Kobo Writing Life vs Lulu Comparison 2026
Kobo Writing Life distributes ebooks and audiobooks to Kobo's own readers and, through OverDrive, into libraries, free to publish with royalties up to 70 percent. Lulu prints physical books one copy at a time and drop-ships them under your own branding, free to set up with the print cost coming out of your margin. The two are not really rivals: Kobo is the ebook route to a specific retailer's readers, and Lulu is how a physical book gets sold direct from your own site without holding stock.
Publish to Kobo and keep your rights
Print and sell a book with no minimum order
At a glance
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Kobo Writing Life | Lulu | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Pricing model | Free | Free |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Yes |
Kobo Writing Life
Publish to Kobo and keep your rights
Kobo Writing Life puts a book in front of Rakuten Kobo's readers, and through OverDrive into public libraries, without asking for exclusivity in return. Publishing costs nothing and the author sets the price. For anybody whose first shelf is Amazon this is the obvious second one, and the library route is the part Amazon has no answer to.
Our note
There is no reason not to be on it if you are already selling elsewhere, since it costs nothing and asks for nothing in return. Treat it as a second channel rather than a first: the reader numbers are Amazon's game, and the library route is where Kobo earns its place.
Lulu
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.
Why people weigh these two
- Lulu instead of Kobo Writing Life
- Lulu prints and sells a book with no minimum order, free to start, physical copies where Kobo Writing Life handles the ebook.
- Kobo Writing Life instead of Lulu
- Kobo Writing Life is free and publishes to Kobo's own store instead of Amazon, worth adding for a writer who wants to reach readers outside Kindle.
Which one should you pick
Choose Kobo Writing Life for the ebook and audiobook side, since publishing costs nothing, royalties run up to 70 percent depending on the price you set, and nothing here demands exclusivity. It is a natural second shelf for anybody already on Amazon, and the library route through OverDrive is the part Amazon does not offer.
Choose Lulu for a physical book sold direct from your own site, a workbook, a zine or a manual, since there is no minimum order and the account itself is free. Colour interiors are dramatically more expensive than black and white, and that single choice decides whether a book actually has a margin.
Common questions
- Do I need to choose between Kobo Writing Life and Lulu?
- No, they cover different formats: Kobo Writing Life is ebooks and audiobooks, and Lulu is print. An author selling a workbook direct through Lulu could also list an ebook version on Kobo without any conflict.
- Which one handles physical, printed books?
- Lulu does, printing one copy at a time with no minimum order and drop-shipping under your own branding. Kobo Writing Life is ebooks and audiobooks only; it has no print distribution.
- Which one is free?
- Both have free accounts. Kobo Writing Life costs nothing to publish and pays a royalty instead. Lulu's account is free too, but you pay the print cost of each physical copy, which depends on trim size, paper and binding.
- Which one keeps the customer relationship?
- Lulu does, since books are sold direct from your own site or checkout rather than through a retailer. Kobo Writing Life puts a book in front of Kobo's own readers, so the retailer sits between you and the buyer.
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.