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KDP vs IngramSpark: which should you use?

Amazon KDP and IngramSpark are the two print-on-demand platforms most independent authors weigh up, and they are built for different jobs. This guide sets them side by side in plain English: where each one sells your book, what each does with ebooks and print, how ISBNs work on each, and when it makes sense to use both.

By the team at The Authors Portal. Last updated: 20 October 2026

The short answer

Use KDP if most of your readers buy on Amazon, and especially if you want your ebook in Kindle Unlimited. Use IngramSpark if you want bookstores and libraries to be able to order your book on the terms they expect, or if you want hardcover options KDP does not offer. Many authors use both: KDP for Amazon and IngramSpark for everyone else, with their own ISBN on each edition so the two set-ups do not clash.

What each one is

Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is Amazon’s own self-publishing platform. You upload your files, set your price, and your ebook, paperback or hardcover is listed on Amazon’s stores around the world. Print copies are printed when a reader orders one.

IngramSpark is the self-publishing platform of Ingram, a book wholesaler and distributor that bookstores, libraries and online retailers order from. You upload your files once, and your book is offered to that whole network of buyers, Amazon included, with print copies printed on demand.

Neither one is a publisher in the traditional sense. Both are tools: you stay the author, you set the price, and the royalties are paid to the account holder. Neither one edits or designs your book, either. The files you upload are the book readers receive.

Our service: Book publishing and distribution, Book formatting and typesetting

Reach and distribution

The simplest way to see the difference is to ask who can buy your book from each platform:

  • KDP sells to readers on Amazon. That is the largest single store for most independent authors, and KDP is the most direct way into it.
  • IngramSpark sells to the trade: independent bookstores, chains, libraries, schools and online retailers outside Amazon, all of which can order your book through Ingram’s catalog. It can supply Amazon too.
  • KDP Expanded Distribution is KDP’s optional route beyond Amazon. It makes a KDP paperback available to other retailers and distributors, but it has limits worth knowing before you rely on it.

At the time of writing, Expanded Distribution covers paperbacks only, not hardcovers. It is not available for a book whose ISBN has already been submitted for distribution through another service, which matters if you also use IngramSpark. And it does not let you choose the wholesale discount or make the book returnable, which are the two terms most bookstores look at before they order a book for their shelves. So a paperback in Expanded Distribution can be found and ordered by stores, but it is rarely set up in a way that encourages them to stock it.

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Ebooks: Kindle Unlimited or wide distribution

For ebooks the main decision is not really KDP or IngramSpark. It is whether to enroll the ebook in KDP Select.

KDP Select puts your ebook in Kindle Unlimited, Amazon’s reading subscription, where you earn from the pages subscribers read, and it gives you some extra promotion tools. In return the ebook has to be exclusive to Amazon for as long as it is enrolled. You cannot sell or give away that ebook anywhere else, including on your own website, during each enrollment term (public library lending is the one exception KDP allows), and enrollment renews automatically unless you opt out. The exclusivity covers the ebook only. Your paperback and hardcover can be sold anywhere.

The alternative is to go wide: sell the ebook on Amazon without KDP Select, and also on Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google Play and other stores. IngramSpark can distribute ebooks to many of those stores, and so can the stores’ own platforms or other ebook distributors. Some genres, where readers devour a lot of books, often do well in Kindle Unlimited. Others sell steadily across many stores. Neither is right for every book, and you can change your mind at the end of an enrollment term.

Whichever route you choose, the ebook file itself has to be built properly so it reflows cleanly on every device and store.

Our service: Book formatting and typesetting

Both platforms print paperbacks in a good range of common trim sizes, on white or cream paper, in black and white or in color. The differences are at the edges, and they change from time to time, so check each platform’s current options before you design your book:

  • Hardcovers. At the time of writing, KDP offers a hardcover with the cover printed directly on the case, and no dust jacket. IngramSpark offers that style too, plus jacketed hardcovers and a cloth-style finish, which is the format many bookstores and libraries expect for a hardcover.
  • Trim sizes and paper. IngramSpark generally lists more trim sizes, paper weights and color print options, which matters for picture books, photography, cookbooks and other illustrated books.
  • Finishes. Both offer gloss or matte paperback covers.

Each format and trim size needs its own cover file and print interior, sized to that platform’s specifications. A cover built for a KDP paperback will not automatically fit an IngramSpark hardcover, because the spine width and wrap differ. Decide on every format you want before the cover and interior are designed, so both can be built for them from the start.

Our service: Book printing and fulfillment, Book cover design, Book formatting and typesetting

ISBNs on KDP and IngramSpark

Every print edition needs an ISBN, and both platforms will give you one free. The catch is the same on both: a free ISBN belongs to the platform that issued it.

  • A free KDP ISBN can only be used on KDP. The book is listed as “Independently published” rather than under your own imprint, and you cannot take that ISBN to IngramSpark or any other printer.
  • A free IngramSpark ISBN is offered to authors in the United States at the time of writing. The book is recorded under IngramSpark’s own imprint, the ISBN can only be used on IngramSpark, and it cannot be transferred to another account or platform later.
  • Your own ISBN, bought in your name (in the United States, from Bowker), makes you the publisher of record. You choose the imprint name, and you can use the same ISBN for the same edition on KDP, on IngramSpark, or with any other printer.

An ISBN cannot be swapped out after a book is published. If you start with a free ISBN and later want your own, you publish the book again as a new edition with a new ISBN and a new listing, and any reviews and sales history do not automatically follow. If you think you might use both platforms, now or later, your own ISBN is usually the simpler choice.

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Related guide: What a book costs

Why bookstores care which one you use

A bookstore that orders copies to put on its shelves takes a risk: it pays for books before anyone has bought them. Two settings decide whether that risk is one the store is willing to take, and IngramSpark lets you set both:

  • The wholesale discount is the share of the list price the store keeps when it sells a copy. Stores need a large enough margin to cover their own costs, and a book offered on a smaller discount is usually ordered only when a customer asks for it.
  • Returnability means a store can send back unsold copies for credit. Most bookstores expect it, and many will not stock a book without it.

Both settings cost you something. A deeper discount means you earn less on each copy sold through stores, and returns are charged back to you when they happen, so a returnable book needs a little money held back to cover them. Neither is compulsory. If you mainly sell online, at events or to readers who order by request, you may not need either. If you plan to approach bookstores or libraries yourself, these are usually the first things they ask about.

Being available is also not the same as being on the shelf. A store still has to choose to order your book, so setting good terms is the start of bookstore sales, not a guarantee of them.

Our service: Book publishing and distribution

What each one costs, explained without the numbers

Neither platform charges you to set up a book at the time of writing. Both make their money when a copy sells, in much the same way:

  • On KDP there is nothing to pay upfront. When a print copy sells, the printing cost is taken out of the sale and Amazon keeps a share; what is left is your royalty. Ebooks work the same way without the printing cost, though a small delivery fee can apply.
  • On IngramSpark there is no title setup fee any more. When a copy sells, the printing cost and the wholesale discount you chose come out of the list price, and IngramSpark also charges a per-sale fee on books in its distribution network. What is left is your payment.
  • Author copies, proofs and shipping are charged on both platforms, and changing your files after publication has had its own rules on each over the years. Check the current terms before you upload.

Rates change, so we do not quote them here. Both platforms publish calculators that show what you would earn on a given trim size, page count and price, and it is worth running your book through both before you decide. The bigger costs of publishing are usually the work that happens before upload: editing, the cover and formatting. Our guide to what a book costs walks through each of those.

Related guide: What a book costs

Both platforms print on demand at printing plants in different countries, so two copies of the same book can come from different presses. Both generally produce good, bookstore-ready copies, and both have occasional variation in color, trimming or cover finish. The honest answer to “which prints better” is that it depends on the book, and the only way to know is to look at one.

So order a printed proof from each platform you use before you publish. Check the cover color, the spine text, the margins near the gutter, any images and the paper. Proofs from KDP are marked as not for resale; IngramSpark offers both an electronic proof and printed copies. A proof that shows a problem is far cheaper than a published book with one.

Our service: Book printing and fulfillment

Ease of use and support

KDP is usually the easier of the two to start with. Its setup is short, it has a cover creator and file previewer built in, and its help pages cover most questions. Support is through its Contact Us page.

IngramSpark asks for more decisions up front, because it is built for selling to the trade: the wholesale discount, returns, the markets you sell in and more detailed metadata. Its file requirements are strict, and a print file that does not meet them has to be corrected before the book can go on sale. It has a detailed help center and user guide, and support through its help center.

Neither is difficult once the files are right, and that is where most of the trouble comes from. A correctly built cover and interior, made to each platform’s specifications, usually goes through first time.

Our service: Book formatting and typesetting, Book cover design

Using both: KDP for Amazon, IngramSpark for everyone else

Many independent authors use both platforms for the same print book. KDP handles Amazon, where it is the most direct route, and IngramSpark handles bookstores, libraries and other retailers, with the discount and returns settings they expect. It works well, but only if it is set up carefully:

  • Use your own ISBN. A free ISBN from either platform cannot be used on the other, so with free ISBNs you end up with two different editions of the same book, two listings and reviews split between them.
  • Use the same ISBN for the same edition on both platforms, with the same title, subtitle, author name, trim size and page count, so retailers treat it as one book.
  • Leave KDP Expanded Distribution off. IngramSpark already reaches those retailers, and KDP does not accept an ISBN for Expanded Distribution that is already distributed through another service.
  • Give each format its own ISBN. The paperback and the hardcover are separate editions, and so is a large-print edition.
  • Upload files built for each platform. Each has its own cover template and file requirements, even for the same trim size.
  • Order a proof from both, since the two copies come from different printers.

A common version of this setup is to publish the paperback on KDP for Amazon and on IngramSpark for everyone else, and to publish the hardcover on IngramSpark only. Whatever you choose, keep the retailer accounts in your own name, so the royalties are paid to you and you can change the book whenever you like. When we set up distribution for an author, the accounts are always in the author’s name.

Our service: Book publishing and distribution, Book formatting and typesetting

A short decision checklist

Answer these and the choice usually makes itself:

  • Do most of your readers buy on Amazon? Start with KDP.
  • Do you want your ebook in Kindle Unlimited? Use KDP Select for the ebook, and remember it must then be exclusive to Amazon, apart from public library lending.
  • Do you want bookstores or libraries to stock your book? Use IngramSpark, with a trade discount and returns you can afford.
  • Do you want a hardcover with a dust jacket, or an unusual trim size or paper? Check IngramSpark’s options.
  • Might you use both platforms, now or later? Buy your own ISBNs before you publish.
  • Are you planning events, signings or selling direct? Compare the cost of author copies on both.
  • Are your files ready for each platform’s specifications? Get the formatting and cover right first, then upload.

Common questions

Is IngramSpark better than KDP?

Neither is better for every book. KDP is the most direct way to sell on Amazon and the only way into Kindle Unlimited. IngramSpark reaches bookstores, libraries and other retailers on the terms they expect, and offers more hardcover and print options. Many authors use both.

Can I use KDP and IngramSpark for the same book?

Yes, and many authors do. Use your own ISBN for each edition, use that same ISBN and identical details on both platforms, and leave KDP Expanded Distribution off so the two do not overlap.

Can I use my free KDP ISBN on IngramSpark?

No. A free KDP ISBN can only be used on KDP, and a free IngramSpark ISBN can only be used on IngramSpark. To publish the same edition on both, you need an ISBN of your own.

Do I need IngramSpark to get into bookstores?

Not strictly, but it is the usual route for independent authors. KDP Expanded Distribution makes a paperback available to other retailers, but it does not let you set the wholesale discount or offer returns, which most stores expect before stocking a book.

Does KDP Select stop me selling my paperback elsewhere?

No. KDP Select exclusivity applies to the ebook only. Your paperback and hardcover can be sold through IngramSpark, bookstores, your own website or anywhere else while the ebook is enrolled.

Does it cost money to publish on KDP or IngramSpark?

At the time of writing, neither charges a setup fee. Both take the printing cost and a share of each sale, and IngramSpark adds a per-sale fee on distributed books. The real costs of publishing are usually editing, the cover and formatting, which happen before you upload.

More guides

  • What does it really cost to publish a book?

    What sets the cost of publishing a book: editing depth, cover, formatting, ISBNs, printing and marketing, plus the red flags and how to get an accurate quote.

  • How to spot a vanity press

    How to spot a vanity press: how it differs from fair paid author services, the red flags, questions to ask before you pay, and what to do if you have signed.

All guides

Want help setting up KDP, IngramSpark or both?

We prepare the files to each platform’s specifications and set up the accounts in your name, so you keep all rights and royalties. Every quote is fixed and itemised in writing. Every member of our team has more than seven years of experience in their field.

Call (786) 735-2958, Mon–Fri, 9am–6pm EST, or request a free quote.