Is Lulu or Sigil better?

Neither clearly leads. Lulu starts at On request and Sigil at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Lulu or Sigil?

Sigil has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Lulu and Free for Sigil.

Does Lulu or Sigil run on more platforms?

Lulu runs on Web. Sigil runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.

Can I use Sigil for free?

Yes. Sigil has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Lulu starts at On request.

What is Lulu best used for?

Lulu is most often used for self-publishing novels without traditional publishing, producing print-on-demand photo books without inventory, creating photo books for preserving memories, accessing 40,000+ global book retailers. Of those, self-publishing novels without traditional publishing and producing print-on-demand photo books without inventory are not what Sigil is typically brought in for.

What can Lulu do that Sigil cannot?

Sigil covers Direct EPUB editing, Code and preview views, EPUB 2 and EPUB 3, Regex across files.

Publishing · head to head

Lulu vs Sigil

Lulu

Publishing

Quality book printing at a reasonable price

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Sigil

Publishing

Open source EPUB editor for working directly on the file, not generating it

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Sigil has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Lulu no fixed pricing published; vendor requires pricing calculator for quotes; Sigil it produces no print output whatever, so any book that needs a paperback interior requires a completely separate tool and a second workflow.
Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lulu and Sigil actually diverge.

Attributes where Lulu and Sigil differ
Attribute	Lulu	Sigil
Starting price	On request	Free
Pricing model	usage-based	Open source, no licence fee
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Web	Windows, macOS, Linux

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Publishing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Lulu

Nothing recorded that Sigil does not also cover.

Only in Sigil

Direct EPUB editing
Code and preview views
EPUB 2 and EPUB 3
Regex across files
Validation
Python plugins

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Lulu

Self-publishing novels without traditional publishingnot Sigil
Producing print-on-demand photo books without inventorynot Sigil
Creating photo books for preserving memoriesnot Sigil
Accessing 40,000+ global book retailersnot Sigil

Sigil

Fixing an EPUB that a retailer validator has rejected, without re-exporting from the tool that generated itnot Lulu
Correcting the table of contents, reading order or metadata in a file supplied by a conversion servicenot Lulu
Preparing a back-catalogue title where the only surviving source is the EPUB itselfnot Lulu
Applying a consistent stylesheet or a bulk text correction across every chapter of a book at oncenot Lulu

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Lulu

No fixed pricing published; vendor requires pricing calculator for quotes
Costs vary significantly based on trim size, binding type, page count, and shipping
Author royalties and distribution fees not disclosed on website

Sigil

It produces no print output whatever, so any book that needs a paperback interior requires a completely separate tool and a second workflow.
Meaningful use requires reading and writing HTML and CSS, which puts it out of reach of most authors who simply want a finished file.
There is no cloud storage, sync or collaboration, so the book exists as a file on one machine and version control is whatever you set up yourself.
Development depends on a small number of volunteer maintainers, so release timing and platform builds follow their availability rather than a roadmap, and a lapse in maintenance would leave no obvious successor.
It provides no distribution, no retailer connection and no Kindle-native output, so it sits in the middle of a workflow that other tools have to complete on both sides.

Pricing, plan by plan

Lulu

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Lulu review.

Sigil

Free

SigilFree
- GPL licensed with no cost or account required
- Full functionality with no feature gating
- Community support through forums and the issue tracker

Which should you pick?

Choose Lulu if

Nothing in the data separates Lulu from Sigil on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Lulu review

Choose Sigil if

You need direct epub editing.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
You also want code and preview views.

Sigil review

Questions people ask

Is Lulu or Sigil better?: Neither clearly leads. Lulu starts at On request and Sigil at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lulu or Sigil?: Sigil has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Lulu and Free for Sigil.
Does Lulu or Sigil run on more platforms?: Lulu runs on Web. Sigil runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use Sigil for free?: Yes. Sigil has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Lulu starts at On request.
What is Lulu best used for?: Lulu is most often used for self-publishing novels without traditional publishing, producing print-on-demand photo books without inventory, creating photo books for preserving memories, accessing 40,000+ global book retailers. Of those, self-publishing novels without traditional publishing and producing print-on-demand photo books without inventory are not what Sigil is typically brought in for.
What can Lulu do that Sigil cannot?: Sigil covers Direct EPUB editing, Code and preview views, EPUB 2 and EPUB 3, Regex across files.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Lulu: How much does Lulu self-publishing cost?

Lulu does not publish fixed pricing. Costs depend on specific book specifications including trim size, binding type, page count, and distribution format. Users must access Lulu's pricing calculator to receive personalized quotes for their book project.

Source

Sigil: Can I write my book in Sigil?

You can, but you should not. It is an EPUB editor, not a word processor, and writing long-form prose in it is unpleasant. Write elsewhere, import, then finish in Sigil.

Lulu: How does Lulu's pricing calculator work?

Users input their book specifications such as trim size, binding type, and page count into Lulu's pricing calculator tool to receive customized pricing quotes and view production timelines.

Source

Sigil: Does it make Kindle files?

Not natively. Produce a valid EPUB in Sigil and let Amazon convert it, or use a separate conversion tool for other Kindle formats.

Sigil: Is it safe to rely on a volunteer project for commercial work?

The files it produces are standard EPUB, so nothing is locked in. The risk is that maintenance stops, not that your books become unreadable.

Lulu vs Sigil

Lulu

Sigil

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Lulu

Only in Sigil

What people use each for

Lulu

Sigil

Where each one falls short

Lulu

Sigil

Pricing, plan by plan

Lulu

Sigil

Which should you pick?

Choose Lulu if

Choose Sigil if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Lulu

More on Sigil

Keep looking

Other head to heads