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Publishing · head to head

Pressbooks vs Sigil

Pressbooks logo

Pressbooks

Publishing

Open source book production built on WordPress, and the default tool for open textbooks

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sigil logo

Sigil

Publishing

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Pressbooks self-hosting is free in licence terms only; it requires WordPress multisite administration, upgrades and backups, which is a real staff cost most institutions underestimate.; Sigil it produces no print output whatever, so any book that needs a paperback interior requires a completely separate tool and a second workflow.
  • They diverge on capability: Pressbooks covers Single source, three outputs, Sigil covers Direct EPUB editing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pressbooks and Sigil actually diverge.

Attributes where Pressbooks and Sigil differ
AttributePressbooksSigil
PlatformsWeb, Self-hostedWindows, macOS, Linux

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Open source, no licence fee), free tier (Yes), 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 Pressbooks

  • Single source, three outputs
  • Cloning and adaptation
  • H5P interactive content
  • LMS integration
  • Open source under the GPL
  • Accessibility tooling

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.

Pressbooks

  • A university library replacing a commercial textbook by adapting an existing open textbook rather than commissioning a new onenot Sigil
  • A course team that wants readings delivered inside Canvas or Moodle with embedded exercises rather than as a static PDFnot Sigil
  • A research institute publishing reports that must exist as a web page, an EPUB and a printable document without maintaining three filesnot Sigil
  • A consortium standardising open textbook production across several institutions with a shared catalogue of adaptable titlesnot Sigil

Sigil

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

Where each one falls short

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

Pressbooks

  • Self-hosting is free in licence terms only; it requires WordPress multisite administration, upgrades and backups, which is a real staff cost most institutions underestimate.
  • Professional print PDF output depends on a commercial rendering engine that is licensed separately, so the genuinely free self-hosted route produces web and EPUB output but not press-quality print.
  • Design control is limited to the supplied themes unless someone writes custom CSS, so books tend to look recognisably like Pressbooks books.
  • There is no distribution, no ISBN service and no retail channel, so it produces files and web pages but plays no part in selling anything.
  • The editing experience inherits WordPress conventions, and authors working on long or heavily structured manuscripts find it slower than a dedicated writing application.

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

Pressbooks

Free
  • PressbooksFree
    • GPL licensed, self-hostable with no software fee
    • WordPress multisite administration is your responsibility
    • Print PDF export depends on a separately licensed rendering engine

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 Pressbooks if

  • You need single source, three outputs.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want cloning and adaptation.
Pressbooks 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 Pressbooks or Sigil better?
Neither clearly leads. Pressbooks starts at Free and Sigil at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pressbooks or Sigil?
Pressbooks starts at Free and Sigil at Free.
Does Pressbooks or Sigil run on more platforms?
Pressbooks runs on Web, Self-hosted. Sigil runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use Pressbooks for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Pressbooks best used for?
Pressbooks is most often used for a university library replacing a commercial textbook by adapting an existing open textbook rather than commissioning a new one, a course team that wants readings delivered inside canvas or moodle with embedded exercises rather than as a static pdf, a research institute publishing reports that must exist as a web page, an epub and a printable document without maintaining three files, a consortium standardising open textbook production across several institutions with a shared catalogue of adaptable titles. Of those, a university library replacing a commercial textbook by adapting an existing open textbook rather than commissioning a new one and a course team that wants readings delivered inside canvas or moodle with embedded exercises rather than as a static pdf are not what Sigil is typically brought in for.
What can Pressbooks do that Sigil cannot?
Pressbooks covers Single source, three outputs, Cloning and adaptation, H5P interactive content, LMS integration. Sigil covers Direct EPUB editing, Code and preview views, EPUB 2 and EPUB 3, Regex across files.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Pressbooks: Is Pressbooks really free?

The software is GPL licensed and free to self-host. The hosted service is priced, and professional print PDF output requires a commercially licensed renderer, so budget accordingly.

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.

Pressbooks: Can I sell a book made in Pressbooks?

You can sell the EPUB or the printed book through any distributor, but Pressbooks itself provides no ISBN, no storefront and no distribution.

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.

Pressbooks: Why do universities use it for open textbooks?

Because an openly licensed book can be cloned into another institution network and adapted for a different course, which turns a finished textbook into a starting point rather than a fixed artefact.

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.

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