Purchasing FAQ says: "if you do purchase a license and find that Vellum isn't right for you, you can cancel your purchase within 30 days for a refund. Please contact us if that's what you decide."
Vellum points out that the free download is the main way to evaluate it: "Because Vellum is free to download, you should be able evaluate how Vellum works for your book without making a purchase."
Is Vellum free to try?
The Vellum download is free and has no time limit. Vellum Help says "you can use Vellum for as long as you need. You just won't be able to Generate files for publishing until you make a purchase." You can import a manuscript, apply styles and preview the book, but you can't produce the EPUB or PDF you upload.
Does Vellum software ever go on sale?
Vellum publishes no sale, discount or coupon policy. As of 2026-10-20, vellum.pub, the Vellum Store, the Purchasing FAQ, the Vellum FAQ and a search of the Vellum Blog mention no sale, no Black Friday price and no promo code. The Purchasing FAQ also mentions no education discount.
That is a statement about what Vellum has published, not a claim that a sale has never happened. Coupon sites and forum posts are not Vellum's statements, so this page doesn't repeat them. The store page, at store.vellum.pub, is the place to see the current price.
Why is Vellum so expensive?
Vellum doesn't publish a reason for its price. What its own pages say the price buys is this:
- unlimited books and unlimited pen names on one licence
- the right to format books for other authors
- free updates, with no subscription
- store-specific ebook files for Kindle, Apple Books and Kobo, plus a Generic EPUB
- on Press, print PDFs in PDF/X-1a at 24 trim sizes plus large print
Spread over many books, a one-time price falls per title. Spread over one book, it doesn't. Printing is a separate cost, paid to the printer, not to Vellum. Vellum Help says print pricing "will depend on the print-on-demand service you use" and points to KDP's printing costs. On Amazon.com, KDP charges a black-ink paperback of 110 to 828 pages at a regular trim size "1.00 USD per book" plus "0.012 USD per page" (as of October 2026). A 300-page paperback costs $4.60 to print per copy on those numbers.
What does Vellum cost over three years?
A one-time price looks the same in year one and year three, so the useful comparison is between Vellum's own paths and the tools people pair it with or weigh against it. List prices as of October 2026, US dollars, before tax.
| Path | Year 1 | Years 2 and 3 | Total over 3 years | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vellum Ebooks | $199.99 | $0 | $199.99 | $66.66 |
| Vellum Press | $249.99 | $0 | $249.99 | $83.33 |
| Vellum Ebooks, exchanged for Press within 30 days | $249.99 | $0 | $249.99 | $83.33 |
| Vellum Ebooks, upgraded to Press after 30 days | $199.99 | $69.99 | $269.98 | $89.99 |
| Scrivener (Mac) to write, plus Vellum Press to format | $309.98 | $0 | $309.98 | $103.33 |
| Atticus (writing and formatting, one-time) | $147.00 | $0 | $147.00 | $49.00 |
| Deckle (writing and formatting, one-time) | see the free demo | $0 | one-time | n/a |
Three things this table leaves out, because they depend on you:
- A Mac. Vellum needs macOS 13 or newer. For Windows users, Vellum Help suggests "renting a Mac 'in the cloud'", which is its own running cost.
- Printing. Paid per copy to KDP, IngramSpark or another printer.
- A writing app. Vellum formats a finished manuscript. Most authors draft elsewhere, which is why the Scrivener row is there. Scrivener vs Vellum covers that pairing.
Atticus is compared tier by tier in Atticus vs Vellum, and the wider field is in Vellum alternatives. For Windows, see Vellum alternatives for Windows.
Paying once for writing and formatting
Deckle is our app, so weigh this section accordingly.
Deckle is a one-time purchase that covers both drafting and formatting, on Windows, macOS and Linux. It exports EPUB (Generic, Kindle, Apple Books and Kobo targets), a print PDF and DOCX. The print PDF is made with Typst, an open-source document system, and it is a standard PDF, not PDF/X-1a. Deckle has 8 trim sizes against Vellum's 24.
One EPUB for every store, or one for each The head-to-head is in Vellum vs Deckle.
To try it, click Take Deckle for a Spin on the screen Deckle opens to. There is no card, no account and no time limit. It opens a sample novel with every screen open to explore, and you can restyle it and export real EPUB, PDF and DOCX files. New writing is capped at about 500 words, and new documents and imports are blocked.
Common mistakes when buying Vellum
- Buying Ebooks when a paperback is planned. Upgrading after 30 days costs $19.99 more than buying Press outright.
- Missing the 30-day window. Both the refund and the price-difference exchange are 30-day offers.
- Checking the Mac last. Vellum needs macOS 13 or newer for current versions. An older Mac is capped at an older Vellum.
- Forgetting tax. The listed price "does not include tax".
- Expecting the free download to produce files. It previews; it doesn't generate.
FAQ
How much is Vellum?
Vellum Ebooks is $199.99 and Vellum Press is $249.99, as of October 2026, before tax. Each is a one-time purchase.
Is Vellum a subscription?
No. Vellum says "It's a one-time purchase", and updates are free.
Does Vellum ever go on sale?
Vellum's own pages publish no sale, discount or coupon policy as of October 2026. Check store.vellum.pub for the current price.
Can I upgrade from Vellum Ebooks to Vellum Press?
Yes. Within 30 days Vellum exchanges it for the difference in price. After 30 days the upgrade costs $69.99 from the Vellum menu, under Purchases.
Does Vellum have a refund policy?
Yes. You can cancel your purchase within 30 days for a refund by contacting Vellum.
Is Vellum free?
The download is free with no time limit. You can't generate files for publishing until you buy a licence.
Can I use Vellum on two computers?
Yes. Vellum's Restore feature installs your licence on an additional computer. The licence can't be shared with another person.
Is there a Vellum education discount?
Vellum's Purchasing FAQ mentions none.
Sources
All retrieved 2026-10-20.
- Vellum, 180g (tier prices, print features, macOS 13 requirement)
- Vellum Store, 180g (tier prices, "Price does not include tax")
- Purchasing FAQ, Vellum Help (one-time purchase, free updates, refund, upgrade paths, licence limits, trial, ebook credits, cloud Mac)
- Updating Vellum, Vellum Help (macOS 13 requirement, last version per older macOS)
- Vellum Blog, 180g (Vellum 4.1.7, October 15, 2026; no sale posts found by blog search)
- Vellum FAQ, 180g (no pricing or sale questions)
- Save Your Manuscript File, Amazon KDP Help (PDF/X-1a preferred)
- Paperback Printing Cost, Amazon KDP Help (fixed and per-page print costs)
- Scrivener store, Literature & Latte (Scrivener price)
- Atticus, Atticus (price)
- Typst, Typst (the open-source document system Deckle builds its print PDF with)
Vellum is a registered trademark of 180g. Scrivener is a trademark of Literature & Latte. Kindle and KDP are trademarks of Amazon. Other product names belong to their owners. Deckle is not affiliated with or endorsed by any product named here.