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An honest, detailed comparison of the most popular book selling and publishing platforms. See exactly where Books.by excels — and where others fall short.
Most publishing platforms are marketplaces or distributors — they sit between you and your readers, taking a cut of every sale. Books.by is different. It's your own storefront: you set the price, own the customer relationship, and keep 100% of royalties. Here's how that plays out feature by feature.
| Feature | Books.by | Amazon KDP | IngramSpark | Shopify | Lulu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform Type | Direct-to-reader storefront | Marketplace | Distributor | General e-commerce | Print & marketplace |
| Annual Cost | $99/yr | Free | $49/title setup | $348+/year | Free |
| Royalties | 100% | 30–70% | 45–60% | 100% | 50–90% |
| Payout Frequency | Daily | 60 days | 90 days | Daily | Monthly |
| Print-on-Demand | ✓ Built in | ✓ Built in | ✓ Built in | ✗ 3rd-party app required | ✓ Built in |
| Custom Storefront | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Customer Data | ✓ Full details | ✗ Anonymous | ✗ Anonymous | ✓ Full details | ✗ Limited |
| Free ISBNs | ✓ No restrictions | ✗ ASIN only | ✗ BYO required | ✗ | ✗ BYO required |
| Cover Builder | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sales Notifications | ✓ Real-time | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Global Printing | ✓ USA, UK, EU, AU | ✓ USA, UK, EU | ✓ 40,000+ retailers | ✗ | ✓ USA, EU |
| Transaction Fees | None | None | None | 0.5–2% | None |
| Built for Books | ✓ Purpose-built | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ General commerce | ✓ |
| Money-Back Guarantee | ✓ 100 days | N/A (free) | ✗ | ✗ | N/A (free) |
Enter your book specs and see exactly what you'd earn on each platform. All calculations use official, publicly available pricing data.
Books.by assumes recommended $5 customer shipping. KDP rates from official Amazon documentation. IngramSpark assumes standard 55% wholesale discount with IngramSpark's published print rates.
The world's largest book marketplace — unmatched for organic discovery. But you give up 30–65% of every sale, wait 60 days for payouts, and never learn who bought your book.
Best strategy: Use both. Amazon for organic discovery, Books.by for all your personal traffic — social, email, website, events.
Powerful distribution to 40,000+ retailers and libraries. But the 55% wholesale discount, per-title fees, and 90-day payouts leave authors with very little per sale.
Best strategy: IngramSpark for wide retail distribution and library access. Books.by for direct sales where you keep everything.
The gold standard for e-commerce — but built for everything, not books. No print-on-demand, no ISBNs, no cover builder. The basic plan costs $348+/year plus transaction fees and app subscriptions.
Best strategy: Use Shopify if you sell merchandise beyond books. Use Books.by if books are your product — everything's built in at a third of the price.
Free print-on-demand with a marketplace. But royalties vary (50–90%), payouts are monthly, and you don't get a custom storefront or full customer data. Limited organic traffic compared to Amazon.
Best strategy: Lulu as another free marketplace listing. Books.by for branded direct sales with daily payouts and 100% royalties.
All-in-one publishing packages with editing, design, and distribution. But upfront costs of $399–$1,999 plus wholesale distribution discounts make it one of the most expensive options per book sold.
Best strategy: If you want hands-off publishing, hire freelancers individually for a fraction of BookBaby's packages. Use Books.by for distribution and direct sales.
Excellent for wide ebook distribution across Apple Books, Kobo, B&N, and more. But D2D takes 10% on top of retailer cuts, and their print offering is distribution-only — no direct sales storefront.
Best strategy: Use D2D for wide ebook distribution to retailers you can't reach directly. Use Books.by for direct print sales now, and direct ebook sales (coming in 2026) where you keep 100% of RRP at any price — no KDP-style pricing restrictions.
*Royalty comparisons based on a 200-page black & white paperback priced at $19.99. Actual earnings vary by book specs.
In-depth, side-by-side breakdowns of Books.by against every major publishing platform — plus our interactive cost calculator.
Honest comparisons of major publishing platforms — not just Books.by vs others.
Join 20,000+ authors who chose Books.by for direct-to-reader sales.
Start Your Bookstore →