IngramSpark vs Vellum Comparison 2026
Both cover self-publishing. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
Print a book into the retail supply chain
Typeset a book that looks professionally made
At a glance
- Only IngramSpark has a free tier.
Side by side
IngramSpark | Vellum | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Not listed | From $199.99 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free plan, paid tiers | One-time purchase |
| Free tier (they differ) | Yes | No |
| Billing | Not stated | One-time purchase |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on (they differ) | Web | macOS |
| Covers | Self-Publishing | 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.
IngramSpark
Print a book into the retail supply chain
IngramSpark is how an independent author gets a physical book into the catalogue bookshops and libraries actually order from, which Amazon's own printing does not do on the same terms. Setup costs nothing now, print is charged per copy, and the distribution reach is the reason to be here rather than the interface. Returns, discounts and trim sizes are decisions with real money attached, and the site is better at listing them than at explaining them.
Our note
Use the print cost calculator before finalising a page count, because trim size and paper choices move the unit cost enough to decide whether the book is profitable. Most authors list on both IngramSpark and KDP, using one for reach and the other for Amazon margin.
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.