# Apple Pages

> Apple's free word processor exports reflowable and fixed-layout EPUB, with fixed layout aimed at children's books, cookbooks, and image-heavy titles.

Source: https://selfpublishingdirectory.com/formatting/apple-pages
Website: https://www.apple.com/pages/
Category: Formatting & Layout (https://selfpublishingdirectory.com/formatting)
Pricing: free — $0
AI-powered: no
Tags: platform-tool, apple, free, first-party, fixed-layout, epub, illustrated, childrens-books, comics, cookbook, cross-platform
Last verified: 2026-07-01
Best For: Mac and iPad authors formatting illustrated, fixed-layout books — children's picture books, cookbooks, and comics — for EPUB export at zero cost
Formats Supported: epub, fixed-layout-epub
Platform: mac, ios, web
Tool Type: desktop-software, web-app

Apple Pages is Apple's free word processor, and it doubles as a genuinely capable book-formatting tool for authors inside the Apple ecosystem. It exports directly to EPUB in both reflowable and fixed-layout forms, and Apple specifically recommends its fixed-layout export for children's books, cookbooks, and other image-heavy titles — the illustrated niche that reflowable formatters like Vellum or Atticus cannot handle. It's a strong zero-cost DIY option for Mac and iPad authors, sitting alongside Kindle Create as a budget alternative to paid layout apps.

- **Best for:** Mac, iPad, and iPhone authors who want a free tool for illustrated or fixed-layout ebooks without buying dedicated DTP software
- **Key features:** Exports reflowable EPUB (portrait/word-processing templates) or fixed-layout EPUB (landscape/page-layout templates); imports Word documents; keeps text and image positions locked in fixed layout while readers zoom
- **Pricing:** Free — included with macOS, iPadOS, and iOS, and usable in a browser at iCloud.com
- **Platform:** Native on Mac and iPad/iPhone, plus a web version via iCloud — genuinely cross-device, unlike most Apple creative apps
- **Keep in mind:** It's a word processor first, not a dedicated layout app — there's no documented print-ready PDF export at print-on-demand trim sizes, so it's best for EPUB rather than paperback interiors