The Gist
Lulu is a long-established print-on-demand platform with a huge range of formats, from coil-bound workbooks to color hardcovers, and options to sell through its own bookstore, through global retailers or through your own website. BooksOasis is an independent bookstore where you pay a flat plan, keep the full ebook price and earn a predictable amount on each print copy. Choose Lulu when you need unusual formats or want to sell print from your own site. Add BooksOasis when you want a reader-facing store that pays more per sale.
How Each Platform Works
Lulu is free to use. You upload your interior and cover, choose a format and set a price. Lulu then offers several ways to sell: its own Lulu Bookstore, global distribution to online retailers, and Lulu Direct, which connects to Shopify and WooCommerce so orders from your website are printed and shipped automatically. Lulu takes a share of the profit after printing, which varies by channel.
BooksOasis is a bookstore for independent authors and small presses. Readers shop it directly, browsing genre shelves and series pages. Authors pay a flat listing plan, monthly or yearly, and the store takes no commission. You can list ebook, paperback and hardcover editions of each book on one page.
Key Facts
| Lulu | BooksOasis | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to publish | Free | Flat plan, from $29.99 a year for 10 books |
| Print earnings, own store | 80% of the profit after printing on the Lulu Bookstore | Price minus printing and a 30% fee on the printing cost |
| Ebook earnings, own store | 90% of the profit on the Lulu Bookstore | 100% of the price |
| Global retail distribution | Yes, with the retailer taking 50% of the price first | No, sales happen in the BooksOasis store |
| Formats | Paperback, hardcover, coil, saddle stitch, color and many sizes | Ebook, paperback and hardcover in five common trims |
| Sell from your own website | Lulu Direct for Shopify and WooCommerce | No, readers buy on BooksOasis |
| Shipping | Paid by the buyer | Paid by the reader at checkout |
| Exclusivity | None | None |
Profit Split vs Fixed Fee
The two platforms calculate print earnings in different ways, and the difference grows with your price.
On the Lulu Bookstore, Lulu first subtracts the printing cost from your price, then splits what remains: 80% to you, 20% to Lulu. Because Lulu's share is a percentage of profit, it rises as you raise the price.
On BooksOasis, the deduction is the printing cost plus a handling fee of 30% of the printing cost. That fee depends only on what the book costs to print, so it stays the same however high you price the book.
For illustration, take a paperback priced at $18.99 with a printing cost of $5:
| Calculation | You earn | |
|---|---|---|
| Lulu Bookstore | ($18.99 − $5.00) × 80% | $11.19 |
| BooksOasis | $18.99 − $5.00 − $1.50 | $12.49 |
Actual printing costs depend on each platform's own pricing for your page count, trim and paper, so use their calculators for real figures. The general pattern holds: a percentage split favors lower prices, while a fixed fee favors higher ones.
Remember the plan fee as well. Lulu costs nothing until you sell; BooksOasis costs from $29.99 a year for up to 10 books, whether or not you sell.
Formats and Book Types
Lulu's range of formats is its standout strength. Beyond standard paperbacks and hardcovers, it prints coil-bound and saddle-stitched books, premium color, photo books, calendars and comic formats, in a long list of sizes. For workbooks that need to lie flat, illustrated children's books, yearbooks and other specialty projects, Lulu often has an option few other services match.
BooksOasis covers the formats most books need: ebook, paperback and hardcover, in 5 x 8, 5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9, 7 x 10 and 8.5 x 11 inch trims. Paperbacks run from 32 to 800 pages, hardcovers from 24 to 800. Its dashboard checks print files automatically and shows the exact cover size and spine width after you upload your interior.
Where Your Book Is Sold
Lulu gives you three routes. The Lulu Bookstore is its own storefront. Global distribution lists your book with online retailers, where the retailer takes 50% of the price before the remaining profit is split. Lulu Direct prints and ships orders placed on your own Shopify or WooCommerce site, which is a strong option if you already have an audience and want full control of the customer relationship.
BooksOasis is one route: its own store. That store is designed for discovery of independent books, with genre shelves, new releases, series pages and sale banners, and promotional prices you schedule show the regular price crossed out. It does not send books to other retailers, but every reader who buys there pays you at the store's direct rate.
Ebooks
Lulu sells ebooks on its bookstore with a 90/10 profit split and can distribute them to other ebook retailers. Many authors, though, use Lulu mainly for print and handle ebooks elsewhere.
BooksOasis treats ebooks as a core format. Ebooks are the default on most book pages, sales pay 100% of the price, and buyers read in the store's app, which works offline and syncs their place, highlights and notes. If you sell both print and ebook editions, the full ebook payout can make a real difference to your overall earnings.
Selling Tools and Extras
Lulu offers bulk ordering for author copies and events, retail distribution and the Shopify and WooCommerce integrations through Lulu Direct.
BooksOasis lets one account run unlimited author names and imprints, with readers seeing only the public identity you choose. ISBNs are optional for every format. If a plan lapses, your books stay live and earnings are held until you renew. You can preview the plans, including a pay-as-you-go option for a single title, on the BooksOasis pricing page.
I format paperbacks, hardcovers and workbooks to each printer's specifications, with covers sized to match.
Proofs and Quality Checks
Whatever platform prints your book, order a physical proof before you announce it. A screen preview cannot show how dark the cover colors print, whether the spine text sits centered or whether the inside margin swallows words near the binding. Authors who skip the proof often find these problems only when readers point them out.
Lulu lets you order a proof or author copies at cost plus shipping, and its file checker flags common problems on upload. BooksOasis runs an automatic print-readiness check before submission, covering page count limits, trim size and the cover dimensions for your spine width, and every book receives a short review before it goes live. Neither check replaces holding the book in your hands.
When you do review a proof, check the first and last pages of each chapter, any images or tables, the page numbers and running heads, and the spine alignment. Then compare the cover color with your screen in daylight, and read a few pages aloud to catch any last typos.
Using Both
- Use Lulu for specialty formats such as coil-bound workbooks or photo books, or to print orders from your own website through Lulu Direct.
- List your standard editions on BooksOasis as ebook, paperback and hardcover, to reach readers browsing independent books.
- Send your newsletter readers to BooksOasis for ebooks, where every sale pays the full price.
- Order author copies in bulk for events from whichever service offers the best price for your format.
- Keep list prices consistent across every store and your website.
If you are also weighing Amazon, our guide to Lulu and KDP Print compares their print quality, costs and reach.
Choosing
| If you... | Lean toward |
|---|---|
| Need coil, saddle stitch, photo books or unusual sizes | Lulu |
| Want to sell print from your own Shopify or WooCommerce site | Lulu |
| Want global retail distribution with no fixed cost | Lulu |
| Want 100% of each ebook sale | BooksOasis |
| Price print books higher and want a fixed fee | BooksOasis |
| Want a store built around independent books | BooksOasis |
Frequently Asked Questions
On the Lulu Bookstore, Lulu keeps 20% of the profit after printing on print books and 10% on ebooks. Through global distribution, the retailer first takes 50% of the price.
Yes. There is no cost to publish; you pay for proof or author copies you order.
Yes. Neither requires exclusivity.
No. BooksOasis offers paperback and hardcover print editions alongside ebooks. For coil-bound or saddle-stitched books, Lulu is a better fit.
On both platforms, the buyer pays shipping at checkout.
Lulu Direct connects to Shopify and WooCommerce for that. BooksOasis sales take place in its own store.