Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover self-publishing. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Atticus | Kobo Writing Life | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $147 | Free |
| Pricing model | One-time purchase | Free |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Billing | One-time purchase | Usage-based |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Everything, in an open format | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web, macOS, Windows, Linux | Web |
| Covers | Self-Publishing, Writing & Scripts | Self-Publishing |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Write and typeset a book for one payment
Atticus is a writing app and a book formatter in one, which is the pairing self-published authors otherwise buy twice. It runs in a browser and offline, so a manuscript is not stranded by a bad connection, and it exports files the retailers accept. One payment covers unlimited books and there is no subscription behind it.
Our note
The comparison people actually make is against Vellum, which costs more and is Mac only. If you are on Windows this is the answer by default; on a Mac the question is whether Vellum's output is worth roughly twice the money to you.
Only on this side
Publish to Kobo and keep your rights
Kobo Writing Life puts a book in front of Rakuten Kobo's readers, and through OverDrive into public libraries, without asking for exclusivity in return. Publishing costs nothing and the author sets the price. For anybody whose first shelf is Amazon this is the obvious second one, and the library route is the part Amazon has no answer to.
Our note
There is no reason not to be on it if you are already selling elsewhere, since it costs nothing and asks for nothing in return. Treat it as a second channel rather than a first: the reader numbers are Amazon's game, and the library route is where Kobo earns its place.
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.