Kobo Writing Life vs Vellum Comparison 2026
Both cover self-publishing. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
Publish to Kobo and keep your rights
Typeset a book that looks professionally made
At a glance
- Only Kobo Writing Life has a free tier.
Side by side
Kobo Writing Life | 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 | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on (they differ) | Web | macOS |
| Covers | 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.
Kobo Writing Life
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.
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.