---
title: "Galley as an Atticus alternative for novelists"
description: "Atticus and Galley are both one-time-purchase, browser-based tools that write and format books. The factual differences: price, fiction-specific depth, formatting themes, and audience."
source: https://usegalley.com/compare/atticus
---
# Galley as an *Atticus* alternative

Last reviewed July 2026

**The facts first:** Both are one-time-purchase, browser-based tools
that write and format books, the same category, honestly stated. Atticus costs about
$147 and serves fiction and non-fiction with a formatting-theme library, story-element
profiles, writing goals, and a timeline view. Galley costs €199 and serves novels
only, trading theme variety for fiction depth: drafting on the true trim page,
self-building glossary and reference pages, name-consistency and overused-word
analysis, watermarked beta drafts, and a submission package.

Atticus, built by the Kindlepreneur team, broke the "write here, format there" split
years ago and keeps shipping: its public updates list page-flip EPUB preview, draft mode,
full-book view, and a dark theme among recent releases. It has profiles for characters,
locations, and objects (with images), goal tracking, and a visualization of where
characters appear across the book. If you also publish non-fiction, its theme library
and wider audience work in your favour.

Galley narrows to novels and spends the difference. The editor doesn't preview the
book. It *is* the book, at your chosen trim and typeface, while you draft. The
story bible extends into the manuscript itself: glossary and reference terms highlight
in the prose and assemble their own numbered back-matter pages at export. Revision adds
the checks tired eyes miss, and the export menu covers the working copies novelists
actually send: watermarked beta drafts, a proofreading PDF, an agent package.

| Feature | Galley | Atticus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price (one-time) | €199 | ~$147 |
| Platforms | Web | Web / PWA |
| Write + format in one tool | Yes | Yes |
| Audience | Novelists only | Fiction and non-fiction |
| Draft directly on the trim-size page | Yes | Editor + book preview |
| Formatting theme library | No, set conventions + your own ornaments | Yes |
| Character / location profiles | Yes, plus timeline & world notes | Yes, with images |
| Auto-numbered references & glossary back matter | Yes | Not published as a feature |
| Name consistency & overused words | Yes | Not published as a feature |
| Watermarked beta-reader drafts | Yes, per reader | Not published as a feature |
| Agent submission package | Yes | Not published as a feature |
| Writing goals & tracking | Yes, per book | Yes |
| Book preview | Print PDF + e-reader reflow | EPUB page-flip preview |
| Exports | Print PDF, EPUB 3, DOCX, Markdown | Print PDF, EPUB, DOCX |

## Where the two genuinely differ

Atticus and Galley agree on the big idea, write and format in one browser tool you buy
once, so the honest comparison lives in the details. Atticus is the broader product: it
serves non-fiction as well as novels, ships a library of formatting themes, keeps
character, location, and object profiles that hold images, and has years of releases and a
large community behind it. If any of those describe your situation, it's a strong,
well-supported choice, and its price is lower.

Galley spends its narrower focus on fiction machinery Atticus doesn't publish: a
glossary and a references system that highlight terms in your prose and then assemble their
own numbered back-matter pages at export; name-consistency and overused-word checks;
watermarked per-reader beta drafts; and an agent submission package in standard manuscript
format. And instead of an editor with a book preview beside it, the page you type on is the
trim-size book itself.

Neither is a trick played on the other. This is the one comparison where both tools
are aiming at the same target. If theme variety and breadth win, Atticus; if fiction depth
and drafting on the real page win, Galley.

## Choose Atticus if…

- Price decides it, or you publish non-fiction alongside fiction
- You want a formatting-theme library rather than convention-set interiors
- An established community and long public track record matter to you

## Choose Galley if…

- You write novels specifically and want the fiction-only depth
- Drafting on the real page, not previewing it, is how you want to work
- The revision analytics and reader-facing exports would otherwise be separate tools

## Common questions

What does Atticus have that Galley doesn’t? A lower price (~$147 vs €199), a library of formatting themes, story-element profiles that hold images, an established community, and a broader audience including non-fiction. Its updates page shows steady releases, including an EPUB page-flip preview and dark mode.

What does Galley have that Atticus doesn’t? Drafting directly on the trim-size page rather than in an editor with a separate preview, glossary and reference pages that assemble and number themselves in the back matter, name-consistency and overused-word analysis, watermarked per-reader beta drafts, and an agent submission package generator.

Can I import my Atticus manuscript? Export it as.docx from Atticus and import it into Galley, and chapters split automatically on headings.

Atticus details from atticus.io (including its public updates page)
and independent reviews, checked July 2026. "Not published as a feature" means exactly
that. Atticus ships often, so verify current features on their site, and email me if
this table has drifted. Corrections outrank marketing.

Two honest tools in the same category. Here's mine.

[Launch Galley](https://app.usegalley.com)