Wondering where to sell your ebooks?
There are many platforms that you can use to sell ebooks online. It’s easier than ever.
In this article, we compare the best platforms for selling eBooks. Some of them allow you to sell ebooks from your own website and keep 100% of the profits.
Others are marketplaces that give you access to a built-in audience, but keep a portion of your profits.
Clever? Let’s start:
Where to sell your ebook online – TL;DR
Before we get into the list, here’s an overview of our top picks:
- sell – The best platform to sell e-books without transaction fees. Use Sellfy to create an online store or sell eBooks directly from your website. You can also sell physical products, subscriptions, and print-on-demand products.
- to pave – The best ebook platform for those who want an all-in-one approach to selling digital content. Sell eBooks, courses, webinars and more. Email marketing, customer communication and affiliate marketing are incorporated.
- big trade – Do you want to create a complete e-commerce store to sell e-books or other products? BigCommerce is the best option.
- PublishDrive – Use this platform to automatically distribute your eBook to online marketplaces like Amazon and Apple Books.
#1 – Sell
sell is the perfect e-commerce platform to sell e-books online. With Sellfy, you can create your own digital store and start selling eBooks, POD products, and more.
As ecommerce platforms go, Sellfy is extremely easy to use, making it perfect for first-time authors looking for an easy way to self-publish their work. It only takes a few clicks to set up your first online store.
Once you’re fully set up, you can customize the look of your store, add products, and set up payment options. With Sellfy, you can sell just about anything, from digital products like eBooks to subscriptions and even print-on-demand products.
Once your book is published and starts generating sales, you can use Facebook and Twitter tracking pixels to track paid ad campaigns. You can also use Sellfy analytics to track your store’s performance or integrate a third-party analytics tool like Google Analytics. It also has built-in email marketing features.
Sellfy also has some useful features that can help you keep your customers and products safe. You can use features like limited downloads to prevent buyers from illegally distributing your books, and you can accept secure payments through PayPal or Stripe.
Sellfy also allows you to sell your digital products with 0% transaction fees, making it perfect for independent entrepreneurs and budding authors.
Price:
Paid plans start at $19/month.
Find out more in our Sellf review.
#2 – Podium
to pave is an all-in-one sales and marketing platform that makes it easy to sell e-books and other types of digital products.
The platform is perfect for entrepreneurs who want to start selling digital products. You can use Podia to easily set up your own eCommerce store and have a lot of freedom when it comes to what products you want to sell.
For example, you can sell a wide range of downloadable products, including eBooks, templates and presets, audio files, and more. Podia also has built-in webinar and online course features.
The great thing about Podia is that it also comes with a lot of marketing features out of the box. You can manage email marketing campaigns, messaging, embeds, and even affiliate programs all in one place.
It’s also extremely easy to design and customize your online store thanks to Podia’s wide selection of optimized templates. Overall, Podia is a full-featured and intuitive platform, perfect for businesses looking to sell a wide range of digital products.
Price:
The Podia Mover plan starts at $33/month and includes the creation of unlimited webinars, courses, and downloadable products.
Podia has a free plan for a product with 8% transaction fees; includes Podia website builder, community, and email marketing.
Podia also offers a 14-day free trial.
Read our Podia review.
#3 – Payment
The pay is an eCommerce solution that is great for selling eBooks online. This easy to use and beginner friendly tool will allow you to create a professional and attractive online store in just minutes.
You can then customize your store, add your e-books or other digital products, and start selling. Payhip can also be used to sell products like online courses and digital subscriptions.
Payhip comes complete with a range of useful sales features including pay-what-you-want pricing, coupons, and affiliate marketing options. These features make it very easy to increase conversions and increase sales.
Payhip uses PayPal and Stripe to handle payments, so you’ll need to sign up for PayPal or Stripe and link your account to start receiving payments. You will be charged 0-5% transaction fees depending on the plan you choose, as well as PayPal or Stripes standard transaction fees. Overall, Payhip offers a simple yet affordable way to sell ebooks online.
Price:
Payhip offers a free forever plan but charges a 5% transaction fee on sales. The Pro plan starts at $99/month and has 0% transaction fees.
#4 – Great Trade
big trade is an extremely popular e-commerce solution that can be used to create large-scale online stores. You can use BigCommerce to sell just about anything, from digital products like eBooks to physical products.
This powerful eCommerce platform comes with a visual editor to create and customize your online store, as well as many flexible selling options.
In addition to store building features, BigCommerce is packed with helpful marketing tools that can help you start your eCommerce journey and expand as your business grows.
It is very much an all-in-one solution that can be used to manage your online store and run large-scale marketing campaigns. Therefore, it is more suitable for individuals or companies that plan to sell a wide range of digital or physical products and want a customizable solution that can scale with their business.
Price:
BigCommerce starts at $29.95/month with 0% transaction fees. A 15-day free trial is also available.
#5 – Send Owl
send owl is an all-in-one platform designed to make the sale and delivery of digital products like eBooks simple and efficient for creators. The platform supports the sale of tons of digital products, including e-books, photos, subscriptions, tickets and more.
You can use SendOwl to create your own eBook store, and there are plenty of built-in features to help you market and deliver your products to customers.
By For example, SendOwl has key license codes and features that can help you make sure people don’t duplicate your content. They also have a drip feature that will allow you to publish your ebooks chapter by chapter, which can be a good way to market your story and drive more sales.
Overall, SendOwl is a great option for self-published authors who want an eCommerce solution with a selection of eBook-centric features.
Price:
Sendowl starts at $15/month for up to 30 products. There is also a 30-day free trial.
#6 – Post Unit
PublishDrive is an e-book distribution platform. You can’t sell your eBooks directly through PublishDrive, but you can use PublishDrive to distribute them to thousands of libraries and digital marketplaces around the world and reach global markets.
Once you’ve registered as an author, you can upload and sync your books across multiple stores. PublishDrive will then distribute your eBooks in their entirety for instant listing on stores like Google Play, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and more. This gives you access to a huge market of more than 2.5 billion potential readers.
It’s much faster and easier than distributing the books to each platform yourself. Plus, PublishDrive’s global network allows you to reach niche channels and hard-to-reach markets in places like China.
Price:
PublishDrive offers various plans starting at $9.99/month. You can also sign up for a 14-day free trial.
#7 – Amazon
No overview of the best platforms for selling eBooks would be complete without mentioning them. Amazon. As the world’s largest online retailer, the e-commerce giant dominates the e-book market and is responsible for a whopping 68% share of all e-book sales.
And with hundreds of millions of users, it gives you access to a much larger potential readership than you could ever hope to list on your own. It goes without saying that if you want to reach the widest possible audience, you need to list your eBook for sale on Amazon.
To do this, you’ll first need to sign up for Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Next, go to your library and click Add New Title to start publishing your book. It will walk you through the process and it shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes or so. You’ll need to upload the ebook in Kindle format, but if you only have it as a PDF or Word file, Amazon can convert it for you.
Of course, there are some downsides to selling eBooks on Amazon. The biggest drawback is that you won’t make as much money per sale as you would on a platform like Sellfy, as Amazon takes a pretty big cut of it.
Price:
It’s free to list your books on Amazon through KDP, but you’ll pay a sale-by-sale commission. You can choose between 35% royalties and 70% royalties depending on the price of your book.
#8 – Apple Books
apple books is another essential platform for selling your eBooks, especially if you hope to tap into the mobile market. Apple Book Store is the source of reading inspiration for iPhone and other Apple device users.
Apple Books gives authors a generous 70% royalty, regardless of list price. There are no hidden fees or limitations for giving away free books, and no third-party ads!
You’ll need to create an iTunes Connect account to publish directly with Apple Books. Once you’ve signed up, you can publish your books in EPUB eBook format using iTunes Producer (if you’re using a Mac device) or Publishing Portal (Windows). If you need to convert it from a Word document to an EPUB file first, you can use Pages.
The publishing process is simple and will guide you through everything step by step. And once you’re done, you’ll be able to reach a huge new market of potential readers.
Price:
It’s free to sell eBooks on Apple Books. There are no listing fees, but Apple will take a portion of your revenue, meaning you only get 70% royalties per sale.
#9 – Google Play
google play is Google’s digital distribution channel. Android users use Google Play to download games, apps, and yes, you guessed it, books! This makes it another great platform to sell your ebooks on and can help you further expand your reach in the international mobile market.
Google doesn’t require authors to grant them exclusive rights, so you can publish your books on the Play Store and other retailers. From the Partner Center, you can choose the countries you want to sell to, set your list prices, and more.
Google will take care of everything else for you, taking care of hosting, sales, and distribution. Once there, readers can find it by browsing the Google Play Store or Google Books and start reading it in the app or web browser.
Price:
There are no upfront costs to sell on Google Play, but Google will take a cut of the revenue from each sale you make. The exact revenue share depends on the sale price.
#10 – Audible (audiobooks only)
Perceptible It’s Amazon’s audiobook service. It is probably the most popular audiobook service in the world and has thousands of users. This makes it the best place to sell your ebooks in audio format.
To sell your ebooks as audiobooks on Audible, you’ll need to let them know first. Most people choose to hire a professional storyteller for this, but if you want to save money, you may be able to do it yourself. However, you will need to pay for some equipment first, such as a decent microphone and soundproofing equipment, if you want to record at home.
To list your audiobook on Audible, you’ll need to go through a distribution channel like ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange). The service guides you through the entire process, including if you need to narrate your book, and distributes it on Audible, Amazon and iTunes. You can then receive royalties of up to 40%.
The great thing about turning your ebook into an audiobook is that it opens up a new market. There is a large market of people who no more Listen to books you wouldn’t otherwise be able to access. Also, audiobooks have a much higher average selling price and typically cost between $20 and $30, which means higher profit margins for you.
Price:
If you want to keep full royalties and pay for audiobook production, you can check out the Pay Per Production program. Costs will depend on the length of the entire audiobook, but you will retain full control and royalties.
Alternatively, you can produce the audio yourself and upload the files to the ACX free, then receive monthly royalty payments of up to 40%.
Frequently asked questions about selling e-books
Before we wrap up, here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about selling ebooks.
Should you sell eBooks directly or through a marketplace?
Selling eBooks directly from your website allows you to keep all the profits and build your brand. Without unnecessarily sending the public to markets that will take a discount for the privilege.
Markets will take a significant portion of your profits, but they provide access to your audience, giving you more reach.
But if you’re just going to send your existing audience to a platform like Amazon, you’re sacrificing your profits when you don’t have to.
The best approach? sell ebooks directly from their website AND through marketplaces like Amazon.
Use marketplaces only to reach a new audience and expand your existing audience. Don’t use them to facilitate sales to your current audience (eg your email list). Then use a platform like Sellfy or Podia to ensure you keep 100% of your direct sales earnings.
This approach will give you the best of both worlds.
How much can you earn selling e-books?
The sky is the limit when it comes to selling ebooks. You can make a lot of money, but it all depends on the price you sell for, your profit margin, and how well your book sells.
For example, if you sell your book for $2.99 through Kindle Direct Publishing, you’ll earn about $2.09 per sale. That means if you only sell a hundred copies, you won’t make much money, probably not even enough to cover your investment of time.
However, if he sold a thousand copies at that price, he would earn $2,000. If you sell 10,000 copies, that’s $20,000. And if the price of the same book were $9.99, you would earn about $69,930.
Is it worth selling eBooks on Amazon?
Selling e-books online is a popular option for new writers and e-commerce beginners. It’s easy to sign up and get your books published and you can also get good exposure for your work among Amazon visitors.
However, despite its enormous expansion, it is not the best way to earn money. Amazon takes a percentage of any sale you make, which can have a huge impact on your overall earnings.
While there are many advantages to using Amazon to promote your books, it’s a much better idea to create your own eBook store with a tool like Sellfy.
By doing this, you can have complete control over the sales and you can also keep 100% of the profits.
What kind of e-books sell best?
According to Amazon bestseller statistics, the most popular eBook categories are Romance, Crime & Mystery, and Religious & Inspirational.
However, if you want to write a nonfiction book rather than a novel or short story, then other popular categories include business, money, and self-help.
But in general, any kind of ebook can sell well as long as it is well written, professionally designed, and interesting. So whatever category you choose to write about, make sure you focus on creating engaging content and designing a professional, eye-catching cover.
How do free ebooks make money?
Free ebooks can make money in many ways. One way to earn money from free eBooks is through the Amazon KDP Select program. If your ebook is enrolled in the program, Prime members can read it for free, but Amazon will still pay you based on how many pages they read.
Another way authors make money while offering free ebooks is to use them as a vehicle to promote their affiliate products. If you advertise affiliate products in your ebook and readers make a purchase through your affiliate links, you can earn a commission per sale.
And of course, free ebooks make money for authors by helping to build exposure. A common strategy authors use is to make their ebooks available for free for a limited time only. This helps them get some initial reviews and attract readers so sales will continue once they raise the price.
How do I publish an eBook myself?
There are quite a few steps involved in self-publishing an ebook. First, you need to write your ebook and prepare it for sale.
Once you’ve done this, you can choose to publish a book through your own online store using a site like Sellfy, or publish it on marketplace sites like Amazon or Etsy.
Both are valid methods, but by posting to your own online store, you’ll have more control over your sales and won’t have to pay any transaction fees or commissions.
Getting your ebook from the idea stage to the sales stage can take a few weeks; however, it is a fairly simple process. I wrote a complete guide on how to create an ebook and make money selling it online, be sure to check it out: How To Make Money Selling Ebooks Online: The Complete Beginner’s Guide.
How long should e-books last?
E-books can be between 25,000 and 100,000 words, depending on the genre. Some even fall outside this range entirely.
Full-length fiction novels tend to be longer, usually between 80,000 and 100,000 words, while non-fiction books are typically between 50,000 and 75,000 words. And of course short stories can be significantly shorter than that.
On average, e-books are between 250 and 300 words per page. Therefore, a 50,000 word e-book will be approximately 182 pages long. A 100,000 word e-book will be approximately 364 pages.
Choosing the best eBook selling platform for your needs
That concludes our roundup of the best platforms for selling ebooks. The eCommerce industry is booming and there is no better time to get an eBook platform and start generating sales.
There are many great options out there, but it’s important to choose one that’s a good fit for your needs.
With that in mind, here’s what we recommend:
To choose sell if you just want overall the best platform with zero transaction fees. You can use it to build your online store from scratch and sell eBooks, POD products, subscriptions, and more.
Go for to pave if you prefer one the all-in-one platform that comes with everything that markets and sells your ebooks out of the box. With Podia, you get access to email marketing, affiliate marketing, and customer communication tools, plus basic eCommerce features.
And if you want maximum flexibilitygo for big trade. It is one of the most powerful eCommerce platforms on the market and offers unprecedented design freedom.
It’s worth remembering that with these three options, you’re not just limited to e-books. You can sell a wide variety of digital products like musicaudio files, video files and more.
Divulgation: This post contains affiliate links. This means that we may make a small commission if you make a purchase.
