The Main Point
BookFunnel and BooksOasis rarely compete head to head. BookFunnel is a delivery service: it gets ebook files into readers' hands reliably, whether those files are free reader magnets, advance review copies or books someone bought from your own shop. BooksOasis is a bookstore: readers find, buy and read books there, and you earn the full ebook price on each sale. Use BookFunnel to grow your mailing list and send review copies. Use BooksOasis as a place where readers can buy your books. Many authors will benefit from both.
Different Jobs
BookFunnel solves a specific problem. Sending an EPUB to a reader sounds simple, but many readers struggle to get a file onto their Kindle, phone or tablet. BookFunnel gives each reader a landing page with step-by-step help for their device, and it handles the support questions. Authors use it for free books offered in exchange for newsletter signups, for review copies sent before launch, for group promotions with other authors and, on its higher plans, for delivering ebooks sold through their own storefronts.
BooksOasis is a storefront for independent authors and small presses. Readers browse genre shelves, series pages, new releases and sales, buy books outright and read ebooks in the store's app. Authors pay a flat listing plan with no commission, and each book can have ebook, paperback and hardcover editions.
One moves files to readers you already have. The other gives readers a place to find and buy books.
At a Glance
| BookFunnel | BooksOasis | |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Delivering ebook and audiobook files | Selling books to readers |
| Plans | First-Time Author $30 a year, Mid-List $200 a year, Bestseller $300 a year | Starter $29.99 a year for 10 books, larger plans for 100 and 500 |
| Free reader magnets | Yes, its core use | No, every book is sold |
| Review copies | Secure ARC delivery on Mid-List and above | Not a feature |
| Direct sales | Delivers books sold through your own store, on Mid-List and above | Is the store; ebooks pay 100% of the price |
| Print books | No | Paperback and hardcover |
| Reader discovery | Group promotions with other authors | Genre shelves, series pages, new releases, sale banners |
| Exclusivity | None | None |
Reader Magnets and Newsletter Growth
This is BookFunnel's home ground. You upload a free short story, novella or first-in-series book, create a landing page, and offer it to readers in exchange for joining your newsletter. On the Mid-List and Bestseller plans, BookFunnel can connect to your email provider and collect addresses as readers download. It also runs group promotions, where many authors in a genre share a single page of free or discounted books and each promotes it to their own readers, so everyone reaches new subscribers.
BooksOasis does not offer free downloads or email capture. Its role in this strategy comes later: once readers are on your list, you can send them to BooksOasis to buy the rest of the series, where each ebook sale pays you the full price.
Advance Review Copies
Early reviews help a launch, and getting copies to reviewers is fiddly. BookFunnel's Mid-List plan includes secure ARC delivery, with options such as watermarked files to discourage sharing, and it tracks who downloaded. Many authors send their launch team a BookFunnel link a few weeks before release.
BooksOasis is not built for review copies. Reviews on BooksOasis come from buyers, and every review is marked as a verified purchase. If you want early readers to review on several stores, send ARCs through BookFunnel and point those readers to wherever they normally leave reviews.
Selling Ebooks Directly
Many authors now sell ebooks from their own websites. The shop takes payment, and something has to deliver the file. On its Mid-List and Bestseller plans, BookFunnel offers direct sales delivery: when a reader buys from your storefront, BookFunnel sends the ebook with its usual device help. You keep whatever your store's payment provider and platform leave you, and you build your own customer list.
BooksOasis handles the whole sale instead. Readers pay in the store, the ebook goes straight to their account and the store's reading app, and you receive 100% of the ebook price with no per-sale fee. You do not need to build a shop, connect payments or set up delivery. The trade-off is that sales happen in BooksOasis rather than on your own site.
If you want the sale to happen on your own branded site, BookFunnel plus a storefront tool is the route. If you want a ready-made store that pays the full price without building anything, BooksOasis is simpler.
The Reader's Experience
BookFunnel's strength is helping readers load a file onto the device they already use, including Kindles, with clear instructions and a help desk. Readers end up with the book in their own reading app.
BooksOasis keeps everything in one place. Buyers read in the store's reading app, which works offline and syncs their place, highlights and notes across devices. There is no file to move around. For readers who are not comfortable with files and devices, that can be the easier path; for readers who want everything on their Kindle, BookFunnel's approach suits them better.
Costs
BookFunnel's First-Time Author plan costs $30 a year and covers one pen name and 500 downloads a month, but it does not include direct sales delivery or mailing list integrations. Mid-List costs $200 a year or $20 a month and adds those features, 5,000 downloads a month and up to four pen names. Bestseller costs $300 a year or $30 a month with unlimited downloads. Audiobook delivery is an add-on.
BooksOasis costs $29.99 a year or $9.99 a month for up to 10 books on Starter, $179 a year for 100 books and $599 a year for 500, with a pay-as-you-go option for a single book. Ebooks pay you the full price; print pays the price minus the printing cost and a handling fee of 30% of that cost, with shipping paid by the reader.
Pen names are worth checking too. BookFunnel's plans cap the number of pen names, from one on First-Time Author to six on Bestseller, which matters if you write in several genres under different names. BooksOasis lets one account run unlimited author names and imprints, and readers only ever see the public identity you choose for each book. An author with three pen names and a small press imprint can manage all of them from a single BooksOasis account, while choosing the BookFunnel plan that fits how many names need reader magnets and review copies.
The two costs cover different things, so it is less a question of which is cheaper than which jobs you need done.
I write and format short stories, novellas and lead-magnet guides that turn readers into subscribers.
A Workflow Using Both
- Create a free reader magnet and deliver it with BookFunnel in exchange for newsletter signups.
- Join BookFunnel group promotions in your genre to reach new readers.
- Send ARCs through BookFunnel to your launch team before each release.
- List your books on BooksOasis with ebook, paperback and hardcover editions.
- Email your list a BooksOasis link at launch, where each ebook sale pays the full price.
- Schedule launch sales on BooksOasis with start and end dates, so the regular price shows crossed out.
Newsletter growth is the engine behind this workflow. Our guide to selling books without social media covers reader magnets, list building and other ways to reach readers directly.
Which Do You Need?
| If you want to... | Use |
|---|---|
| Give away a free book to grow your newsletter | BookFunnel |
| Send review copies to a launch team | BookFunnel |
| Deliver ebooks sold on your own website | BookFunnel (Mid-List or above) |
| Sell ebooks without building a shop | BooksOasis |
| Sell print and ebook editions together | BooksOasis |
| Grow a list and sell to it at full price | Both |
Frequently Asked Questions
No. BookFunnel delivers ebook files to readers. It handles free downloads, review copies and delivery for sales made through your own store, but it is not a place readers browse to buy books.
First-Time Author is $30 a year, Mid-List is $200 a year or $20 a month, and Bestseller is $300 a year or $30 a month.
Yes, on the Mid-List and Bestseller plans, which include direct sales delivery. The First-Time Author plan does not.
No. BooksOasis is a store where books are bought. Use BookFunnel for free reader magnets.
Yes. Many authors use BookFunnel to grow their list and send ARCs, then send readers to BooksOasis to buy.
No. It charges a flat listing plan, and ebook sales pay you 100% of the price.