Apple Books vs Google Play Books for Indie Authors

The Verdict

Wide authors should usually be on both. Apple Books pays 70% at any price, gives you tight control over pricing and puts your ebook on every iPhone, iPad and Mac. Google Play Books reaches Android users around the world and also pays 70% of your list price in most of its markets, but it can discount your book on its own, which may ripple into other stores. If you can only manage one directly, Apple is simpler to run. Google is worth adding once you understand its pricing behavior.

The Two Stores

Apple Books is built into Apple's devices. Independent authors publish through Apple Books for Authors, a web portal that accepts EPUB files and Word documents, or through a distributor. Apple sells ebooks and audiobooks, runs featured collections curated by its editors and supports pre-orders up to a year ahead.

Google Play Books sells ebooks and audiobooks through the Play Books app on Android, iPhone and the web. Authors publish through the Google Play Books Partner Center, uploading EPUB or PDF files, and sign-up is open only to sellers in supported countries. Google's reach comes from Android, the most widely used phone platform worldwide.

Side by Side

Royalties

Apple's terms are the simplest in ebook retail: 70% of the price on every ebook, with no price bands and no delivery fees. A $0.99 series starter and a $24.99 box set earn the same rate.

Google pays 70% of your list price in most of the countries where Play Books operates, and a lower share in the rest. Like Apple, it has no price bands, so higher-priced ebooks keep the full rate.

Both are more generous than Amazon at the edges. Kindle's 70% option on Amazon.com applies only from $2.99 to $12.99, with 35% outside that range, so very cheap ebooks and premium bundles often earn noticeably more per copy on Apple and Google.

Pricing and Discounting

This is the main practical difference. On Apple, the price you set is what readers see, and changes happen when you make them. You can schedule promotions and know exactly what each customer pays.

Google has a history of selling ebooks below the list price the publisher sets. Your share is calculated from your list price, so a Google discount does not cut your royalty on that sale, but a lower Google price can be spotted by other retailers. Amazon, for example, may lower your Kindle price to match, and then your Amazon royalty falls.

Authors handle this in a few ways. Some set a slightly higher list price on Google so that any discount lands near their price elsewhere. Others accept occasional matching as the cost of being on Google. Watch your Kindle price for a few weeks after listing on Google, and adjust if needed.

Readers and Devices

Apple readers buy with a tap using the payment method already linked to their device, and the Books app is always there. Apple's editors feature indie books in themed collections and seasonal promotions, which can bring meaningful visibility.

Google reaches readers who use Android phones and tablets, which matters in regions where Android dominates. Many readers in markets across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe read primarily on Android, so Google Play can open up international sales that Apple alone would miss.

Together, the two cover nearly every smartphone reader who does not use Kindle, which is why wide authors treat them as a pair.

Signing Up and Uploading

Apple Books for Authors works in a browser and accepts Word documents as well as EPUB files, so even first-time authors can publish directly. You enter your book's details, upload the file and cover, set prices by country and submit.

Google's Partner Center asks you to create a publisher account, add payment and tax details and then add books with their metadata, files and prices. It is a little more involved and sign-up is limited to supported countries. Google accepts EPUB and PDF files; a clean EPUB gives readers the best experience.

On both, test your file on a real device before publishing. Each reading app renders EPUBs slightly differently, and a problem that looks minor on a computer can be glaring on a phone.

Metadata That Helps on Each Store

Good metadata does more work on these stores than on Amazon, because neither has Amazon's advertising machine behind it.

• Categories: choose the most specific categories that fit. Apple's browsing relies heavily on them, and a narrow category is easier to rank in than a broad one.
• Series information: enter the series name and number exactly the same way on every book, so each store groups the books and shows readers what comes next.
• Descriptions: write for a phone screen, with a hook in the first two lines, short paragraphs and no long blocks of text.
• Keywords and subtitles: Google's search draws on your title, subtitle and description, so describe the book in the plain words readers would search for.
• Sample length: both stores let readers sample the opening. Front matter that runs many pages eats into the sample, so keep it short or move some of it to the back.

Payments and Reports

Both stores report sales by country in their dashboards and pay monthly once your earnings pass their thresholds. Because both sell in many currencies, set prices for your key countries by hand rather than relying only on automatic conversion, so books land on familiar price points such as 4.99 rather than an odd converted figure.

Pre-Orders and Promotions

Apple supports pre-orders up to a year before release for paid books. Pre-orders give you a link to share during a launch and count toward release-day sales, which can help a book appear in Apple's charts. Apple's editorial team also runs promotions, and some distributors help authors pitch for them.

Google also supports pre-orders. Its promotion opportunities are less visible to indie authors, and many find that Google sales grow more through steady availability and occasional discounts than through featured placements.

Direct or Through a Distributor

Going direct keeps the full 70% and gives you fastest control over prices and metadata. A distributor such as Draft2Digital can deliver your ebook to both stores with one upload, taking a share of each sale, which some authors find worth it for the convenience and the consolidated reporting.

A common middle path is going direct to Apple, which is easy, and using a distributor for Google and smaller stores if Google's Partner Center feels like too much work. For a detailed look at Apple as one of your channels, see our comparison of Apple Books and BooksOasis.

Choosing

Frequently Asked Questions