KDP vs. BooksOasis: Amazon's Reach or 100% of Every Ebook Sale?

Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing is where most self-published authors start, and for good reason: it puts your book in front of the largest ebook and print audience in the world. BooksOasis is much smaller, but it works differently. KDP pays a royalty rate that depends on your price and format. BooksOasis charges a flat yearly plan and pays you the whole price of every ebook sale.

This isn't really a question of choosing one. Most authors will sell on Amazon. The useful questions are how the two pay, where each gives you more control, and how to use a store like BooksOasis alongside Amazon without breaking any rules. This guide covers all three, with Amazon's figures checked at KDP's own help pages.

Both need clean files. LiberScript exports an EPUB and a print-ready PDF that meet KDP's specifications and BooksOasis's print-readiness check, so one formatting pass serves both.

At a glance: KDP vs. BooksOasis

How KDP pays on ebooks

KDP offers two ebook royalty options. On Amazon.com, the 70% option applies to ebooks priced from $2.99 to $12.99, and a delivery cost based on file size is deducted from each sale: $0.15 per megabyte on Amazon.com, which Amazon says averages about $0.06 per unit. Outside that band, or in some territories, the rate is 35%.

The price band shapes how most indie ebooks are priced. It's why so many sit at $2.99 and above: at $2.99 with 70%, you earn about $2.09 before delivery; at $0.99 with 35%, about $0.35. It also discourages pricing above $12.99, where the rate halves.

How KDP pays on paperbacks

For paperbacks sold on Amazon.com, KDP pays 60% of the list price minus the printing cost when the list price is $9.99 or more, and 50% minus printing below $9.99. Expanded Distribution, which offers your paperback to other retailers and some libraries, pays 40% of list price minus printing. Printing costs depend on page count, trim size, ink and binding; KDP's own calculator gives the exact figure for your book.

How BooksOasis pays

BooksOasis is an online bookstore for independent authors and small presses. Instead of a royalty rate, it charges a flat yearly plan to list your books, and takes no percentage of your price. Every ebook sale pays you 100% of the price you set, with no price bands and no delivery charges. For print, you earn the price minus the printing cost and a handling fee of 30% of that printing cost, and the reader pays shipping at checkout.

KDP: 70% of $4.99 is $3.49, minus about $0.15 delivery for a 1 MB file. Before taxes and any currency conversion.

KDP Select and exclusivity: the rule to know

KDP Select is an optional program. Ebooks enrolled in it are included in Kindle Unlimited, where authors earn from a shared fund based on pages read, and they get promotional tools such as free days or Kindle Countdown Deals. In exchange, an enrolled ebook must be sold only on Amazon for each 90-day term.

That rule matters here. An ebook enrolled in KDP Select can't be sold on BooksOasis or any other store while it's enrolled. Paperbacks and hardcovers are not covered by the exclusivity, so you can sell print editions on BooksOasis even while the ebook is in KDP Select.

If your ebooks do well in Kindle Unlimited, you may keep them enrolled and use BooksOasis for print, or for books you've taken wide. If you prefer to be wide, BooksOasis becomes a store where each ebook sale pays in full. See KDP Select vs. going wide for a closer look.

Reach: the honest comparison

There's no contest on reach. Amazon has millions of shoppers already searching for books, and its recommendation engine can put a well-performing book in front of many of them. BooksOasis is a newer, smaller store. Its readers browse genre shelves, series pages, new releases and books on sale, and it gives independent authors a storefront where they aren't competing with the whole of Amazon's catalogue, but it won't match Amazon's traffic.

That's why the two work best together. Amazon brings the volume; a store that pays the full price is where you send readers you've found yourself, through your newsletter, website and back matter.

Pricing control

On KDP, you set the list price, but the royalty band and delivery costs push you toward certain prices, and Amazon may display a lower price in some cases. On BooksOasis, the price you set is the price readers see, unless you run a promotional price with start and end dates, which shows your regular price crossed out and can place the book in the store's On Sale banners.

For print, KDP's 60% rate at $9.99 and above versus 50% below is a strong nudge to price paperbacks at $9.99 or more. BooksOasis's handling fee is tied to the printing cost rather than the price, so every dollar above the minimum price goes to you.

Payments and reporting

KDP pays monthly, about 60 days after the end of the month in which a sale was reported (90 days for Expanded Distribution). On Amazon.com, direct deposit has no minimum, while a wire or check needs $100. BooksOasis records every sale in an earnings ledger in your dashboard and pays by bank transfer or PayPal; international payouts go by wire once your balance passes a minimum, so a wire's fixed fee doesn't eat a small payment.

Formats and files

KDP publishes ebooks, paperbacks and hardcovers in many trim sizes. BooksOasis offers ebook, paperback and hardcover editions on one listing, with five common trims (5 x 8, 5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9, 7 x 10 and 8.5 x 11 inches), paperbacks from 32 to 800 pages and hardcovers from 24 to 800. It checks print files automatically before submission and shows the exact cover size and spine width once your interior is uploaded.

The margins and cover templates differ between printers, so build each cover from that platform's own template. A LiberScript interior exported at your chosen trim size can be used on both.

ISBNs

KDP can assign a free ISBN for paperbacks and hardcovers, which shows "Independently published" as the imprint and can only be used on KDP, or you can use your own. Ebooks on KDP don't need one. On BooksOasis an ISBN is optional for every format. If you want one identifier for a print edition across several platforms, buy and use your own.

Keeping prices consistent: price matching

Amazon watches prices elsewhere and may match a lower price it finds for your book on another store. If that happens to an ebook on the 70% option, you're paid on the matched price, so a cheaper price elsewhere can quietly reduce your Amazon royalty. The simplest protection is to keep the same list price everywhere and run promotions deliberately, for set dates, rather than leaving a lower price in place on one store.

BooksOasis promotional prices come with start and end dates, which makes this easy: set a sale for a weekend or a week, and it ends on its own. Because every BooksOasis ebook sale pays the full price, you don't need a lower price there to earn more; the same price simply pays you more.

A launch sequence that uses both

Many authors launch on Amazon first, because that's where early reviews and rankings do the most for visibility. A simple sequence looks like this. In the weeks before launch, set a release date on BooksOasis so readers can pre-order there, and set up the Amazon listing. On launch day, announce both links to your newsletter, leading with whichever suits the reader: Amazon for Kindle owners, BooksOasis for readers who'd rather read in an app on any device and support you with the full price. After launch, add the paperback and hardcover to both stores, and put a link to your next book in the back matter of the first.

The aim isn't to pull readers away from Amazon. It's to make sure that when a reader is happy to buy wherever you suggest, the sale pays you as much as possible.

Two authors, two choices

A romance author whose series earns well in Kindle Unlimited keeps the ebooks enrolled in KDP Select, and uses BooksOasis for paperbacks and hardcovers, which aren't covered by the exclusivity. A non-fiction author who sells mostly to newsletter subscribers keeps every ebook wide, sends subscribers to BooksOasis, where each sale pays in full, and relies on Amazon for readers who find the book by searching.

A practical setup for most authors

1. Format once in LiberScript and export an EPUB and a print PDF.
2. Publish on KDP for Amazon's reach, choosing KDP Select or wide for each ebook.
3. List on BooksOasis: ebooks you've taken wide, plus paperbacks and hardcovers for every book.
4. Point your own readers to the store that pays you most for each format, and keep prices consistent.

When KDP fits better

• You want the largest possible audience for a new book.
• Your genre performs strongly in Kindle Unlimited.
• You don't want any upfront cost.
• You rely on Amazon advertising, which only promotes books sold on Amazon.
• Most of your readers already read on a Kindle.

When BooksOasis fits better

• You want 100% of the price on the ebook sales you drive yourself.
• You want to price outside Amazon's $2.99 to $12.99 band without losing half your royalty.
• You want a store with series pages, pre-orders and promotions, and no exclusivity.
• Your readers use Android phones, Windows laptops or tablets and want to read in any browser.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell on KDP and BooksOasis at the same time? Yes, unless the ebook is enrolled in KDP Select, which requires the ebook to be exclusive to Amazon. Print editions can always be sold on both.

What is the KDP ebook royalty? On Amazon.com, 70% minus delivery costs for ebooks priced from $2.99 to $12.99, and 35% outside that band.

What does BooksOasis cost? A yearly plan: $29.99 for 10 books, $179 for 100 and $599 for 500. It pays 100% of every ebook price.

Does BooksOasis distribute to Amazon? No. BooksOasis sells in its own store. Publish on Amazon through KDP directly.

Is BooksOasis a replacement for KDP? For most authors, no. It's a second storefront that pays more per sale, used alongside Amazon rather than instead of it.

Do LiberScript exports work on both? Yes. LiberScript exports EPUB for ebooks and print-ready PDF at your chosen trim, suitable for KDP and BooksOasis.

More reading: KDP royalty rates explained and KDP alternatives on the BooksOasis publisher site, and our KDP royalties guide.

The bottom line

KDP gives you Amazon's audience at royalty rates that depend on your price and format, with an exclusivity option that can pay well in Kindle Unlimited. BooksOasis gives you a smaller store where you pay one flat plan and keep every ebook sale in full. Use KDP for reach, use BooksOasis for the sales you steer yourself, and format once in LiberScript so both look their best.