Amazon KDP vs IngramSpark Comparison 2026
Both cover self-publishing. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
Self-publish to Kindle and keep 70 percent
Print a book into the retail supply chain
At a glance
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Amazon KDP | IngramSpark | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | Not listed |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Usage-based | Not stated |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | 30% of what you earn | Not stated |
| Runs on | Not stated | Web |
| Covers | Self-Publishing, Digital Products & Storefronts | Self-Publishing |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
Amazon KDP
Self-publish to Kindle and keep 70 percent
Kindle Direct Publishing is the shortest route from a finished manuscript to a book somebody can buy, and the audience on the other side of it is the reason most self-published authors start here. Publishing costs nothing. The royalty band is the thing to read before setting a price, because it changes what you earn by half.
Our note
The price band is the decision, not the cover. Pricing at $14.99 instead of $12.99 cuts the royalty rate in half, and a lot of first books are priced into the wrong side of it by accident.
Only on this side
- Covers digital products & storefronts
IngramSpark
Print a book into the retail supply chain
IngramSpark is how an independent author gets a physical book into the catalogue bookshops and libraries actually order from, which Amazon's own printing does not do on the same terms. Setup costs nothing now, print is charged per copy, and the distribution reach is the reason to be here rather than the interface. Returns, discounts and trim sizes are decisions with real money attached, and the site is better at listing them than at explaining them.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.