Amazon KDP vs Vellum Comparison 2026
Both cover self-publishing. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
Self-publish to Kindle and keep 70 percent
Typeset a book that looks professionally made
At a glance
- Only Amazon KDP has a free tier.
Side by side
Amazon KDP | Vellum | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | From $199.99 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free | One-time purchase |
| Free tier (they differ) | Yes | No |
| Billing (they differ) | Usage-based | One-time purchase |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | 30% of what you earn | Not stated |
| Runs on | Not stated | macOS |
| Covers | Self-Publishing, Digital Products & Storefronts | Self-Publishing |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
Amazon KDP
Self-publish to Kindle and keep 70 percent
Kindle Direct Publishing is the shortest route from a finished manuscript to a book somebody can buy, and the audience on the other side of it is the reason most self-published authors start here. Publishing costs nothing. The royalty band is the thing to read before setting a price, because it changes what you earn by half.
Our note
The price band is the decision, not the cover. Pricing at $14.99 instead of $12.99 cuts the royalty rate in half, and a lot of first books are priced into the wrong side of it by accident.
Only on this side
- Covers digital products & storefronts
Vellum
Typeset a book that looks professionally made
Vellum does one thing: it turns a finished manuscript into ebook and print files that look like a publisher made them, with chapter headings, drop caps and ornaments that are already correct rather than waiting to be designed. Authors buy it the week they realise their own formatting looks amateur next to what is on the shelf. It runs on macOS only, which is a genuine barrier and the single most common reason people end up elsewhere.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.