Comparison
Alhora vs Reedsy Book Editor
Reedsy Book Editor is free. That is not a caveat to work around — it is the central fact, and any comparison that skirts it is not worth reading. It produces a clean EPUB and a respectable print PDF at no cost, from a small set of templates, in a browser, with the book on Reedsy's servers.
So the question is not which is better. It is what the paid tool adds, and whether the things it adds are things your book actually needs — which is what the rest of this page sets out.
What each one is
Alhora
A desktop book-formatting studio for macOS, Windows, Linux and ChromeOS. Import a finished manuscript, typeset the interior, and export a retail-ready EPUB and a print-ready PDF.
- Free — format and preview an entire book. Export is locked.
- Monthly — £8.99 a month.
- Annual — £89.99 a year.
- Lifetime — £139.99 once, or £99.00 while founder licences last.
Reedsy Book Editor
A free, browser-based writing editor that exports a clean EPUB and a print PDF. It is part of Reedsy's wider marketplace of freelance editors, designers and marketers.
- Reedsy Book Editor — Free. No charge to write, format or export.
Reedsy Book Editor capabilities and prices as publicly documented by each vendor, checked 2026-08-08. Products change — check the vendor's own site before you buy. Corrections: [email protected].
What each one is good at
Alhora
- Runs on every desktop platform, with the same output on each.
- Print-readiness checks — spine, gutter, image DPI, cost — run offline before you upload.
- Series-wide re-export: change the back matter once, rebuild every book.
In short: A production tool for a finished manuscript, on every desktop platform — free to format and preview a whole book, with a plan unlocking export.
Reedsy Book Editor
- Free, with no export charge.
- Collaboration with an editor is built in, and works well.
- The default typesetting is clean and perfectly acceptable for a straightforward novel.
In short: Free and browser-based, with a small set of templates, editor collaboration built in, and no print-production tooling.
Feature by feature
Every row below is either published by the vendor or, where it is not, marked as undocumented rather than assumed to be missing. If you spot something out of date, tell us at [email protected] and we will correct it.
| Feature | Alhora | Reedsy Book Editor |
|---|---|---|
| Platform & access | ||
| Operating systems | macOS, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS | Any desktop OS, in a browser |
| Installed app or browser | Installed desktop app | Browser app |
| Works with no internet connection | Yes — after activation, editing and export are local | No — it is a web editor |
| Where your manuscript is stored | On your own machine | In the cloud |
| Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | Free to format and preview; a plan unlocks export. Monthly, annual, or one-off Lifetime. | Free |
| Lifetime option | Yes — Lifetime licence, one payment | Not applicable — free |
| Subscription option | Yes — monthly or annual, if you would rather not pay up front | No |
| Try before paying | Format and preview an entire book free; export is what a plan unlocks | Free throughout |
| What it is for | ||
| Writing or formatting | Formatting and production. There is an editor, but the book arrives written. | Both — a drafting environment and a formatter |
| Manuscript editing built in | Yes, for revision and proofing — not designed for first drafts | Yes, with collaborative comments and track changes |
| Import | ||
| Microsoft Word (.docx) | Yes — headings become chapters; italics, small caps, footnotes and images carried | Yes |
| Scrivener | Yes — reads the .scriv project directly, binder order and all | Compile to Word first, then import that |
| Google Docs | Yes — download as .docx; Alhora classifies Google's direct-formatted headings by size and weight | Download as .docx and import that |
| Re-import after edits elsewhere | Yes — shows every change against your styled book before you accept it | Not documented |
| Export | ||
| EPUB | EPUB 3.0, with Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo and generic variants | Yes |
| Print-ready PDF | Yes — bleed, crop marks and an embedded ICC profile | Yes |
| Trim sizes | 23 presets across mass-market, novel, B-format, full-size and large print, plus fully custom | A small fixed set |
| Hardcover | Yes — case-wrap dimensions are calculated, and flagged as estimates to check against your printer's template | Not documented |
| Publishing | ||
| Kindle Direct Publishing | Yes — files built to KDP's ebook and print requirements, checked before you upload | Yes |
| IngramSpark | Yes — IngramSpark's own spine formula (pages ÷ PPI) and cover template, not KDP's applied twice | Not documented |
| Draft2Digital | Yes — EPUB built to the generic retail profile D2D distributes | Yes — a standard EPUB can be uploaded |
| Pre-flight against store requirements | Yes — runs offline before upload and names the store rule each finding breaks | Not documented |
| Spine width and cover template | Calculated live from the real page count, per printer | Not documented |
| Print cost and royalty estimate | Yes, from the page count and paper stock | Not documented |
| Accessibility | ||
| Accessibility checks on the EPUB | Yes — an audit that must pass before the accessible-EPUB metadata is written | Produces structurally sound EPUB; no published audit tool |
| Large-print and dyslexia-friendly interiors | Yes — two built-in styles, plus large-print trim sizes | Not documented |
| Series | ||
| Series-wide re-export | Yes — rebuild every book in a series in one command | Each book is exported individually |
| Back matter that updates itself | Yes — the Also By page is generated from the series and rebuilt on export | Not documented |
| AI | ||
| AI features | Optional paid add-on. Checks and an in-app operator — it never writes prose. | AI features are offered elsewhere in Reedsy's products, not in the book editor |
| Is your manuscript used for training | No. Text sent for a check is used for that check and discarded. | Not documented |
| Languages | ||
| Books written in languages other than English | 15 languages, typeset and proofed in the book's own language | Not documented |
Reedsy Book Editor capabilities and prices as publicly documented by each vendor, checked 2026-08-08. Products change — check the vendor's own site before you buy. Corrections: [email protected].
Which should you choose?
Reedsy Book Editor costs nothing and, for a straightforward novel with a template that happens to suit it, produces a file that will not embarrass you. This page has not argued otherwise, and the table above is what it can and cannot do.
Alhora is the one we would argue for, and the case is specific rather than general: design control past a handful of templates and your own licensed fonts; print through IngramSpark as well as KDP with the spine and gutter worked out for each; a series you can re-export in one pass instead of book by book; and the manuscript as a file on your own disk rather than in someone else's account. It is free to format and preview a whole book, so you can put your own pages side by side and decide on the evidence.
The cheapest way to settle it is to try both. Alhora and Reedsy Book Editor will each show you a formatted book before you commit — and it is worth doing with your own manuscript rather than a sample, because it is your chapter headings and scene breaks that will find the differences.
Questions, answered
Is Reedsy Book Editor really free?
Yes. Writing, formatting and exporting EPUB and print PDF are all free, with no per-book charge and no export fee. Reedsy's business is its marketplace of freelance editors and designers; the editor is how authors arrive there.
What are the limitations of the free editor?
Chiefly design control: a small set of templates, no custom fonts, and limited control over the typographic detail. Beyond that it is a web application, so it needs a connection and your manuscript lives on Reedsy's servers, and it does not go into print production — no spine calculation, no gutter checking by page count, no pre-flight.
Can I use both?
Plenty of authors do, and it is a reasonable arrangement: draft and edit in Reedsy where your editor already is, then export to Word and bring it into a formatting tool for production. Alhora imports the .docx, and re-imports later revisions chapter by chapter.
Does Reedsy own my book if I write it there?
No. You keep the rights to your manuscript. What you are trusting them with is custody rather than ownership — the file lives in their account and you depend on their continued existence and uptime for access to it. Export a copy regularly regardless of which web tool you use.
Which produces better-looking books?
For a plain novel with default settings, the difference is small and most readers would not identify which tool made which. The gap opens up when you want something specific — a genre interior, your own licensed typeface, verse, tables, an unusual chapter opening — which is where a template set runs out.
Do I need to pay Alhora to try it?
No. Formatting and previewing a whole book is free; a plan unlocks export. You can format the same manuscript in both and compare the actual pages before spending anything.
Format your book with Alhora
Import your manuscript, typeset the interior, and see every page exactly as it will print. Formatting and previewing a whole book is free — a plan unlocks export.
Download Alhora free See pricing
macOS, Windows, Linux and ChromeOS. No card needed to format and preview.