KDP vs IngramSpark vs Draft2Digital

The three at a glance

Amazon KDP

Kindle Direct Publishing is Amazon's own platform, so it is the direct route into Amazon's stores. It is free to use.

• Ebooks. You choose a 70% or 35% royalty for each title. The 70% option applies in listed territories and only to in-copyright works, and carries a delivery charge that averages $0.06 per copy (KDP ebook royalties). Jane Friedman notes the 70% rate requires a price between $2.99 and $12.99 on Amazon (Friedman).
• Paperbacks. The formula is royalty rate times list price, minus printing. On Amazon.com the rate is 60% at $9.99 or more and 50% at $9.98 or less. KDP's example: a $15 paperback that costs $5.00 to print earns (0.60 × $15) − $5.00 = $4.00 (KDP paperback royalty).
• Expanded Distribution. A free option that offers your paperback to distributors so bookstores, libraries and academic institutions can order it, at 40% minus printing. The same $15 book earns $1.00. KDP says enrolling "doesn't guarantee" distributors accept the book and that "the decision to order your book lies solely with the individual booksellers and libraries." Hardcovers are not eligible (KDP Expanded Distribution).
• ISBN. KDP's free ISBN "can only be used on KDP," and the imprint appears as "Independently published" (KDP ISBNs).
• Payment. Monthly, about 60 days after the end of the month of sale, and about 90 days for Expanded Distribution (KDP payments).

IngramSpark

IngramSpark is the self-publishing service of Ingram, the wholesaler that bookstores and libraries order from. Its value is not Amazon; it is everywhere else.

• Cost. Title setup is free for print, ebook or both. Sales through the global network carry a distribution fee of 1.875% of the local list price, and paper checks to US publishers cost $25 each. "No costs are billed to the publisher for wholesale channel orders" (IngramSpark rate card, effective February 1, 2026).
• Reach. A global distribution network of "over 45,000 retailers, libraries, universities and educators" (same source).
• How you are paid. List price, less the wholesale discount you set, less the print cost. In the US the discount can be set from 40% to 55%, and IngramSpark says 55% is the trade discount most publishers offer booksellers; less "can possibly limit the sale of your title to booksellers" (IngramSpark).
• Returns. You choose whether stores can return unsold copies. Many booksellers pass over nonreturnable titles, but if you allow returns, you pay the wholesale cost of every copy returned, plus $3.00 a book shipping in the US if you want them delivered to you (IngramSpark).

That last point is the trade-off at the heart of bookstore distribution, explained in how book distribution works.

Draft2Digital

Draft2Digital is an aggregator: you upload once and choose which stores receive your book. It is popular with authors who want their ebooks in many stores, not only Kindle.

• Cost. D2D keeps "approximately 10% of the retail price of every book sale" on ebooks. New publishing accounts pay a one-time $20 activation fee, and accounts earning under $100 a year pay $12 annually; accounts with nothing in distribution do not (Draft2Digital FAQ).
• Print. D2D Print is a print-on-demand paperback service. D2D says authors "can expect to make about 45% of the list price of your book minus the printing cost."
• Reach. "All the major retailers online, plus hundreds of storefronts worldwide," each opt-in, plus retail and library partners (Draft2Digital).
• ISBN. D2D assigns a free ISBN that cannot be used outside its services.

How authors combine them

There is no single right setup, but three common ones:

1. Amazon only. KDP for ebook and paperback. Simplest, highest Amazon royalty, least reach. Fine if your readers buy on Amazon and you sell copies yourself at events.
2. Amazon plus wholesale. KDP for Amazon sales, IngramSpark for bookstores, libraries and other retailers. This is a common choice for nonfiction authors who want stores and libraries to be able to order the book, and for hardcovers outside Amazon.
3. Wide ebooks. KDP for Amazon, Draft2Digital for every other ebook store, and IngramSpark or KDP for print.

Whichever you choose, decide early whether you want your own ISBNs. A platform's free ISBN ties that edition to that platform and lists the platform's imprint or "Independently published." Your own ISBN identifies you as the publisher; the International ISBN Agency says the registrant element "identifies the particular publisher or imprint" (International ISBN Agency). More in who owns what.

What most people get wrong

• Thinking upload equals distribution. Being in Ingram's catalog makes a book orderable. It does not put it on a shelf.
• Setting a low wholesale discount and expecting stores to stock it. IngramSpark's own advice is that most publishers offer booksellers 55%.
• Allowing returns without budgeting for them. Returned copies are charged back to you, and IngramSpark may invoice you if returns exceed sales.
• Using a free ISBN and then wanting to move. You will need a new ISBN, which means a new edition in the catalogs.
• Choosing a platform before the book is good. No platform fixes an unedited manuscript. Reedsy's freelancer data puts professional help at $2,940 to $5,660 (Reedsy), and editing is where it counts most.