Vellum on Windows: Your Actual Options
There's no Windows version of Vellum, and there isn't going to be one. If you're on Windows, you can rent a Mac in the cloud, buy a second-hand Mac mini just for formatting, or use a tool that runs in the browser, like Atticus, Reedsy Studio or Galley. Which one makes sense depends on whether you want Vellum's look specifically or just a well-made book.
If youâve asked a self-publishing group how to format a novel, someone has told you to use Vellum. And then you went to the website and found out it only runs on a Mac.
Vellum is good. Its themes look lovely, the files it makes are clean, and a lot of the best-looking indie interiors youâve seen came out of it. It costs $199.99 for ebooks only or $249.99 with print, once. But its makers have said there wonât be a Windows version, so if youâre on a PC, these are your choices.
Option one: rent a Mac in the cloud
Services like MacinCloud rent you a remote Mac by the hour or the month. You connect from your Windows machine, install Vellum on the remote Mac, and format your book there.
It works, and people do it. The downsides are that youâre paying twice (the rental and the Vellum licence), the remote desktop can be laggy, and you have to move your files back and forth. It also tends to happen at the very end of the book, which is exactly when youâll want to make lots of small changes. If you only publish one book every year or two, it can still be the cheapest way to get Vellumâs look.
Option two: buy a second-hand Mac
A used Mac mini that can run a current macOS isnât expensive, and some authors buy one purely to run Vellum. Add the Vellum licence, and itâs a few hundred dollars more than any of the other options, but you own both and thereâs no lag.
Check the macOS version Vellum needs before you buy. An old Mac that canât update far enough wonât run it.
Option three: a tool that isnât tied to a computer
The other route is a formatting tool that runs in the browser, so it doesnât care whatâs underneath.
- Atticus (about $147 once) is the closest thing to âVellum for everyoneâ. It writes and formats in one place and has themes. Thereâs a full comparison if youâre deciding between it and Galley.
- Reedsy Studio is free and formats a clean, simple book. Fewer design options, but no cost. Comparison here.
- Galley (âŹ199 once) is the one I build. You write on the formatted page from the start, at your trim size and in your typeface, so thereâs no separate formatting step at the end. It runs in the browser on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Word can do it too, with a template and a lot of patience. Thereâs a post on formatting a paperback for KDP if you want to try.
So which one?
If youâve seen Vellum interiors and you want that specific look, rent or buy a Mac. Nothing else is quite the same, and thatâs fair to say.
If what you want is a well-made book that KDP accepts first time, you donât need Vellum and you donât need a Mac. Pick a tool that runs on what youâve got, and use the money for a cover designer.
How Galley does it
Galleyâs print PDF has mirrored margins and a proper gutter sized to your trim, and the EPUB is a valid EPUB 3 with your cover, plus versions set up for Kindle, Kobo and Apple Books. There are six trim sizes and 35 typefaces, five chapter opening styles, four scene breaks and your own ornaments if you have them. Thatâs fewer themes than Vellum, and itâs not trying to match Vellumâs decorative styles. What it adds is the writing: the story bible, the revision checks and version history, in the same place as the layout. The Vellum comparison goes through it line by line, and the export docs list every file.
More on guides
- The Best Book Writing Software for Self-Publishing Novelists (2026)A no-hype guide to the writing tools novelists actually use (Scrivener, Vellum, Atticus, Ulysses, Dabble, Reedsy, and Galley), sorted by what you need each one to do.
- Book Writing Software Without a SubscriptionEvery serious book writing and formatting tool you can buy once instead of renting, what each one costs, and the subscription tools that also sell a lifetime licence.
- How to Back Up a Novel ProperlyWhy a single copy in the cloud isn't a backup, the 3-2-1 rule in plain terms for a novelist, and the formats your manuscript should be saved in so you can open it in twenty years.