22 Best eBook Creation Software in 2024 (Free & Paid)
eBooks are to regular books what Netflix is to DVDs. They are easier to access, store, distribute and consume compared to their physical counterpart. eBooks surpassed the sales of print and audiobooks in 2017 already. This is why eBook creation software is in hot demand now.
With the important role of eBooks in content, they are a must-produce for every marketer and business owner. A Book or eBook gives you credibility and authority in your domain. Not to mention they’re one of the best lead magnets available to marketers.
Even if you have great content, your writing is stellar, and you know your content packs a punch, your eBook is not guaranteed to be a success. You need to have professional formatting, visual appeal, and low production costs. And that’s where eBook creator software comes in.
In this guide, I’m going to take you through the eBook creation software to produce the perfect eBook. For each software, I’ll discuss what it is, its main features, what users think about it, and its price.
If you teach online and use one of the best online course platforms, it might have an eBook creator tool built-in. Check that out first and see if it suits your needs.
1. Visme
Visme is cloud-based content creation and collaboration software perfectly suited for creating ebooks. It started as a company in 2013 and now has over 4.5 million users across 120 countries. Its main features are:
- Easy customization
- Can create interactive books
- Ebook templates available
- Dozens of fonts and millions of stock photos to choose from
- Drag and drop editor
Visme is used by popular companies like IBM, Intuit, and PayPal. They have a 4.6 rating on G2 and 3.5 on PCMag. Users appreciate the ease of use and ease of setup.
If you want to use Visme, they have a free plan that gives 100MB storage with access to a few templates. If you want access to the full feature set, go for the Personal or Business plan which will set you back $15 and $29 respectively.
Get started for free here
2. Kitaboo
Kitaboo is cloud-based ebook creator software. Kitaboo also offers DRM (digital rights management) protection. This ensures your eBook is safe from online piracy and theft. Kitaboo has won 12 industry awards and has 6 million worldwide users. Some of Kitaboo’s best features are:
- Support in 25 languages
- EPUB conversion support
- User analytics to track book performance
- Support for images, videos, audio
- Supports read-aloud for easy engagement
- Secure online book distribution
Kitaboo has customers like Mcgraw Hill Education and Sales Performance International. Users like the multi-language support, project management tools, and the ability to create reader apps. Kitaboo has a rating of 4.7 out of 5 on Featured Customers.
If you want to learn more about Kitaboo or need help from the team, they offer live chat, demos, how-to guides, product videos, case studies, and white papers.
Kitaboo offers a free trial. To use all their features, get in touch with Kitaboo and they’ll create customized quotes per your needs.
3. Canva
Canva is an online design and publishing ebook creator software. It has become very very popular and makes design accessible to all. Maybe most known for image editing and social banners. It’s also great for greeting ebooks and comes with features:
- 1035 templates for ebooks
- Easy-to-use editor
- Free plan
- Easy to share and collaborate on projects
- Can add animations to ebooks
- Marketing tools built-in
Canva launched in 2013 and has been used for over 7 billion designs. Companies like Hubspot, Warner Music Group, and Total use it. Canva has a rating of 4 on PCMag and 4.6 on G2. The standout comments about Canva are related to ease of setup and use.
Canva has an excellent free plan. You have access to 250,000+ templates on their website. If you want granular control over your designs, opt-in for the paid plan, which is only 11.99 Euros/month.
4. Flipbuilder
Flipbuilder is an eBook creator geared towards brochures, magazines, and catalogs. Its unique feature is the flipping page effect which makes your eBook interactive. You can even create a bookcase to show on your website.
Flipbuilder has customers like the University of California and Xfinity. Their guiding values are “focus on simplicity in use and power in function”. Their main features are:
- Support for converting pdfs into magazines, brochures, and catalogs
- Ready-made templates for flipbook formats
- Rich media support including animations
- Mobile responsive designs
- Analytics support
- Publish in extra formats like HTML files, EXE, APP, APK, or WordPress plug-ins
Flipbuilder has 3.8 out of 5 stars on G2. Customers like how simple it is to learn and use the ebook creator. Some customers found the dashboard clunky but were still satisfied with the performance.
If you need support from Flipbuilder, create a ticket on their website. They have an FAQ section along with a software manual.
Flipbuilder comes with 3 license options. Flip PDF Plus ($129) gives you a license for a single computer along with 17 templates. Flip PDF Plus Pro ($399) gives you codes for 2 computers along with a multimedia and animation editor. Flip PDF Plus Corporate ($1299) gives access to 10 computers and 23 templates.
5. Marq (formerly Lucidpress)
Marq (formerly Lucidpress) is a content creation and management tool perfectly suited for ebook creators. They’ve been in business since 2013 and have a modern user interface that’s much easier to use than other software. Marq’s best features are:
- Supports multiple kinds of printed materials
- Drag and drop editor
- Access to brand asset hub to store all your assets
- Customizable templates
Marq has over 6 million users including clients like University of Gloucestershire. They have a 4.4 rating on G2 and 4.6 on Getapp. Most positive reviews talk about how easy the publishing process is.
Marq has a free plan to make 3 documents a month. The pro plan is for 10 euros a month for a single user. The team plan starts at 11 Euros for each member. If you want a feel for the software, you can start with a free trial.
6. Microsoft Word
Everybody’s familiar with Microsoft Word. It’s been the benchmark word processing software for over 2 decades now. But you shouldn’t discount its ebook creation and editing. It can be quite powerful for this purpose.
Your biggest advantage in creating an eBook will be familiarity with the software (or similar ones) which will save you time when editing.
With Microsoft Word, it’s easy to create a table of contents, break it down into chapters and format your document. The only drawback is you can only publish in PDF format. But this isn’t the biggest problem as you can use free online tools to convert your pdf or word files.
You can buy Microsoft Word for a 1-time payment of $159.99 or get a Microsoft office 365 subscription. The subscription costs $6.99/month and includes other useful Microsoft software.
7. Google Docs
Google Docs is an alternative to paid ebook creation software. Its processing and formatting capabilities are like Microsoft Word, plus you save all your work on the cloud with Google Drive. All you need is a Google account to get started.
Unlike Microsoft Word, Google Docs supports both .pdf and .epub formats. And because it’s a cloud-based system, you’ll never lose your work even if your computer crashes. Just sign in to a different device with your email and resume from where you left your work.
8. Beacon
Beacon is a specific kind of ebook creation software. You use it to design lead magnets for your WordPress website.
You’ll convert your website content into lead magnets (including ebooks) to:
- Increase conversion rates
- Convert visitors into leads
Beacon has a 3.5 rating and has 1000+ active installations. Using it you can automatically convert your blog posts into a lead magnet format of your choice. Beacon main features are:
- Customizable templates
- Create and reuse your own templates
- Support for multiple lead magnet formats including ebooks
- Pdf download
Beacon is a free-to-use WordPress plugin.
9. Blurb
Blurb is an ebook creator and ebook publishing software. Blurb was founded by Eileen Gittins in 2005. The team includes designers and developers who share a passion for bringing stories to life. Blurb’s top features are:
- Publishing and physical printing support
- Display books on Blurb’s bookstore
- Support for many types of books including children’s books, cookbooks and more
- Professional quality ebook design editor
- Popular ebook formats support
Blurb has a rating of 3.7 on G2 and 4.5 on Trustpilot. Users mostly appreciate the ease of use and quality of support.
Blurb has a support center with useful articles to get you started. Find content to get you designing, sharing, and selling. You can speak directly with their team through live chat or Zendesk ticketing.
For a pdf ebook, you’ll pay $4.99. For a fixed ebook layout with iPad support, you’ll pay $9.99.
10. Pages
Pages is the default word processing software for macOS users. Unlike MS Word, Pages supports both pdf and epub formats. And if you’ve done work in ms word documents, Pages can read and edit them too.
Pages is a user-friendly ebook creator tool. It already comes loaded with ebook templates.
These templates make the creation process a lot simpler. Most of these templates come with title pages, chapter covers, and ‘about the author’ section. All you have to do is plug away and add your content. With a bit of formatting, your ebook will be ready for publishing. Using pages you can directly publish to Apple Books.
Pages is a free-to-use app on macOS.
11. Draft2Digital
Draft2Digital is an ebook creator software that assists with layout, publishing, distribution. They don’t charge for formatting or updating an ebook. Instead they take a 10% cut of sales. Their main features are:
- Automated conversion and layout ebook templates
- Get a dedicated author homepage
- Distribution of books to all major online retailers
- Manage and track ebooks with reports
Publishing on Draft2Digital works in 5 steps:
- Setup your account and add your personal information
- Upload your manuscripts
- Choose your vendors like Amazon, Apple Books, etc.
- Set your price
- Manage and track sales reports and publish updates
Draft2Digital pays you monthly. The smallest payment is $25 for checks, $20 for Payoneer, $10 for international direct deposit, and $0 for all other digital payments. They send your payment after taking their 10% cut.
12. Adobe InDesign
Adobe InDesign is probably the most professional ebook creator software on the list. But it also comes with a bigger learning curve. As part of Adobe’s creative suite, it gives you full control over each aspect of your ebook:
- Create stunning ebooks with full formatting control
- Work with a team with tools built for collaboration
- Use thousands of Adobe fonts
- Create storyboards
- Publish online with AdobeInDesign
- Great for making interactive ebooks
Adobe InDesign is a powerful ebook creation tool used by professionals. It has a 9.1 rating on trust pilot and 4.6 on G2. Most customers appreciate the deep feature set of the software.
Get a subscription for Adobe Indesign app for $20.99/month or get it as part of the Creative Cloud bundle which includes all Adobe apps, for $52.99/month.
13. FlipHTML5
FlipHTML5 is an interactive, HTML 5 digital publishing platform for magazines, catalogs, and brochures. It’s like Flipbuilder in this sense but FlipHTML5 also comes with a free plan.
FlipHTML5 has big companies like Oxford, 4MD Medical, and Reidel as customers. Their main features are
- 10 fully customizable flipbook templates
- Online editor with multimedia support
- Custom domain support for your ebook
- Self hosting option
- Ebook statistics
- Good for making interactive ebooks
FlipHTML5 has a 4.3 rating on Capterra and 4.0 on G2. The most common comments are about the amount of customization FlipHTML5 enables.
FlipHTML5 has 4 pricing plans. The free plan gives you a generous 20GB of storage and 500 pages per book limit. The other three plans are Pro ($15/month), Platinum ($35/month), and Enterprise $99/month. These plans come with extra perks like animation editor and custom templates.
14. Pressbooks
Pressbooks is an eBook creator aimed at educators. It was created by academics, designers, artists, developers, and philosophers. Using their authoring and editing platform, you can:
- Create new content in PDF or EPUB format
- Adapt content for classrooms
- Add annotations to content including rich media
- Add interactive elements like quizzes
Their WordPress plugin has a rating of 4.4 out of 5. Users like the co-op editing and generally are happy with the software.
If you need help, their website offers a forum, FAQs, support videos, manager guide, and support desk.
Pressbooks is a free eBook creator with 5 MB storage and watermarks. They also have paid plans for individuals. They start from $19.99 (one time/one book) and go up to $500 for a yearly account. With these plans, you get extra storage, watermark removal, and content repurposing options.
15. Kotobee
Kotobee is an interactive ebook creator tool. It’s great for authors, teachers, instructors, self-publishers. Its main features are:
- Easy ebook branding
- Support for audio, video, widgets and more
- Export to more than 12 ebook formats
- LMS integration
- Advanced editing tools
Kotobee won the Academics’ Choice 2016 Smart Media Award. They have a 4.0 rating on G2 and 4.6 on Capterra. Users generally appreciate the value for money and the ease of use.
This ebook creator has 200,000+ customers including companies like Harvard, Pearson, and Oracle. Kotobee has a knowledge base that covers all important features of their software. You can also create a ticket if you want to directly speak to a company rep.
They have three price plans. Basic ($150), Premium ($300), and Institutional ($2000). These are one-time payments for a single user. The institutional plan covers 10 users.
16. Vellum
Vellum is an ebook creator software for mac users. It’s suited for many platforms like Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo and more. It’s easy-to-use software that offers some great features. Vellum’s best features are:
- automatic setup of margins, page numbers, and headers and footers
- Use drop caps, embedded fonts, and flourishes
- Easy to import manuscripts
- Browse through templates to find the right one for you
- Preview ebook to see how they look across devices
- Easy to update ebooks
Vellum comes with two price packages. The ebooks package is for 180 euros and the ebooks + print package costs 230 euros.
17. Kindle Create
Kindle Create is a free ebook creator software from Amazon. It’s perfect for publishing your content with the Kindle Direct Publishing Platform. You’ll find an Amazon course on how to use Kindle Create with all its features. The best features are:
- Professionally designed themes
- Automated suggestions for styling
- Preview ebooks for phones, tablets, and eReaders
The software is free to use but it comes with a few downsides as well. You can only publish for Kindle and image captions are unsupported.
18. Scrivener
Scrivener is an ebook creator tailor-made for creating big projects. They started in 2006 and now have thousands of books designed with their platform. It’s used by novelists, screenwriters, non-fiction writers, students, academics, lawyers, journalists, translators, and more. Their main features are:
- Break down pages into custom-sized text sections
- Easy to use project guidelines
- Easily accessible research material while you write
- Support for different publishing formats
Scrivener has won awards from Macworld, PCPro, and PCWorld 100 best. Users include authors that are New York Times bestsellers. They have a 4.5 rating on PCmag and 4.1 on Amazon. Most customers like the range of features and the competitive price.
If you want customer support, create a ticker on their website or reach out through email.
Scrivener costs 53 Euros for its full version license. As a student, or academic you’ll only pay 45 euros.
19. Sigil
Sigil is an open-source, free ebook creator software. It’s a simple ebook maker that comes with essential features. These features include:
- Importing and editing in multiple formats
- Use audio, video, and images
- Text formatting like superscripts and subscripts
- Metadata editing
- Supports plugins
- Epub format support
Sigil is a free tool. Easily download it from their website and start using it right away.
20. Ulysses
Ulysses is an ebook creator software for macOS and iOS. Started by Marcus Fehn and Max Seelemann in 2011, they now have a team of 18+ people working on Ulysses. Its main features are:
- Distraction-free interface
- Built-in proofreading and editing assistant
- Set deadlines and goals in the software
- All texts stored in library, accessible across devices
Ulysses is the winner of the Apple Design Award. They have big-name clients like The New York Times, Mashable, TechCrunch, and The Guardian. The online tool has a rating of 4.6 on G2 and 4.5 on PCMag. Most users enjoy the clean interface and quality of support.
If you need help with the ebook creation tool, reach out through email or visit the FAQ section.
Ulysses costs $5.99/month. They also have custom pricing for businesses and organizations.
21. Designrr
Designrr is an ultimate ebook creator for converting blogs, videos, podcasts and other content into ebooks. Designrr started in 2011 and has since gained 100,000+ users. Its key features are:
- Use ebook templates for multiple formats and uses
- Copyright free image library
- Image editor
- Project draft editor
- Save time by importing content
- One-click ebook publishing
- Support for pdf format and epub format
- Create a great-looking ebook covers
Users have created over 1.9 million ebooks using Designrr. It has a 4.7 rating on Capterra, and 4.6 on G2. Customers like the ease of use and value for money.
For support, reach out to Designrr through live chat for the quickest response. They also have a number you can call to talk to a representative. Designrr has a knowledge base that covers important topics like FAQS, tutorials, and videos,
Designrr offers 4 pricing plans:
- Standard ($29/month)
- Pro ($39/month)
- Premium ($49/month)
- Business ($99/month)
They offer an Agency plan for larger teams that starts at $249/month and includes support for multiple users.
22. Zinepal Directory
Zinepal is a tool aggregator list and no longer an ebook creator itself. If you go to their website you’ll find a searchable directory of PDF & eBook conversion tools and publishing products.
Zinepal lists websites that let you perform different conversion and publishing tasks. You can filter results by the type of tool, if it is free or not, and the major features you’ll find in the tool.
It is a free and handy overview if you’re looking for specific tools for your ebook creation process.
22. FlippingBook
FlippingBook is a professional tool to convert PDFs into digital flipbooks that you can share and track any way you want. Just upload a PDF, and the tool will convert it to a digital ebook, catalog, brochure, etc. FlippingBook is used by medium-sized companies and the world’s largest brands like Unilever, Marriott, Intel, Cartier, and Pearson.
Main features:
- Multiple sharing options: link, embed, QR code
- Statistics to evaluate performance
- Secure sharing: restrict website embedding, set a password, etc.
- Add videos, pop-up images, GIFs, and links
- Interactive table of contents, thumbnails, and search
- Built-in lead capture form
FlippingBook’s plans start from $19/month. The tool has a 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
23. Flipsnack
Flipsnack is an online eBook maker used by over 8 million people and trusted by top brands like BuzzFeed, Foundr, Pandora, Nike, and Decathlon. You can start creating your eBook by choosing an eBook template from the wide selection or uploading your PDF. Then give it a 3D flipping effect and insert interactions to increase readers’ engagement. Another great feature is that you can use a customizable lead form to collect data about your readers and track the performance of your eBook. When you’re finished with the planning process, you can share your eBook on your social media platforms, send it as a link or embed it on your website.
Main features:
- Online design tool with a drag and drop interface
- 1000+ professional, free templates for every occasion
- Collaboration tools for teams
- Extensive privacy for flipbooks
- Sharing options on social media, via email, direct link, full view link, or embedded on websites
- Download in various format options: PDF for web, PDF for print, HTML5, JPG, PNG, MP4 preview, GIF preview.
- Flipbooks statistics, Google Analytics & Google Tag Manager integrations
Flipsnack’s pricing starts from $14/month. They have a 14-day free trial, no credit card is required.
Capping off eBook Creation Software
You’ll find an eBook creator software from this list that suits your needs. From that point, you’ll need to create a landing page for your eBook. Check out this guide for the best landing page builders. Or if you have some coding skills and want to save some cash, look at the best free and cheap HTML editors.
eBooks work well as lead magnets. Let’s say you’ve built a store with one of the best ecommerce platforms. You can use your eBooks as gated content to generate leads. They are also great digital products to sell if you’re an online author or creator. Learn how to effectively sell digital products and downloads from our guide.
FAQs
What is the best software to write an eBook?
1. Ulysses
2. Adobe InDesign
3. Scrivener
4. Kitaboo
5. Kindle Create
These ebook creator tools improve your writing efficiency and come at a reasonable cost (some are even free).
How do I create my own eBook?
Many apps offer templates and design editing options to give your ebook the exact look and feel you’re after. After you’re done with design and writing, select which format to publish in. Then choose if you want to self-publish or through a publishing house.
How do I make an eBook for free?
Do eBooks make money?
- Find your content. It’s not as difficult as it sounds. If you have a blog you can repurpose alot of those into an ebook. Ever done podcasts? They’d make great book material
- Choose your publisher. Go with someone who has a proven track record, and has access to a large market of readers. You also want someone that treats you fairly and only takes a reasonable cut of your sales.
- Market your ebook. Don’t expect your publisher to do this for you. Actively seek out podcasts, and interviews. Write blog posts about your book on guest blogs. Create posts on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and wherever else your target audience lives.
How much does it cost to create an ebook?
How do free ebooks make money?
Give your ebooks for free through your website and social media channels and get email addresses in return. Once you have visitor contact information, start building rapport and setting up a funnel to turn these leads into loyal customers.
How do you make an eBook and sell it?
- Gather content. That’ll be from your blog, podcasts, personal experience, or professional expertise
- Create an outline. Give your book a clear direction with an outline. That’ll help your writing process too.
- Find an ebook software. There are many quality ebook software available online. Go for one that’s easy to use, and offers great editing options.
- Write your ebook! This one sounds simple but you’ll be surprised to know how many people stop midway.
- Finalize your design and cover. A good ebook tool will let you do both. If you’re not confident with your design skills, you’ll be happy to know may ebook software offer templates
- Publish your ebook. Choose an ebook format. You can self publish or do through a distributor like Amazon or Apple Books
- Promote your ebook. Don’t be shy about what you’ve written and let the whole world know about it. Promote your work on social media, get interviews and write guest blogs to get the word out.
Is an eBook Creator free?
These ebook software are free to use and most come with everything you need to create a compelling book. In such software you’ll find text editing options, templates, layouts, support for rich multimedia, and multi-format publishing.