Pressbooks
Pressbooks is a book content management system for publishing books on the public web and exporting formats such as EPUB, PDF, and XML.
What Pressbooks is
Pressbooks is a book content management system for publishing books on the public web and exporting formats such as EPUB, PDF, and XML. Authors can import content, arrange books into parts and chapters, and export files including XHTML and Common Cartridge. Hosting choices include the Self-Publisher service, a Pressbooks-hosted Enterprise Network, or a network maintained by the user. Interactive H5P activities are available on Enterprise networks or the Collaboration plan. Its LTI 1.3 integration works with Canvas, Moodle, D2L Brightspace, and Blackboard after an institution's LMS administrator configures it; Pressbooks Results can pass scores from gradable H5P activities to an LMS gradebook. Paid plans can produce accessible WCAG 2.2-compliant digital books and EPUB and PDF exports. Enterprise networks include managed hosting, security updates, premium support, and training; self-hosted users manage updates and security themselves. Media storage depends on the plan, and larger video files should be hosted elsewhere and embedded. Pressbooks is paid, has no free plan, and offers a seven-day trial. Its software is open source under GPL v3.0.
Good
- Exports EPUB, PDF, XML, XHTML, and more
- Offers hosted and self-hosted options
- Supports importing content in multiple formats
- LTI 1.3 works with four named LMS platforms
- Paid plans support accessible digital books
Watch out
- No free plan is listed
- Free trial lasts seven days
- Media storage is limited by plan
- Self-hosted users handle updates and security
Who it suits
Pressbooks identifies educational institutions, academic presses, small publishers, and individual authors as potential users. It suits those who need to publish books online or export digital formats, with hosting options ranging from self-managed to managed networks.
Verdict
Pressbooks offers book editing, web publishing, and format exports, with several hosting approaches and education-oriented LMS features. Compare the plans' storage, support, and hosting responsibilities with your publishing needs.
Plans and prices
From Pressbooks's own pricing page, checked 15 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free | 1 author · 100MB media · 7 days |
| Single Author | $12 a month | 1 author · 250MB media · EPUB/PDF exports · or $120 / year |
| Collaboration | $40 a month | Unlimited collaborators · 1GB media · interactive educational material · or $400 / year |
| Institutional Network | $5,999 a year | 1 institution · up to 10 books · unlimited author seats · up to 3 network managers · from |
| Shared Network | $15,999 a year | 2+ institutions · up to 45 books · unlimited user seats · up to 5 network managers · from |
The facts
Each one read from Pressbooks's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Accessibility
- The service advertises fully accessible digital books conforming to WCAG 2.2 and says its VPATs cover authoring and reading interfaces at A and AA levels.checked 15 Oct 2026
- API documentation depth
- The API is self-describing through OPTIONS requests and a context=help schema query, with separate endpoints for books and the multisite root.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Audience
- Pressbooks identifies educational institutions, academic presses, small publishers, and individual authors as users.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Book organization
- Authors can structure books with front matter, back matter, parts and chapters.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Developer resources
- Official developer guides cover local setup, PHPStorm configuration, branching, coding standards, unit testing, theme development and the REST API.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Editing and exports
- Self-Publisher supports importing content, organizing books into parts and chapters, and exporting files including PDF, EPUB, XML, XHTML, and Common Cartridge.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Export dependencies
- Self-hosted installations require tools such as Ghostscript, ImageMagick, Poppler utilities, PrinceXML or DocRaptor, EPUBCheck and xmllint for various export functions.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Export limitation
- The open-source mPDF PDF-export plugin is no longer maintained, so the installation guide advises using it at the operator’s own risk.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Grade passback
- Pressbooks Results can send scores from gradable H5P activities to an LMS gradebook.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Hosting options
- Users can use the hosted Self-Publisher service, have Pressbooks host an Enterprise Network, or host and maintain their own network.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Interactive content
- H5P can be used to create, copy or embed quizzes and other interactive activities.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Legal founder
- Pressbooks identifies Hugh McGuire as its founder and says the team operates remotely across Canada, the United States and elsewhere.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: customization
- An independent review says the template-based design is less flexible than bespoke design software such as Adobe InDesign.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: distribution
- An independent review notes that Pressbooks does not distribute books to retailers, so authors must upload exported files themselves.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Limits
- Pressbooks says larger media such as videos should be hosted on a dedicated streaming service and embedded, and media storage is limited by plan.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Limit: Trustpilot complaint
- The sole reviewer reported being unable to export without resubscribing, export errors, incomplete files and inadequate support.checked 15 Oct 2026
- LMS integration
- Enterprise networks provide IMS Global-certified LTI integration and Pressbooks Results for connecting content with learning-management systems.checked 15 Oct 2026
- LMS integrations
- The LTI 1.3 integration works with Canvas, Moodle, D2L Brightspace, and Blackboard after institutional LMS administrator configuration.checked 4 Oct 2026
The company
- Company
- Pressbooks says it began in Montreal and its team is now fully remote across Canada, the United States, and beyond.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Company founding
- LinkedIn lists 2011 as the founding year, matching Pressbooks’ own account that Hugh McGuire founded it that year.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Company headquarters
- LinkedIn lists Montreal, Quebec as Pressbooks’ headquarters.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Company size
- LinkedIn lists Pressbooks as a privately held book and periodical publishing company with 11–50 employees.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Founded
- Pressbooks says Hugh McGuire founded it in 2011.checked 4 Oct 2026
Money
- Limit: subscription cost
- An independent review says recurring subscriptions can become expensive for authors publishing only occasionally.checked 15 Oct 2026
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