Kobo Writing Life vs KDP: Is Going Wide Worth It?

The Short Answer

For most authors who are not enrolled in KDP Select, adding Kobo Writing Life is worth it. It costs nothing, pays a strong royalty with no delivery charges and no upper price limit, and reaches readers outside Amazon. The catch is that you cannot use Kobo for an ebook while it is enrolled in KDP Select, so the real choice is between Amazon exclusivity and selling wide.

KDP will usually remain your largest single store. Kobo is one of the most valuable additions once you decide to go wide.

Royalty Rules at a Glance

What You Earn at Common Prices

These figures assume the ebook meets Kobo's print-price condition and, for KDP, a 1 MB file sold on Amazon.com.

Within KDP's band, Kobo pays slightly more per copy because it has no delivery charge. Above $12.99, the gap widens sharply, since KDP drops to 35% while Kobo stays at 70%. That matters for box sets and long nonfiction.

Per-copy royalty is only half the picture, though. Amazon usually sells far more copies, so total income from KDP is often higher even when Kobo pays more per sale.

Kobo's Print-Price Condition

This is the rule authors most often miss. To earn 70% on Kobo, your ebook must be priced at least 20% below every print edition of the same book. If it is not, the royalty drops to 45%.

For example, if your paperback sells for $19.99, the ebook must be priced at $15.99 or less to earn 70%. With a $16.99 paperback, the ebook needs to be $13.59 or less.

Kobo Plus vs Kindle Unlimited

The subscription programs work very differently, and the difference drives the whole exclusive-versus-wide decision.

• Kindle Unlimited requires enrolling the ebook in KDP Select, which means selling the digital edition only on Amazon for each 90-day term. You are paid for pages read by subscribers.
• Kobo Plus is optional for each title and does not require exclusivity. You earn a share of the program's pool based on reading time, while still selling the same ebook everywhere else.

Kindle Unlimited can be very rewarding in fast-reading genres with long series. Kobo Plus is smaller, but it adds subscription income without locking your ebook to one store. For a full picture of exclusivity, see our guide to KDP Select.

Reach and Readers

Amazon is the largest ebook market, especially in the US and UK. Kobo's strength lies elsewhere: it has loyal e-reader owners, a strong presence in several countries outside the US, and readers who prefer not to buy from Amazon.

Results vary widely by genre, language and country. Some authors earn a meaningful share of their income on Kobo; others sell only a few copies there. The only reliable way to know is to publish wide for several months and compare.

Promotions, Payments and Print

Promotions

KDP Select authors can run Kindle Countdown Deals or free book promotions. Kobo Writing Life gives authors who publish directly with Kobo access to a promotions area where they can apply for merchandising opportunities. Publishing direct, rather than through an aggregator, is what opens those promotions.

Payments

Kobo pays monthly, within 45 days of the end of each month. KDP pays monthly, about 60 days after the end of the month in which sales occur.

Print

Kobo Writing Life does not print books. Most wide authors use KDP Print for Amazon and another print-on-demand service for bookstores and other retailers.

Direct or Through an Aggregator?

You can reach Kobo by uploading directly to Kobo Writing Life or through an aggregator that delivers to many stores. Going direct means one more account to manage, but you keep the store's full royalty and gain access to Kobo's promotion opportunities. An aggregator saves time across many stores in exchange for a commission. Our comparison of KDP and Draft2Digital explains how aggregators fit alongside Amazon.

Getting Set Up on Kobo Writing Life

Opening a Kobo Writing Life account is free. To publish your first ebook, have these ready:

• An EPUB file of your book, the same edition you sell elsewhere.
• Your cover image at a high resolution.
• Your description, categories and keywords, ideally consistent with your Amazon listing.
• Payment and tax details so royalties can be paid.
• Prices for each currency, which you can set individually rather than relying on automatic conversion.

Setting prices per currency is worth the extra minutes. A price that converts to an awkward number in one country can look odd next to local books, and rounding it to a familiar price point often helps.

Keeping Prices Aligned Across Both Stores

When you sell the same ebook on Kobo and Amazon, keep the prices consistent. Amazon may match a lower price it finds elsewhere, which can reduce what you earn on Amazon if your Kobo price is lower.

Run through three checks whenever you set or change a price: the Kobo price is at least 20% below every print edition, the Amazon price sits within KDP's 70% band if you want that rate, and the prices match across stores unless you are running a deliberate promotion.

Common Mistakes When Adding Kobo

• Publishing on Kobo while the ebook is still enrolled in KDP Select.
• Pricing the ebook too close to the paperback and dropping to Kobo's 45% rate.
• Leaving foreign-currency prices on automatic conversion without checking them.
• Expecting immediate sales instead of giving a wide strategy several months.
• Skipping Kobo's promotions area, which is one of the main benefits of going direct.

So, Is Adding Kobo Worth It?

Moving From Exclusive to Wide

1. Turn off automatic renewal for KDP Select and wait for the current 90-day term to end.
2. Prepare your Kobo Writing Life listing in advance, checking the 20% print-price gap.
3. Publish on Kobo once the Select term has ended, and keep your Kindle edition live on KDP.
4. Opt in to Kobo Plus for titles where subscription reading suits your readers.

Frequently Asked Questions