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.
| Blurb | Plottr | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $3.99 | From $9.99 |
| Pricing model | One-time purchase | Paid subscription |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | One-time purchase | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Yes | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web, macOS, Windows | macOS, Windows |
| Covers | Self-Publishing, Merch & Print on Demand | Self-Publishing, Project Management, Writing & Scripts |
| 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 |
Print books and magazines one copy at a time
Blurb prints a single copy as readily as a hundred, which is what makes a photo book, a zine or a portfolio possible without an inventory. Layout happens in its own tools or in InDesign through a plugin. Paper stock and trim size move the unit price a long way, so the calculator is worth opening before the design is finished.
Our note
Paper stock moves the price further than page count does, with the same photo book running from $32 to $70. Work out the real cost at the binding you want before setting it against Lulu. The $12 headline is the cheapest possible configuration.
Only on this side
Story structure on a timeline, before the draft
Plottr is for the part before the writing: scenes on a timeline, characters and places as cards, and templates built from the story structures people actually teach. It does not want to be your word processor and exports to the tools that are. Buying it once is an option, which is unusual in this corner now.
Our note
Buy the lifetime licence if you write more than one book, because the yearly price pays for it in under three years and the software is finished enough not to need reinventing. Pair it with Dabble or a plain word processor for the drafting.
Only on this side
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.