Comparison
Kindle Create Alternatives: Beyond Amazon-Only
Kindle Create is free and fine for a plain novel sold on Amazon alone. It makes one file, for one store, and its paperbacks cannot have tables, footnotes, endnotes, or bleed. Here is what it does, what KDP’s own help says it cannot, and the tools that export an EPUB and a print PDF for every store.
By Corey Jackson, developer of Lacuna
Reviewed by Melissa Erin Jackson, author of 15 self-published books
Updated October 5, 2026 · Read about us
Full disclosure. We build Lacuna, one of the alternatives below. Kindle Create is free, and for some books it is enough; we say so. Every limit listed here is quoted from KDP’s own help pages, footnoted at the bottom, and checked on 2026-10-05.
The short version
Lacuna is the best Kindle Create alternative in 2026 for authors who want every store and a real print book, and yes, we build it.
- More customization freedom: build the book you want, not the book the app allows.
- One EPUB for every store, Amazon included, plus a print PDF and a DOCX.
- Footnotes and endnotes, tables, and full-bleed images in print.
- Windows, Mac, and Linux, with an unlimited trial: pay only to generate the final files.
A plain novel for Amazon alone? Kindle Create is free and does the job. The split is below.
What Kindle Create does, and where it stops
Both halves from KDP’s help center. Kindle Create is built to feed KDP, and KDP says so.
What it does
Free, from Amazon, for Windows and Mac.7
Imports a Word document (or a PDF for comics and print-replica books) and detects chapters for a clickable contents.7
Four themes, and a built-in previewer for tablets, phones, and e-readers.7
Prepares an ebook and a paperback from the same manuscript, for text-heavy books with simple layouts.1
Where it stops
Publishing outside of Kindle is unsupported: it produces one file, a KPF, for KDP. No EPUB for Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, or Google Play, and no print PDF for IngramSpark or Lulu.7
Paperbacks cannot have tables, footnotes, or endnotes, or images that bleed to the edge of the page.1
In ebooks, editing tables, lists, and footnotes is unsupported.7
The paperback side is still a pre-release (beta) feature, and its margins and fonts are set automatically.7
Windows and Mac only; no Linux, no browser.7
The lock-in is the file. KDP’s help says the KPF is only used for publishing and the KCB project file is for updates; neither is an EPUB.2 Keep your Word manuscript as the source, and any tool below can make the EPUB and the print PDF from it, including a file KDP itself accepts.
The alternatives, side by side
Three paid tools that write and format, one free browser tool, and the free editor for an EPUB you already have. Lacuna is ours.
| Feature | Kindle Create | Lacuna | Atticus | Vellum | Reedsy Studio | Calibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price13456 | Free | $149 one-time | $147 one-time | $199.99; $249.99 with print | Free | Free, open source |
| Runs on23456 | Windows, Mac | Windows, Mac, Linux | Browser: Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook | Mac only | Browser | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| EPUB for every store23456 | KPF for KDP only | EPUB 3 and 2, built to pass EPUBCheck | EPUB | Validated EPUB 3 and 2 | EPUB 3 | Edits and converts an EPUB you already have |
| Print PDF at your trim size13456 | Paperback via KPF to KDP; margins and fonts set automatically | PDF/X-1a, margins checked against KDP | PDF | PDF/X-1a with Vellum Press | PDF/X-1a, four trim sizes | Not a print tool |
| Footnotes and endnotes in print149 | Not in paperbacks | Yes | Footnotes | Footnotes and endnotes | Not stated | Not a print tool |
| Tables in print1 | Not in paperbacks | Yes | Not listed on its site | Not listed on its site | Not stated | Not a print tool |
| Bleed (full-page images)148 | Not in paperbacks | Yes | Full-bleed images | Full Bleed for full-page images | Not stated | Not a print tool |
| Styles7456 | Four themes | 32 pre-made styles, per-section overrides | 17 templates, theme builder | Dozens of built-in styles | Three templates | Your own CSS |
| Try it45 | Free | Unlimited trial; pay to generate the final files | No trial; 30-day guarantee | Free to build and preview | Free | Free |
Prices in US dollars before tax from each company’s site. Reedsy Studio and Calibre cells for print features follow what each publishes; “not stated” means the site does not say. Lacuna’s trial has no time limit and every feature on; the one thing payment unlocks is generating the final files, which is why all sales are final.
Stay with Kindle Create, or move on
An honest split. The free tool is the right answer for the first card.
Move to Lacuna if
You want every store and a real print book
- You will sell on Apple Books, Kobo, or Google Play as well as Amazon, and want one EPUB for all of them.
- Your paperback has footnotes, endnotes, tables, or full-page images, or needs a trim size you chose.
- You want the manuscript on your own computer, on Windows, Mac, or Linux, with an unlimited trial.
Stay with Kindle Create if
It is a plain book for Amazon only
- A text-only novel or memoir with no tables, notes, or edge-to-edge images.
- You are selling on Amazon alone and have no plans to go wide.
- Free matters more than choosing your own margins and fonts, or a style beyond its four themes.
Try a free alternative if
You want wide for nothing
- Reedsy Studio formats in a browser for free and exports EPUB 3 and PDF/X-1a, with three templates and four trim sizes.
- Calibre is free and open source and edits or converts an EPUB you already have; it is not a formatter.
- Lacuna’s trial costs nothing until you export, so you can format the whole book first.
What authors are saying about Lacuna
Real authors. Real books. Formatted with Lacuna.
I’m a cover designer and interior formatter by profession and run my own small publishing press, so trust me when I say I’m picky and my standards are high. InDesign has always been the only program that formats for print with the level of customization I need. For years, I’ve used it for print and another program entirely for ebooks to get the results I wanted. When I saw Lacuna, I immediately went to check it out and within an hour from having downloaded the trial, I was hooked.
This gives me so much more freedom with print options than other formatting programs like Atticus or Vellum while still making ebooks a breeze. The ability to work from one file and have separate print and ebook settings is a complete gamechanger. I’m still learning my way around the program and loving every second.
JJ Carpenter
The Haunting of Kenmore Asylum
I originally checked out Lacuna because somebody in a KDP publishing group I belong to asked if anyone had tried Lacuna out yet. I published nine other books using a different formatter, but I wasn’t happy with it. I ended up taking a look at Lacuna even though I was pretty much sold on Atticus or Vellum. Once I started diving into Lacuna and saw the ease of use and flexibility, I was absolutely floored. It was a no-brainer, and I purchased Lacuna. Since then the program has only improved. Corey is amazing at fixing things and streamlining processes.
If you take a look at the book that I formatted with Lacuna you will see, it would be pretty difficult to do something like that with one of those other formatting programs. Plus they cost more. In my opinion Lacuna is already the best formatter on the market and only getting better. Thanks, Corey and Melissa, for making this available.
NextGen Victory Press
3-Minute Wrestling Devotionals for Rising Athletes
I tried numerous formatting methods and followed endless instructions from publishing websites, but nothing ever turned out right. Since finding Lacuna, everything has changed. I’ve been able to update all my manuscripts effortlessly and give them the professional look they deserve.
Lacuna helped me perfect one of my most cherished stories, The Magic Globe, and finally present it exactly as I envisioned. It’s truly been a game changer for my author journey.
Samuel Graham Astley
The Magic Globe
Kindle Create questions
What authors ask when the free tool has done its first book.
Sources
- Kindle Create, KDP help: ebook and paperback from the same manuscript; text-heavy books with simple layouts; no tables, footnotes, or endnotes and no bleed images in paperbacks; with KDP’s download topic (GUGQ4WDZ92F733GC) for Windows 10 or later and macOS 10.15 or later, DOC or DOCX for reflowable books, PDF for print replica, PDF or JPEG for comics. Checked 2026-10-05.
- Generate your KPF file, KDP help: “Kindle Create produces a publishable file (KPF) that you can submit to KDP”; “The KPF file is only used for publishing. The KCB file is for updates.”; Windows and Mac launch paths. Checked 2026-10-05.
- Lacuna features, EPUB 3 and 2 built to pass EPUBCheck, PDF/X-1a, DOCX, footnotes and endnotes, tables, full bleed, 32 pre-made styles, Windows, Mac, Linux. Checked 2026-10-05.
- Atticus, $147; browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook; EPUB, PDF, DOCX; 17 templates; no free trial, 30-day guarantee (help center). Checked 2026-10-05.
- Vellum, Mac only; $199.99 and $249.99; validated EPUB 3 and 2; PDF/X-1a; free to build and preview. Checked 2026-10-05.
- Reedsy Studio and Calibre, Reedsy: free, EPUB 3, PDF/X-1a, three templates, four trim sizes. Calibre (calibre-ebook.com): free and open source, built-in EPUB and Kindle editor, Windows, macOS, Linux. Checked 2026-10-05.
- Download Kindle Create, KDP help: Windows 10 or later and macOS 10.15 or later; four themes; a built-in previewer for tablets, phones, and e-readers; unsupported: publishing outside of Kindle, and editing tables, lists, and footnotes; pre-release (beta): the paperback from the same manuscript. Checked 2026-10-05.
- Vellum: Full Page Image, Vellum help: Print Extent options Text Margins, Safe Zone, and Full Bleed. Checked 2026-10-05.
- Vellum: 2024 year in review, Vellum blog: footnotes in Vellum 3.7, at the bottom of each print page; with Vellum help’s Endnotes element. Checked 2026-10-05.
Format the same manuscript for every store
Download Lacuna free on Windows, Mac, or Linux, import the Word file you gave Kindle Create, and export an EPUB and a print PDF. Pay $149 only when you are ready to export.
Want the details first? See all features or view pricing.