Paperlight or Atticus?
Atticus is a writing and formatting app with a one-time price of $147. Paperlight is too: write your book free, or bring the Word file you’ve finished, see every page of the book free, and pay $24 a year when you want the print files. At that price it would take more than six years to spend what Atticus costs on day one.
Here’s Atticus next to Paperlight and the other popular tools. The full comparison.
Compare with
| Feature | Paperlight | Atticus | Vellum | Reedsy Studio | Kindle Create | Draft2Digital | Lacuna |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Writing and ebook free; print $24 a year | $147 once | $249.99 once ($199.99 for ebooks only) | Free | Free | Free; ~10% of ebook sales if you distribute with them | $149 once |
| Try before paying | Everything free except the print files | 30-day money-back guarantee; no free trial | Free to build and preview | Free | Free | Free | Everything free until you export |
| Runs on | Any computer, in your browser | Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook | Mac only (macOS 13 or newer) | In your browser | Windows or Mac, a download | In your browser | Windows, Mac, Linux, a download |
| Account | None | Required; online to sign in and export | Not stated by Vellum | Required | A KDP account to publish | Required | Not stated by Lacuna |
| Writing your book | Yes, free: outline, goals, story bible, versions, focus mode | A full writing app | An editor for changes, not built for drafting | A free writing app | Import a finished manuscript | Upload a finished manuscript | Import a .docx |
| Book styles | 129, plus a full style editor with 540 drawn ornaments, 97 ornate letters in any colour and page frames | 17 templates, plus a theme builder | 26 | 3 | 4 ebook themes | Their set of templates | Premade styles, or customise your own |
| Trim sizes | 28, pocket to A4, square, landscape, plus custom | Not stated by Atticus | 24, plus large print | 4, including pocket | Not stated by Kindle Create | A selection | Not stated by Lacuna |
| Print files for | Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, B&N Press, Lulu, Bookvault | Print PDF, made mainly for Amazon KDP | Print-ready PDF | Print-ready PDF | Amazon KDP only (a KPF file, not a PDF) | Print-ready PDF for any print-on-demand service | Print-ready PDFs for the major distributors |
| IngramSpark PDF/X | Yes, converted in your browser (beta) | No | Yes, PDF/X-1a | Yes, PDF/X-1a | No | Not stated by Draft2Digital | Not stated by Lacuna |
| Large print, hardcover, colour | Yes, all three | Not stated by Atticus | Yes, all three | Not stated by Reedsy Studio | Hardcover yes; large print no | Not stated by Draft2Digital | Hardcover yes |
| Box sets | Yes, kept in step with their books | Not stated by Atticus | Yes | Not stated by Reedsy Studio | Not stated by Kindle Create | Not stated by Draft2Digital | Not stated by Lacuna |
| Where your book is kept | In your browser, and a folder you choose | Atticus cloud, synced between devices | On your Mac | Your Reedsy account | On your computer | Your Draft2Digital account | On your computer, no cloud |
— means the company doesn’t publish it and we couldn’t confirm it. Scroll sideways on a small screen.
Sources
- Atticus, checked October 2026: Written Word Media: Atticus review, Kindlepreneur: Atticus vs Vellum (Sep 2026), Kindlepreneur: Atticus review, Publishing.co.uk: Atticus review (Oct 2026), Vappingo: Atticus review (Sep 2026)
- Vellum, checked October 2026: vellum.pub, Kindlepreneur: Atticus vs Vellum (Sep 2026)
- Reedsy Studio, checked October 2026: reedsy.com/studio/format-a-book
- Kindle Create, checked October 2026: KDP help: Kindle Create, ebookpbook: Kindle Create for print books (May 2026)
- Draft2Digital, checked October 2026: Draft2Digital FAQ, draft2digital.com, Draft2Digital: automated layout for print
- Lacuna, checked October 2026: lacuna.pub, ScribeCount: Lacuna review
Products change, so check their sites for the latest.
Why authors choose Paperlight over Atticus
- You want to write for free and pay only when the book is ready.
- Your manuscript is already finished in Word, or you want to keep writing in Word.
- You want to see your whole book laid out before paying anything.
- You print with KDP, IngramSpark, B&N Press, Lulu or Bookvault and want the PDF checked against their rules.
- You’d rather not create an account or upload your manuscript.
See your book free
Print files $24 a year.