Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover self-publishing and merch & print on demand. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Blurb | Lulu | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $3.99 | Free |
| Pricing model | One-time purchase | Free |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Billing | One-time purchase | Usage-based |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web, macOS, Windows | Web |
| Covers | Self-Publishing, Merch & Print on Demand | Self-Publishing, Merch & Print on Demand |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Print books and magazines one copy at a time
Blurb prints a single copy as readily as a hundred, which is what makes a photo book, a zine or a portfolio possible without an inventory. Layout happens in its own tools or in InDesign through a plugin. Paper stock and trim size move the unit price a long way, so the calculator is worth opening before the design is finished.
Our note
Paper stock moves the price further than page count does, with the same photo book running from $32 to $70. Work out the real cost at the binding you want before setting it against Lulu. The $12 headline is the cheapest possible configuration.
Print and sell a book with no minimum order
Lulu prints one copy at a time and will drop-ship it under your own branding, so a creator can sell a workbook from their own site without holding stock or handing Amazon the customer. An API connects it to Shopify or a custom checkout. Print costs come out of your margin, and a colour interior turns a cheap book into an expensive one.
Our note
Choose Lulu over Amazon KDP when you want to sell direct and keep the buyer's email address, and KDP when you want to be found by people already shopping for books. Plenty of creators do both with the same file.
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.