Resources Comparisons
Koberger vs Lacuna: Which Book Formatter Should You Use?
An honest comparison of Koberger and Lacuna: a browser-based formatter on a subscription against a desktop app you buy once. Prices, platforms, exports and who each one suits.
Lacuna is one of the newer formatting tools, and it's a good one. It's a desktop app you buy once, it's aimed squarely at indie authors, and it covers a lot of the same ground Koberger does. If you're weighing the two, this is the comparison I'd want to read.
A note up front: I make Koberger, so I've tried to be as fair to Lacuna as I'd want a competitor to be to us. Every Lacuna fact below comes from its own website and documentation, checked on 29 September 2026.
The short version
Choose Lacuna if you'd rather pay once and own it, you want to work offline on one computer, or you need store-specific EPUBs and lots of trim sizes.
Choose Koberger if you want to work in a browser on any computer (including a Chromebook), you'd rather not pay upfront, or you publish several books and want to reuse pages and designs across them.
At a glance
| Koberger | Lacuna | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free to build and preview. $9.99/month or $59.94/year to export | $149 one-time (one machine). Free to use, pay to export |
| Runs on | Any modern browser: Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook | Desktop app: Windows and Mac, with Linux builds on its site |
| Works offline | No | Yes |
| Imports | Word (DOCX) | Word (DOCX) |
| Exports | EPUB, print PDF, Word (DOCX) | EPUB 3 and 2, print PDF (PDF/X-1a), ebook PDF |
| Designs | 23 designs, every element adjustable | 31 premade styles, overridable per section |
| Trim sizes | 10 common sizes | 18 standard sizes plus custom |
| Refunds | Cancel any time; 30-day money-back on annual | All sales final |
Where Lacuna is stronger
You own it. $149 once, with lifetime updates, and no subscription to keep an eye on. If you format a lot of books over several years, that's hard to beat.
It works offline. Lacuna runs on your own computer with no account needed to format. If you write on a laptop with patchy internet, that matters.
More print options. Eighteen standard trim sizes plus custom ones, CMYK full-colour print PDFs, and margin suggestions for KDP, IngramSpark and Lulu. If you're doing an unusual size or a colour interior, Lacuna covers more of it.
Store-specific EPUBs. Lacuna can export a separate EPUB for Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Google, each with the right store links in it. That's a nice touch if you publish wide and link to your other books.
You can format for clients. Its licence allows it, which is useful if you format other people's books.
Where Koberger is stronger
Nothing to install, on any computer. Koberger runs in your browser, so it works the same on Windows, Mac, Linux and a Chromebook, and your books are there whichever computer you sign in from.
Nothing to pay upfront. You can import your manuscript, design the whole book and read every page for free. You only pay when you export, and if you're formatting one book, a month or two of Pro costs a lot less than $149.
Built for a catalogue. Save your author bio, copyright page or Also By list once and reuse it in every book, keep a series consistent with one design, and re-export several books at once when something changes. That's where Koberger earns its keep if you publish regularly.
Private preview links. Send an editor or beta reader a link and they can read the formatted book in their browser, with no account and nothing to download. You can revoke it any time.
A Word file out, too. Koberger exports DOCX as well as EPUB and print PDF, which is handy for editors and audiobook narrators. Lacuna's feature list doesn't include DOCX export.
Every EPUB is checked before you get it. Koberger runs each EPUB through EPUBCheck, the validator the stores use, and won't hand over a file that fails.
What they have in common
More than you might think. Both import a Word file and find your chapters from its headings. Both let you preview your ebook on simulated devices, add text-message conversations, handwritten letters and footnotes, and build box sets from several books. Both say they don't use AI and don't train on your writing. And both let you try everything for free before paying to export, which means you don't have to take my word for any of this.
The cost, worked out
Koberger's annual plan is $59.94. Lacuna's one-machine licence is $149. So over about two and a half years they cost the same, and after that Lacuna is cheaper.
If you're formatting one book, Koberger's monthly plan usually works out far cheaper: a month or two at $9.99. If you'll be formatting every year for the foreseeable future on one computer, Lacuna's one-time price is the better deal.
My honest take
If you want a desktop app you own, work offline, and need the extra print options, Lacuna is a genuinely good choice and I'd happily point you to it.
If you want to work in a browser, try without any upfront cost, or you're building a catalogue and want your pages and designs to follow you from book to book, Koberger is built for exactly that.
Either way, put your own first chapter through both before you decide. For the wider field, see the best book formatting software in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Lacuna cost?
Lacuna is a one-time purchase: $149 for one machine, $239 for two and $339 for three, with the same features on every tier. You can use it free for as long as you like and only need a licence to export your final files. Sales are final, so use the trial properly before you buy. Prices checked on lacuna.pub on 29 September 2026.
Does Lacuna run on a Chromebook or in a browser?
No. Lacuna is a desktop app for Windows and Mac, and its website also offers Linux builds. It doesn't run in a browser, so it won't work on a Chromebook or an iPad. Koberger runs in any modern browser, so it works on both.
Is Lacuna or Koberger cheaper?
It depends how long you keep formatting. Koberger costs $9.99 a month or $59.94 a year once you want to export, so a single book done in a month or two costs $10 to $20. Lacuna's $149 one-time price overtakes Koberger's annual plan after about two and a half years. Both let you build and preview your whole book before you pay anything.
Which one makes better looking books?
Both produce professional interiors, and both let you try every design before paying. The honest answer is to put the first chapter of your own book through each and compare the pages. Lacuna has more premade styles (31, per its docs) and more trim sizes; Koberger has 23 designs you can change element by element, and checks every EPUB with EPUBCheck before you download it.