Apple Books vs. BooksOasis: Apple's Ebook Store or a Store That Pays You in Full?

Apple Books is one of the most author-friendly of the big ebook stores: a flat 70% royalty at every price, no delivery fees and no exclusivity. BooksOasis is a smaller store with a different model: Apple pays a royalty on each sale, while BooksOasis charges a flat yearly plan and pays you the whole price of every ebook, and sells your paperback and hardcover too.

They reach different readers. Apple Books serves people reading on iPhones, iPads and Macs. BooksOasis serves readers on any device with a browser. This guide compares how each pays, what they cost, how they handle pre-orders and print, and how the two fit together in a wide publishing plan. Apple's terms are checked at Apple Books for Authors and Apple's partner support pages.

Both need a good file. Apple accepts EPUB (and Word documents), and LiberScript exports clean EPUBs that display well in Apple Books, the Oasis Reader app and every other major store, plus print-ready PDFs for BooksOasis paperbacks and hardcovers.

At a glance: Apple Books vs. BooksOasis

How Apple Books pays

Apple Books for Authors pays 70% royalties on every ebook, regardless of price, with no file delivery fees. That's simpler and often more generous than Amazon's structure, where the 70% rate applies only between $2.99 and $12.99 on Amazon.com and a delivery cost is deducted. On Apple, a $0.99 promotional ebook and a $14.99 ebook both earn 70%.

Apple pays monthly once the amount you're owed passes the minimum payment threshold for your bank's country or region. Apple's support suggests checking your documentation and balance if a month's payment hasn't arrived within 45 days of the month's end. You sign up through an iTunes Connect account in your legal name, and can publish from the web as well as with Apple's tools.

How BooksOasis pays

BooksOasis is an online bookstore for independent authors and small presses. You pay a flat yearly plan and it takes no percentage of your price. Every ebook sale pays you 100% of the price. Paperbacks and hardcovers pay the price minus the printing cost and a handling fee of 30% of that printing cost, and the reader pays shipping at checkout.

What you earn per ebook

Per-sale figures before taxes and currency conversion. BooksOasis has a yearly plan fee; Apple has none.

Reach and readers

Apple Books is built into Apple devices, so it reaches a large base of readers who already have the app on their phone, tablet and computer. For authors in genres that sell well on Apple, it can be a significant store. Apple also offers merchandising and promotional opportunities through its own teams.

BooksOasis readers come to a store devoted to independent authors' books, where they browse genre shelves, series pages, new releases, a Coming Soon shelf for pre-orders and books on sale. Because Oasis Reader runs in any modern browser, BooksOasis reaches readers on Android phones, Windows laptops, Chromebooks and Apple devices alike, including readers who don't use Apple Books.

Reading experience

Apple Books offers a polished reading app on Apple devices, with syncing across a reader's Apple devices through their Apple account. Oasis Reader runs in a browser and can be installed to the home screen like an app. It opens books offline once they're on the device, syncs the reader's place, highlights and notes across any devices they sign in on, and offers light, sepia, dark and automatic themes, adjustable text (including pinch to resize on touch screens), and a choice of page-flip or continuous-scroll reading.

Pre-orders

Apple lets you set up a pre-order up to 365 days before release; a future release date makes a book available to pre-order automatically, though free books can't be pre-ordered. BooksOasis pre-orders work from a release date on the listing: readers pay at checkout, the ebook opens in their library on release day, and pre-ordered print copies are printed and shipped after release. Once a BooksOasis book has been bought, its release date can't be pushed later, so readers can plan around it; bringing it forward is fine.

Print

Apple Books sells ebooks and audiobooks, not printed books. BooksOasis sells paperbacks and hardcovers on the same listing as the ebook, printed on demand when a reader orders, in five common trim sizes (5 x 8, 5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9, 7 x 10 and 8.5 x 11 inches), with paperbacks from 32 to 800 pages and hardcovers from 24 to 800. For readers who want a physical copy, BooksOasis offers it next to the ebook.

Promotions

Because Apple pays 70% at every price, it's a good store for low-price promotions: a $0.99 sale still earns 70% there, where it would earn 35% on Amazon.com. Apple also allows free books, making it a natural home for a permanently free series starter. BooksOasis lets you set a promotional price on any edition with optional start and end dates; readers see the regular price crossed out and the book can appear in the store's On Sale banners. Since BooksOasis pays in full at any price, a low series-starter price still pays you every cent.

Direct or through an aggregator

You can reach Apple Books directly, keeping the full 70%, or through an aggregator such as Draft2Digital, which takes roughly 10% of the retail price, or PublishDrive, which charges a subscription with no commission. If Apple is one of your bigger stores, going direct is usually worth the setup. BooksOasis isn't reached through aggregators; you list there yourself.

Setting up on each

To publish on Apple Books directly, you create an account through iTunes Connect in your legal name, complete tax and banking details, and upload your EPUB (or a Word document) with its cover, description, categories and price. You can set a release date for pre-orders and choose the countries where your book is sold.

On BooksOasis, you choose a plan, create a listing with a description of at least 100 characters, three to five genres and at least three search keywords, and add editions. The ebook needs an EPUB; each print edition needs an interior PDF and a full-wrap cover. After you upload the interior, the dashboard quotes the printing cost and minimum price, shows the exact cover size and spine width, and offers a cover template. An automatic print-readiness check runs before the book goes to review.

Keeping details consistent

Readers who find your book in two stores should recognise it instantly. Use the same title, subtitle, cover, description and series details on Apple Books and BooksOasis, written once in a master document and pasted into each. If you revise the description or cover, update both on the same day. Consistency also helps readers trust that the ebook in each store is the same book, whichever app they prefer to read in.

Series across both stores

Series readers look for the next book as soon as they finish one. On Apple Books, link each book to its series and put a link to the next book in the back matter. On BooksOasis, a series page shows every book in reading order with its number and a short description; readers can hide books they already own, and buy several ebooks from the series in one checkout, with any unreleased books included as pre-orders. An easy entry price on book one works well in both stores, and on BooksOasis that price still pays you in full.

Pricing across both

• Keep one list price for each ebook in both stores, and run promotions for set dates.
• Use Apple for free or very cheap series starters if you want them, since Apple allows free books and pays 70% at any price.
• Send your own readers to BooksOasis when you want the full price of the sale, or when they want print.
• Link both stores from your website and back matter so readers can choose their preferred app.

A setup that uses both

1. Format once in LiberScript, exporting an EPUB and a print PDF.
2. Publish the ebook on Apple Books, directly if Apple readers matter to you.
3. List the ebook, paperback and hardcover on BooksOasis.
4. Set pre-orders in both for your next release, and announce both links together.

Payments and reporting side by side

Apple reports sales in its dashboard and pays monthly once you pass the threshold for your bank's country. BooksOasis writes every ebook and print sale to an earnings ledger you can see at any time, and pays by bank transfer or PayPal; international bank payouts go by wire once your balance passes a minimum. Record both in one simple spreadsheet by month, so you can see which store earns more for each book and adjust where you send your readers.

Two authors, two approaches

A romance author whose readers skew towards iPhones publishes directly on Apple, runs $0.99 promotions there where they still earn 70%, and lists the same series on BooksOasis with paperbacks for readers who want print.

A science-fiction author whose readers are split across Android and Apple devices lists every book on BooksOasis, where readers on any device can read in the browser app and every ebook sale pays in full, and reaches Apple through an aggregator because Apple is a smaller share of sales.

When Apple Books fits better

• Your readers use iPhones, iPads and Macs.
• You want free series starters or cheap promotions that still pay 70%.
• You want no upfront cost, and audiobooks alongside ebooks.

When BooksOasis fits better

• You want 100% of every ebook sale.
• You want paperbacks and hardcovers on the same listing.
• Your readers are on a mix of devices, including Android and Windows.
• You want series pages, dated promotions and pre-orders in a store for independent authors.

Frequently asked questions

What does Apple Books pay authors? 70% on every ebook, regardless of price, with no file delivery fees.

Does Apple Books require exclusivity? No. You can sell the same ebook on Apple Books and other stores, including BooksOasis, at the same time.

What does BooksOasis cost? $29.99 a year for up to 10 books, $179 for 100 and $599 for 500. Every ebook sale pays 100% of the price.

Can readers without Apple devices read BooksOasis books? Yes. Oasis Reader works in any modern browser on phones, tablets and computers.

Can I sell print on Apple Books? No. Apple Books sells ebooks and audiobooks. BooksOasis sells paperbacks and hardcovers, printed on demand when readers order.

Will a LiberScript EPUB work on both? Yes. LiberScript exports standard EPUBs accepted by Apple Books and BooksOasis.

More reading: Apple Books for Authors alternatives on the BooksOasis publisher site, and our Apple Books for authors guide.

The bottom line

Apple Books is simple and fair: 70% at any price, no fees, no exclusivity, and a built-in audience on Apple devices. BooksOasis pays the whole ebook price, sells print beside it and reaches readers on any device, for one flat plan. Publish on Apple for its readers, list on BooksOasis for the sales you steer yourself, and let one LiberScript file serve both.