Vellum

What Vellum does

Vellum is a Mac-only desktop application for formatting ebooks and print books, built and operated by parent company 180g out of Long Island City, NY. Its core technology is a native macOS application backed by a proprietary book formatting engine that automatically handles typesetting tasks (margins, page numbering, widow/orphan handling, spread-balancing) and generates optimized output files for Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and print-on-demand services like KDP and IngramSpark. The platform integrates with BookFunnel for ARC distribution, MacinCloud for Windows users, and supports accessibility (ACE-approved output, EPUB 3/2 validation). Optional Apple Intelligence Writing Tools (Proofread and Rewrite) were added via Apple's Private Cloud Compute, representing a thin AI layer on top of a deterministic product.

The company sells to self-published authors under a product-led growth model with no sales team. Authors download Vellum for free, import manuscripts, preview their book, and only purchase a license when ready to publish. Two tiers are offered: Vellum Ebooks at $199.99 (ebook-only) and Vellum Press at $249.99 (ebook + paperback/hardcover), both as perpetual one-time licenses with unlimited book creation and free lifetime updates. Upsells from Ebooks to Press run at $69.99. Distribution is entirely direct-to-consumer via vellum.pub, the in-app purchase flow, and store.vellum.pub. Marketing is primarily content-driven (blog, help docs, organic social) supplemented by Facebook and Google paid acquisition.

Vellum has operated since 2012 with 11-50 employees and serves a long-tail base of self-published fiction writers across genres (romance, fantasy, thriller, YA, etc.). The customer mix is entirely SMB/individual, with no enterprise tier. Revenue, funding history, and headcount trends are not publicly disclosed, and the company appears to operate as a bootstrapped, profitable lifestyle business under the 180g parent entity.

Name

Vellum

Legal name

Vellum (registered trademark of 180g)

Website

https://vellum.pub

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Vellum is a Mac-only desktop application (by 180g) that formats ebooks and print books for self-published authors. Sold as perpetual one-time licenses ($199.99 Ebooks / $249.99 Press), it generates store-optimized files for Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, and IngramSpark.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Desktop Publishing Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Software Publishers (5132), Other Publishers (51319)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Publishing Creation & Formatting Tools (EPUB, conversion, layout) (MPAJAMAG)

Keywords

• Book formatting software
• Ebook creation tools
• Self-publishing software
• Desktop publishing software
• Mac publishing application

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Island City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software License Sales: One-time purchase model where customers buy a perpetual license for either Vellum Press (ebook + print) or Vellum Ebooks (ebook only). No subscription or recurring fees. Free updates included with purchase.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Vellum is a native macOS desktop application that formats and generates professional ebooks (EPUB 3/EPUB 2/MOBI) and print-ready PDFs for self-published authors. It automates margin setup, page numbering, widow/orphan handling, and spread-balancing, and produces store-specific files for Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, plus print-ready PDFs for Amazon KDP and IngramSpark.

Product overview

Vellum is a single desktop application for macOS that provides professional book formatting for authors. The product is offered in two tiers: Vellum Press ($249.99) enables unlimited ebook and print creation (paperback and hardcover), while Vellum Ebooks ($199.99) is ebook-only and can be upgraded to Press for $69.99. A free download tier allows authors to explore the interface and preview books before purchasing. All tiers include free lifetime updates. The software handles ebook generation for major platforms (Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble), print-ready PDF output, automatic layout features, and extensive styling options including accessible styles, backgrounds, and borders. No subscription is required—purchases are one-time with perpetual access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vellum Press Desktop publishing software for Mac that lets authors create unlimited ebooks and print editions (paperback and hardcover), including all styling, formatting, and generation capabilities. Sold as a one-time $249.99 purchase with free lifetime updates.

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of books published

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Atticus: Atticus is a cross-platform (Windows/Mac) book writing and formatting tool that directly competes with Vellum by offering one-time-purchase ebook and print formatting for self-published authors. It is the closest comparable in product, pricing model, and target customer.
• Scrivener: Scrivener is a long-established writing and manuscript organization tool with one-time licensing that helps authors compile and export manuscripts for ebook and print. It overlaps with Vellum on the authoring-to-formatting workflow for indie and professional authors.

Emerging players

• Reedsy: Reedsy offers a free web-based book editor and formatting tool that produces EPUB and print-ready PDFs for self-published authors. It competes on the formatting step of the indie author workflow that Vellum dominates.
• Draft2Digital: Draft2Digital is an ebook aggregator and formatter that helps indie authors convert manuscripts and distribute to multiple stores. It overlaps with Vellum on multi-store ebook generation and is frequently used alongside it.
• Book Brush: Book Brush is a marketing tool suite for authors offering 3D book mockups, ads, and now formatting/cover tools. It targets the same self-published author segment with an expanding product surface that intersects Vellum's workflow.
• Calibre: Calibre is a free, open-source ebook management and conversion tool widely used by indie authors as a low-cost alternative to Vellum for EPUB conversion and editing. It represents the free-tier competitive floor.
• Sudowrite: Sudowrite is an AI-powered fiction writing assistant that is expanding into formatting and drafting workflows. It competes with Vellum's newer Apple Intelligence features for the AI-assisted authoring mindshare of fiction authors.

Broad incumbents

• Adobe InDesign: Adobe InDesign is the professional desktop publishing standard used by trade publishers and designers for book layout. It serves the same end outcome as Vellum Press but with a much higher learning curve and subscription pricing.
• BookBaby: BookBaby is a self-publishing services company offering book formatting, design, printing, and distribution. It overlaps with Vellum Press on the print formatting step but operates as a paid service rather than DIY software.
• Apple Pages: Apple Pages is a free word processor bundled with macOS that some authors use as a baseline for manuscript creation and basic ebook export. It is the most accessible but least specialized alternative to Vellum on the Mac platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/vellum180g
• Instagraminstagram.com/vellum180g
• Xx.com/vellum180g

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vellum