Amazon KDP vs IngramSpark: Royalties, Costs and Which to Use

Both are print-on-demand services: each copy is printed when someone orders it. KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is Amazon’s own platform and sells on Amazon. IngramSpark is the self-publishing arm of Ingram, the wholesaler that bookstores and libraries order from. This guide compares them with every number worked from each company’s own price lists, checked on 18 October 2026. Weighing more than these two? See our guide to self-publishing platforms.

KDP vs IngramSpark at a glance

KDP is simpler and pays more on Amazon. IngramSpark reaches stores and libraries and offers more formats.

Checked on KDP’s help pages and IngramSpark’s help center and 2026 rate card, 18 October 2026.

What changed in 2026

Three changes since 2025 make older comparisons out of date.

• IngramSpark dropped its revision fees on 1 February 2026, and setup is free. Guides that still quote a $49 setup fee or $25 per revision are out of date.
• IngramSpark’s distribution fee is now 1.875% of the list price on each distributed sale, from the same date, alongside new print prices.
• KDP’s 70% ebook band now runs to $12.99. It widened from $9.99 on 7 July 2026, on Amazon.com.

Libraries changed too. Baker & Taylor, long a major library wholesaler, began closing, and NPR reported in January 2026 that around 2,000 libraries had set up new accounts with Ingram.

Which one to use, by book type

Your format and where your readers buy usually decide it.

How KDP and IngramSpark pay you

KDP pays a royalty on your list price. IngramSpark pays what’s left after the store’s discount.

KDP print. On Amazon.com, paperbacks and hardcovers earn 60% of the list price at $9.99 or more, or 50% at $9.98 or less, minus printing. KDP Expanded Distribution pays 40% of the list price minus printing. Our page on Amazon royalties has more examples.

IngramSpark print. You set a wholesale discount, the share stores and wholesalers keep. In the US it runs from 40% to 55%. IngramSpark recommends 55% and warns that below 53% in the US, many bookstores won’t order the book. You’re paid the list price minus that discount, minus printing, minus a 1.875% fee on the list price. A higher discount makes stores more willing to order, and leaves you less.

Ebooks. KDP pays 70% for ebooks priced from $2.99 to $12.99 on Amazon.com, minus a small delivery fee (US $0.15 per MB), or 35% outside that range. A $4.99 ebook of 1 MB earns about $3.39. IngramSpark pays 85% of what it receives from each ebook retailer, so the amount depends on the store.

When you’re paid. KDP pays about 60 days after the end of the month of sale, by direct deposit with no minimum. IngramSpark pays print sales 90 days after the month of sale. IngramSpark pages give 90 or 120 days for ebooks.

Print costs compared

KDP is cheaper for black-and-white paperbacks. Hardcovers cost about the same, and IngramSpark’s standard color can be close to KDP’s.

Worked from KDP’s Amazon.com printing cost pages and IngramSpark’s US rate card (effective 1 February 2026), checked 18 October 2026. KDP and IngramSpark split “regular” and “large” trims differently, so check each company’s calculator for your size.

Print quality is harder to compare. Neither company publishes a side-by-side test. KDP allows up to 0.125 inch of variance in printing and trimming; IngramSpark allows up to 1/16 inch on trim and warns that color can vary between orders. Order a proof from each before you publish.

What you earn per copy

Change the format, size, page count, price and discount to see what each route pays.

Try your numbers

KDP vs IngramSpark earnings calculator

What each route pays you per print copy sold, from each company’s published US prices.

Format Black-and-white paperback Standard color paperback Premium color paperback Black-and-white hardcover Premium color hardcover

Trim size (inches) 5.5 × 8.5 6 × 9 6.14 × 9.21 7 × 10 8.5 × 8.5 8.5 × 11

Page count

List price

$

IngramSpark wholesale discount

40% 55%

KDP, sold on Amazon

$5.59

Print cost $4.60, royalty rate 60%

KDP Expanded Distribution

$2.20

40% of list price, minus printing

IngramSpark

$1.62

Print cost $5.71, fee $0.32

The same 300-page, 6 × 9 paperback at $16.99:

The math shows why many authors use both. On Amazon, KDP pays more than three times IngramSpark at a 55% discount. A bookstore, though, orders through IngramSpark. And price carefully: the same book at $9.99 loses $1.40 a copy through IngramSpark at 55%.

Bookstores and libraries: KDP Expanded Distribution vs IngramSpark

Expanded Distribution is KDP’s free option to offer your paperback to US and UK distributors. For stores and libraries, IngramSpark is the more direct route.

• Expanded Distribution pays 40% of the list price, minus printing, and takes up to 8 weeks to start. Hardcovers can’t use it, and some trim sizes and book types aren’t eligible.
• It has no discount or returns setting, the two terms bookstores look at. KDP also says enrollment doesn’t guarantee distributors will accept the book.
• IngramSpark lets you set both. Returns can be refused, returned and destroyed, or returned and shipped to you ($3 a book in the US); shipping returns back is available in the US only. You pay the wholesale price of each returned copy, so allow returns only if you plan to pitch stores.
• Being orderable isn’t being stocked. IngramSpark says a title is typically available on retailer websites within 4 weeks of turning on distribution, and up to 6 to 8 weeks for your first title. A store or library still has to choose to order it.

Pre-orders, price changes and your Amazon listing

KDP can’t take print pre-orders. IngramSpark can, where retailers accept them, and it also supplies Amazon.

• Pre-orders. KDP offers pre-orders for ebooks only; for print, you can schedule a release date up to 90 days ahead. IngramSpark sends a future on-sale date to retailers, set at least 30 days after setup, and some retailers then take pre-orders. It says not all sellers recognize an on-sale date and it can’t guarantee how they list a title.
• IngramSpark on Amazon. Amazon is in IngramSpark’s network, but IngramSpark says each retailer decides whether to list a title, and a print-on-demand book may not show “In stock”. ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors, reports that a book also on KDP shows as in stock, while an IngramSpark-only copy may show as temporarily out of stock.
• Price changes. On KDP, a print price change takes 72 hours to 5 business days to show.
• Keep one list price. KDP’s help page now requires the same list price everywhere only in fixed-price countries such as Germany and France. ALLi reports that KDP support still asks for prices no higher than on other channels, so keep the list price the same on both.

Ebooks: KDP Select or IngramSpark’s ebook distribution

Many authors put the Kindle ebook on KDP; the question is whether to go exclusive.

• KDP Select makes your ebook exclusive to Amazon for 90 days at a time, in exchange for Kindle+ (formerly Kindle Unlimited) page reads and promotions. Print isn’t affected. See going wide or staying exclusive.
• IngramSpark’s ebook distribution reaches stores such as Kobo and library platforms such as OverDrive. Amazon and Apple need separate agreements, and IngramSpark can’t supply Kindle if you’ve uploaded any ebook to Kindle yourself in the past 12 months.

Outside the US

Both sell worldwide, but in different ways.

KDP sells paperbacks in 14 Amazon stores, including the UK, Germany, Japan and Australia, and hardcovers in 12. With direct deposit, KDP pays in one currency set by where your bank is, such as US dollars for a US bank, and converts sales from other stores into it. IngramSpark prints in the US, the UK, Australia and the UAE, with partner printers in more countries, and pays in US dollars, Canadian dollars, pounds, euros or Australian dollars, depending on your bank. The currency can’t be changed later.

Children’s and picture books: what’s different

Picture books push both platforms to their limits, because they’re short and in full color.

• Hardcover. KDP hardcovers need 75 pages, so a 32-page picture book hardcover goes through IngramSpark. KDP’s largest hardcover, 8.25 × 11, has no standard case laminate match at IngramSpark, which lists that size as a paperback only. To make two editions match, check every KDP trim size before the art starts. See how to self-publish a hardcover children’s book.
• Color. KDP prints a short picture book only in premium color, because its standard color starts at 72 pages. IngramSpark offers standard and premium color.
• Size. KDP paperbacks are at most 8.5 inches wide, so an 11 × 8.5 landscape book goes to IngramSpark, which prints that size in premium color only. See standard children’s book sizes.
• Board books. Neither prints them.

At $12.99, that paperback earns $3.59 on KDP and $1.16 to $3.12 through IngramSpark at a 55% discount, depending on the color option. Our guide to publishing a children’s book covers the rest.

How to use KDP and IngramSpark for the same book

Own your ISBN, keep Expanded Distribution off, and give each platform its own cover file.

1. Buy your own ISBN for each print format. A free ISBN from KDP or IngramSpark works only on the platform that issued it. Here’s whether you need your own ISBN.
2. Leave KDP’s Expanded Distribution off. An ISBN can sit on only one Ingram account, and KDP’s Expanded Distribution runs through its own. If it’s already on, turn it off and ask IngramSpark for a title transfer, which can take up to 30 days.
3. Prepare the files. The same interior usually works on both, but each needs a cover built on its own template, with its own spine width, and IngramSpark keeps the last page blank for printing details. Our book formatting and cover design teams build files for both.
4. Decide on pre-orders first. For a print pre-order, set up IngramSpark with a future on-sale date and publish the KDP edition on release day. ALLi reports that KDP won’t schedule a release for an ISBN already live on Amazon.
5. Set the same list price on both, then your IngramSpark discount and returns.
6. Order a proof from each before you announce the book.

Mistakes to avoid

• Taking KDP’s free ISBN, then wanting IngramSpark. That ISBN can’t move.
• Leaving Expanded Distribution on. IngramSpark will reject the same ISBN until it’s transferred.
• Setting a 55% discount without doing the math. A short or low-priced book can earn nothing per copy.
• Pricing just under $9.99. On KDP, the print royalty drops from 60% to 50%.
• Using one cover file for both. Spine widths and templates differ.
• Trusting old fee figures. IngramSpark’s title setup is free, and revisions have been free since February 2026.

When to get help

Two accounts, two cover files, two price plans and a discount decision take time to get right. You can do it all yourself for free. If you’d rather hand it over, our Global publishing tier ($999) sets up your book on KDP and IngramSpark, hardcover included, with every account in your name. ISBN agency fees are paid by you directly, with no markup.

KDP vs IngramSpark: common questions

Is IngramSpark better than KDP?

Neither is better overall; they do different jobs. KDP is simpler and usually pays more per copy on Amazon. IngramSpark reaches bookstores and libraries, lets you set a wholesale discount and returns, offers print pre-orders and prints more hardcover styles. Many authors use both for the same book, with their own ISBN.

Does IngramSpark distribute to Amazon?

Yes, Amazon is part of IngramSpark’s network, but IngramSpark says each retailer decides whether to list a title, and a print-on-demand book may not show as in stock. ALLi reports that when the same paperback is also live on KDP, Amazon shows it as in stock. Use KDP for Amazon and IngramSpark for everyone else.

Is KDP Expanded Distribution worth it?

For a book you won’t pitch to stores, it’s a free extra with little effort. It pays 40% of the list price minus printing, offers no discount or returns setting, and doesn’t cover hardcovers. If bookstores and libraries matter to you, IngramSpark is the better route, and you can’t use both for the same ISBN.

Can I switch from KDP Expanded Distribution to IngramSpark?

Yes, if you own the ISBN. Turn off Expanded Distribution in KDP, then request a title transfer from IngramSpark, which can take up to 30 days. A free KDP ISBN can’t be transferred, so that edition would need a new ISBN on IngramSpark.

Related reading

• Self-publishing platforms compared
• How much it costs to publish a book on Amazon
• How to self-publish a book