Kobo Writing Life vs. BooksOasis: Global Ebook Retail or a Store That Pays in Full?

Kobo is one of the most important stores for authors who publish wide. Through Kobo Writing Life, you can sell ebooks directly to Kobo's readers in many countries, with no exclusivity and a clear royalty structure. BooksOasis is a younger, smaller store with a different model: Kobo pays a royalty rate that depends on your price, while BooksOasis charges a flat yearly plan and pays you the full price of every ebook sale.

They don't compete for the same role in your plan. Kobo gives you access to a large, international base of dedicated ebook readers, many of them on Kobo e-readers. BooksOasis gives you a storefront where the whole price of a sale reaches you, plus print editions on the same listing. This guide compares the two in detail, with Kobo's terms checked at its own service agreement and help pages.

Both want a clean EPUB. LiberScript exports standard EPUB files that pass the major stores' checks, so your book looks the same on a Kobo e-reader, in the Oasis Reader app and everywhere else.

At a glance: Kobo Writing Life vs. BooksOasis

How Kobo pays

Kobo's service agreement sets out two ebook royalty rates. You earn 70% of the list price for ebooks priced at $2.99 and above, with no upper price limit, provided the ebook is priced at least 20% below every print edition of the same book. Otherwise, and for ebooks under $2.99, the rate is 45%. Public-domain works earn 20%.

Two details are worth underlining. First, unlike Amazon's 70% band, Kobo's 70% has no ceiling, so an ebook priced at $14.99 or more still earns 70% if it meets the print rule. Second, the 20%-below-print rule means a $9.99 ebook with a $10.99 paperback would fall to 45%, because the ebook isn't at least 20% cheaper. Price your ebook comfortably below your print editions to keep the higher rate.

Kobo pays within 45 days of the end of the month in which sales occurred.

Kobo Plus

Kobo Plus is Kobo's subscription service. Enrolling books is optional and, unlike Amazon's Kindle Unlimited, doesn't require exclusivity: a book can be in Kobo Plus and on sale in other stores at the same time. For wide authors, that makes Kobo Plus a low-risk way to reach subscription readers. BooksOasis has no subscription; readers buy each book and keep it in their library.

How BooksOasis pays

BooksOasis is a store 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, with no price bands and no rules tying your ebook price to your print price. Print editions pay the price minus the printing cost and a handling fee of 30% of that printing cost, and the reader pays shipping at checkout.

Per-sale figures before taxes and currency conversion. BooksOasis has a yearly plan fee.

Reach and readers

Kobo's readership is international and loyal, with particular strength in Canada and several other countries, and many of its readers use dedicated Kobo e-readers. Its store has merchandising opportunities that authors can apply for, and books can reach readers in many markets at once. For a wide author, being on Kobo is close to essential.

BooksOasis is a smaller store with its own readers, who browse genre shelves, series pages, new releases, a Coming Soon shelf and books on sale, and read in the Oasis Reader app on phones, tablets and computers. It won't match Kobo's international reach, but it adds a store where each ebook sale pays in full, and print editions on the same listing.

Reading experience

Kobo readers read on Kobo e-readers and the Kobo apps, with the comfort of e-ink screens for long reading sessions. BooksOasis readers use the Oasis Reader app, which runs in any modern browser and can be installed like an app. It opens books offline once they're on the device, syncs the reader's place, highlights and notes across devices, and offers light, sepia, dark and automatic themes, text sizing and a choice of page-flip or continuous-scroll reading. It doesn't send books to e-ink e-readers, so readers devoted to their Kobo device will naturally buy on Kobo.

Print

Kobo Writing Life focuses on ebooks and audiobooks. For print, Kobo authors use another service. 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.

That interacts with Kobo's rule in a useful way. If your BooksOasis paperback is priced at, say, $16.99, a $9.99 ebook on Kobo is comfortably more than 20% below it, keeping Kobo's 70% rate.

Promotions

Kobo offers promotional opportunities through Kobo Writing Life, where authors can apply to have books included in store promotions; places are limited and selective. BooksOasis lets you set a promotional price on any edition yourself, 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. BooksOasis also has pre-orders with a release date, series pages with reading order, and verified-purchase reviews.

Payments and reporting

Kobo pays within 45 days of the month's end, with reports in your Kobo Writing Life dashboard. BooksOasis writes every sale to an earnings ledger you can see in your dashboard and pays by bank transfer or PayPal; domestic US bank transfers typically have no fee, and international payouts go by wire once your balance passes a minimum. See how author payouts work for a wider comparison.

Pricing across both

A few rules keep both stores paying well:

• Price ebooks at $2.99 or more for Kobo's 70% rate; BooksOasis pays in full at any price.
• Keep ebooks at least 20% below print on every edition, wherever it's sold, to protect Kobo's 70%.
• Keep the same ebook list price in both stores and run promotions for set dates.
• Use Kobo Plus if you want subscription readers without giving up other stores.
• Review prices once a year alongside your sales by store and country, and adjust anything that no longer fits your readers or your print prices.

Series in both stores

Series readers are the backbone of many wide authors' incomes, and both stores support them in different ways. On Kobo, series books are linked so readers can see the sequence, and a well-placed promotion on book one can lift the whole series. On BooksOasis, a series page lists every book in reading order with its number, readers who already own some books can hide them to see what they still need, and a box lets them buy several ebooks in the series in one checkout, with any books not yet released included as pre-orders.

A practical pattern: keep book one at an easy price in both stores, list the rest at full price, and make sure every book's back matter links to the next. Readers who start on Kobo can carry on there; readers who come to you through your newsletter can buy the whole series on BooksOasis, where each ebook pays in full.

Two authors, two approaches

A fantasy author with readers across several countries publishes every ebook directly on Kobo, enrols them in Kobo Plus, and applies for Kobo promotions when a new book launches. The same books sit on BooksOasis with paperbacks and hardcovers, and the author's newsletter links there for readers who want print or want to support the author with the full price.

A romance author who sells mostly through a busy mailing list lists everything on BooksOasis first, because every ebook sale pays in full and pre-orders open on the store as soon as a release date is set, then publishes on Kobo for the readers who prefer to read on a Kobo e-reader.

A note on audiobooks

Kobo also sells audiobooks, which Kobo Writing Life authors can publish alongside their ebooks. BooksOasis sells ebooks and print editions, not audiobooks, so audio stays with Kobo and other audio retailers in your plan.

Direct or through an aggregator?

You can reach Kobo directly through Kobo Writing Life or through an aggregator such as Draft2Digital, which takes roughly 10% of the retail price. Going direct keeps Kobo's full rate and gives you access to Kobo Writing Life's promotions dashboard; an aggregator saves you managing another account. Many authors go direct with Kobo because it's a major store for wide readers. BooksOasis isn't reached through aggregators; you list there directly.

Using both

1. Format once in LiberScript and export an EPUB and a print PDF.
2. Publish the ebook on Kobo Writing Life, priced at least 20% below print, and consider Kobo Plus.
3. List the ebook, paperback and hardcover on BooksOasis, keeping the ebook's price the same as on Kobo.
4. Send your own readers to BooksOasis when you want the full price of the sale, and let Kobo reach its readers worldwide.

When Kobo fits better

• You want international ebook readers, many on dedicated e-readers.
• You want a subscription option without exclusivity.
• You don't want any upfront cost.
• Your readers prefer e-ink e-readers for long reading sessions.
• You'd like to apply for store promotions curated by Kobo's team.

When BooksOasis fits better

• You want 100% of every ebook sale, at any price.
• You want print editions on the same listing as the ebook.
• You want to run your own dated promotions, pre-orders and series pages.
• You want to price an ebook freely, without tying it to your print prices.

Frequently asked questions

What does Kobo Writing Life pay? 70% for ebooks priced at $2.99 and up, with no upper limit, if the ebook is at least 20% cheaper than every print edition; otherwise 45%.

Does Kobo Plus require exclusivity? No. Kobo Plus is optional and non-exclusive, so enrolled books can still be sold in other stores.

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

Can I sell on Kobo and BooksOasis at the same time? Yes. Neither requires exclusivity.

Does BooksOasis send books to Kobo e-readers? No. BooksOasis ebooks are read in the Oasis Reader app on phones, tablets and computers.

Will my LiberScript EPUB work on both? Yes. LiberScript exports standard EPUBs suitable for Kobo Writing Life and BooksOasis, plus print-ready PDFs for BooksOasis paperbacks and hardcovers.

More reading: Kobo Writing Life alternatives and Kobo Writing Life vs. KDP on the BooksOasis publisher site, and our Kobo Writing Life guide.

The bottom line

Kobo Writing Life is a cornerstone of going wide: international readers, a 70% rate with no ceiling when your ebook is priced well below print, and a subscription option that doesn't demand exclusivity. BooksOasis is a store where you keep every ebook sale in full and sell print beside it, for one flat plan. Use Kobo for reach, BooksOasis for the sales you steer yourself, and one LiberScript file for both.