FlowPaper vs Vivliostyle
FlowPaper
flowpaper.comVivliostyle
vivliostyle.orgSide by side
| Figure | FlowPaper | Vivliostyle |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $82.92/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 8 | 1 |
| Spec score · eBook Creation Software | 9.2 (#3) | 8.2 (#11) |
| API | A JavaScript API exposes methods and events for integrating the viewer into an application or webpage. | Documentation publishes Core API, CLI configuration reference and a JavaScript API reference. |
| Founded | 2010 | 2018 |
| Headquarters | New Zealand | The foundation lists its location as Minami-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama 336-0015, Japan. |
| Integrations | Capterra lists native integrations with Canva and Adobe Connect. | Viewer can display HTML files hosted on GitHub or Gist, and it can be copied into a public directory on a web server for website use. |
| Self-hosting | Users can host generated publications on their own domain or use FlowPaper Cloud, with no requirement to use the cloud service. | The Viewer is downloadable and can run from a user-controlled web server, while CLI runs locally or in server-side workflows. |
| Support | The plan comparison lists community support for Free, included support for Zine and Creative, and priority support for Team and Enterprise, with onboarding for Enterprise. | The project directs users to documentation, GitHub contribution channels and a Slack development community. |
| What it does | FlowPaper converts PDFs into responsive HTML5 flipbooks and interactive web publications for catalogs, brochures, magazines and reports. | Vivliostyle is an open-source CSS typesetting ecosystem for producing paginated digital and print publications with web technologies. |
Plans
FlowPaper
- FreeFree
- FreeFree
- Zine$75, paid once
- Zine$75, paid once
- Creative$85 a month
- Creative$85 a month
- Enterprise$995 a year
- Enterprise$995 a year
In their own words
FlowPaper
FlowPaper converts PDFs into mobile-friendly interactive flipbooks and web publications. Its browser viewer compresses graphics and loads only the pages currently visible. The desktop publisher adds links, images, galleries and video from YouTube, Vimeo, Wistia or self-hosted locations. Publications can be hosted on FlowPaper Cloud or self-hosted; the company says self-hosting has no publication-count limit. A JavaScript API exposes methods and events for integrating the viewer into an application or webpage. FlowPaper supports page-by-page Google Analytics tracking, while higher plans list heatmap and engagement analytics. The Free plan costs nothing and includes cloud hosting, FlowPaper branding and publishing for 90 days. Zine costs $75, paid once, Creative costs $85 a month, and Enterprise costs $995 a year. Cloud publication quotas vary by plan: Zine has 50 and Creative has 75, while the services-account FAQ lists 500 for Team and Enterprise accounts. The listed platforms include web, desktop, mobile and self-hosted options.
Vivliostyle
Vivliostyle is an open-source typesetting project for digital and web publishing based on web standards. Vivliostyle Viewer presents HTML with CSS typesetting in a browser and can display EPUB files and web publications. The command-line tool typesets HTML and CSS and exports PDFs, including PDFs generated from EPUB files. For print production, its PRESS-READY option supports PDF/X-1a output and requires Ghostscript and Xpdf.
Vivliostyle Pub is a web application for editing text, Markdown, or HTML and previewing typesetting; its new version is in alpha. Themes are distributed as npm packages and applied through vivliostyle.config.js. Viewer can display HTML hosted on GitHub or Gist, or be copied into a public web-server directory. The CLI requires Node.js, and the installation tutorial lists macOS, Windows, and Linux. Vivliostyle uses AGPLv3, which allows modification and commercial use subject to reciprocal license terms. Its FAQ says publications made with the software need not publish their HTML or CSS source data. The project is maintained by Vivliostyle Foundation.