The 17 BEST Self-Publishing Companies of 2025

There are a lot of companies out there advertising their services to self-publishing authors. Some of them are reputable, but many of them are vanity presses looking to take advantage of aspiring writers.

Before using a self-publishing company, it’s good practice to verify its trustworthiness. If you’re unsure, you can check its service rating on the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) website. Alternatively, you can keep things simple by sticking with a reputable company from the list below!

In this article, we’ll guide you through the 17 best self-publishing companies in the industry to help you determine which are the best for your needs.

Don't forget to grab a free book launch checklist to make sure that you're checking off all of the boxes before the big day!

Our top picks

Every self-publishing company has its own strengths and weaknesses. The table below provides a quick overview of the self-publishing companies that Reedsy recommends to most authors.

🧰 Company	🛎️ Service	✅ Pros	❌ Cons	👑 Best for
Amazon KDP	Direct ebook sales	Unparalleled reach; marketing tools; free editing	Hard to stand out; poor customer support	Reaching a wide global audience
Draft2Digital	Ebook distribution to multiple retailers	User-friendly interface; excellent customer support; automated back matter	No audiobook distribution	A user-friendly experience
KDP Print	Print-on-demand services	Cheap printing costs; fast shipping times; wide reach	Lower print quality than competitors; limited customization; less likely to be ordered by brick-and-mortar stores	Reaching a wide global audience on a budget
IngramSpark	Print-on-demand services	The go-to for brick-and-mortar stores; high-quality printing	Poor user interface; slow customer service	Getting your book into brick-and-mortar stores
Spotify for Authors	Audiobook distribution	Helpful marketing insights	No proven track record; confusing royalty system	Marketing and sales analytics
Voices by INaudio	Audiobook distribution	Wide reach; keep 100% of Spotify royalties	Limited analytics	Going wide when you’re already on Spotify for Authors
Reedsy Discovery	Editorial review	Credibility boost; large audience; cheaper than competitors	No performance analytics	A credible editorial review you can quote to promote your book
Written Word Media	Book marketing	More affordable than BookBub; less competitive than BookBub	Smaller reach than BookBub; requires ongoing management	A series of accessible promotions that accumulate over time
Reedsy	Author services	Free book formatting; top-quality editors and designers to suit different budgets; project and payment protection	More expensive than Upwork and Fiverr	Giving your book a professional polish

Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all service that will work best for every author. Read on to find out which companies are most suited to your specific needs.

Best ebook retailers

Ebook retailers are online bookstores where you can upload and sell your book directly to customers. While Amazon is the best-known ebook retailer, there are other reputable alternatives depending on your audience and needs. Let’s compare the four main players.

Want to upload your book to multiple retailers at once? Consider using an aggregator.

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

📆 Service offered since: 2007
🌎 Geographic reach: Global
💰 Cost to authors: Free
💸 Royalties: 70% on ebooks priced between $2.99 and $9.99 or 35% outside this range
🌟 ALLi service rating: Excellent (Partner)
👑 Best for: Reaching a wide global audience

Amazon is the world’s biggest book retailer. It accounts for a whopping 68% of global ebook sales. With such a massive potential audience, it’s no surprise that a large majority of self-publishing authors choose to release their books on Amazon KDP. In fact, 87% of respondents to Written Word Media’s 2024 Indie Author Survey named Amazon as their top revenue source.

KDP’s size and popularity don’t come without some disadvantages. It can be hard to gain traction without investing a lot of time and effort into promoting your book, and the platform has notoriously poor customer support.

Why do authors continue to publish on KDP? Because for most writers, it’s the place to find readers — unless you have reason to believe your target audience shops elsewhere.

Pros of Amazon KDP	Cons of Amazon KDP
➕ Unparalleled reach	➖ Hard to stand out in the crowded market
➕ Various marketing and promotional tools	➖ Lower royalty rates outside the $2.99–$9.99 price range
➕ Edit for free even after publication (as long as the word count doesn’t change by more than 10%)	➖ Notoriously poor customer support

KDP Select

Note that Amazon KDP is not the same as Amazon KDP Select. KDP Select is Amazon’s exclusivity program — if you decide to enroll in it, you can only sell your book on Amazon throughout a renewable 90-day participation period. In exchange, Amazon will give you access to countdown deals, free price promotions, and enrollment in Kindle Unlimited. To find out whether KDP Select suits your needs, read our post “KDP Select vs. ‘Going Wide’ — Which Option is Right For You?”

Apple Books

📆 Service offered since: 2010
🌎 Geographic reach: Global (but restricted to Apple users)
💰 Cost to authors: Free
💸 Royalties: 70% on all ebooks regardless of price point
🌟 ALLi service rating: Recommended
👑 Best for: Reaching younger adults

Apple Books is one of those “elsewheres” with a narrower user demographic. It might have a much smaller share of the ebook market than Amazon, but it’s still the go-to option for many loyal Apple users. Draft2Digital executive Dan Wood notes that “Apple seems to have captured a much younger crowd.”

If your target audience is under 40, you might find better results on Apple Books than on Amazon — especially since you can enjoy 70% royalties at all price points. You’ll also face less competition from other authors.

Pros of Apple Books	Cons of Apple Books
➕ Best royalty structure	➖ Limited to Apple users
➕ Easier to stand out from the competition	➖ Fewer marketing and promotional tools
➕ Access loyal customer base
➕ Audiobook distribution also available

Kobo Writing Life

📆 Service offered since: 2012
🌎 Geographic reach: Global (but particularly prevalent in Canada and Europe)
💰 Cost to authors: Free
💸 Royalties: 70% on ebooks priced $2.99 and higher or 45% for ebooks priced below $2.99
🌟 ALLi service rating: Excellent (Partner)
👑 Best for: Excellent promotional tools that don’t require platform exclusivity

Kobo Writing Life is another serious alternative to Amazon KDP. Owned by Canadian company Rakuten Kobo, this self-publishing platform makes ebooks accessible to readers from more than 190 countries. It boasts a particularly strong presence in the Canadian and European markets.

Kobo’s royalty structure is slightly better than Amazon’s. Plus, if you publish on the platform directly (as opposed to via an aggregator), you can access exclusive promotion opportunities and retain the freedom to make your ebook available elsewhere. 

In fact, the only real advantage Amazon has over Kobo Writing Life is a higher market share, particularly in the US.

Pros of Kobo Writing Life	Cons of Kobo Writing Life
➕ Good royalty structure	➖ Lower market share, particularly in the US
➕ Exclusive promotion opportunities when you publish directly on Kobo Writing Life
➕ Strong international reach
➕ Audiobook distribution also available

Barnes & Noble (B&N) Press

📆 Service offered since: 2010 (formerly as PubIt!, then Nook Press)
🌎 Geographic reach: Primarily the United States
💰 Cost to authors: Free
💸 Royalties: 70% on all ebooks regardless of price point
🌟 ALLi service rating: N/A
👑 Best for: Fast royalty payments

B&N Press is the self-publishing platform owned by the big-box bookseller Barnes & Noble. Its reach is limited: it’s not very well-known outside the US, and even within the US it has a much smaller share of the market than Amazon.

On the plus side, B&N Press pays higher royalties than either Amazon KDP or Kobo Writing Life. It also pays these royalties the fastest — 30 days after the end of the month, compared to 45 on Kobo Writing Life and Apple Books, and 60 on KDP.

Pros of B&N Press	Cons of B&N Press
➕ Excellent royalty structure	➖ Primarily limited to the US market
➕ Get paid faster	➖ Small market share
➕ Print-on-demand services also available

Best ebook aggregators

Ebook aggregators save you time and energy by distributing to a bunch of book retailers at once and centralizing sales data. However, the downside is that you’ll have to pay an extra fee for the service. Let’s look at three of the most trusted options.

Draft2Digital (D2D)

📆 Service offered since: 2012
🌎 Geographic reach: Global
💰 Cost to authors: Free
💸 Royalty share: Draft2Digital takes 10% of the retail price
📇 Distribution: Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, OverDrive, Everand, Bibliotheca, and hundreds of other stores and libraries
🌟 ALLi service rating: Excellent (Partner)
👑 Best for: A user-friendly experience

If you decide to use an aggregator, Draft2Digital is our go-to recommendation for most authors. They have excellent customer support, a user-friendly dashboard, and a sleek website design. But that’s not all — they also automatically add your newest ebook to the “Also by this author” section of every other ebook you’ve distributed via D2D.

Pros of Draft2Digital	Cons of Draft2Digital
➕ Reach hundreds of stores at once	➖ No audiobook distribution
➕ User-friendly interface
➕ Excellent customer support
➕ Automated back matter

PublishDrive

📆 Service offered since: 2015
🌎 Geographic reach: Global
💰 Cost to authors: Free for 1 book with 29 distribution channels; from $13.99 per month for multiple books, more distribution channels, and promotional tools
💸 Royalty share: Keep 100% of your royalties
📇 Distribution: Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Everand, Bookmate, and hundreds more
🌟 ALLi service rating: Excellent (Partner)
👑 Best for: Authors who expect to make a lot of sales

Like Draft2Digital, PublishDrive has a modern interface and regular sales reports to keep you up-to-date on your profits. It distributes to over 400 stores and 240,000 libraries — including non-Western retailers like the popular Chinese e-commerce platform DangDang.

What really sets PublishDrive apart, however, is its subscription-based service. You get to keep 100% of your royalties and instead pay a flat monthly rate. If you anticipate a substantial number of sales, this model will save you money in the long run (and it’s free for your first book if you don’t care about detailed sales reports and promotional tools).

Pros of PublishDrive	Cons of PublishDrive
➕ Reach non-Western markets	➖ Flat rate can be more expensive if you don’t sell many copies
➕ Keep 100% of your royalties	➖ No promotional tools on the free plan
➕ User-friendly interface
➕ Audiobook distribution also available

StreetLib

📆 Service offered since: 2006
🌎 Geographic reach: Global
💰 Cost to authors: Free for Basic plan or $99 per year for Pro plan
💸 Royalty share: Keep 70% of net revenue on the Basic plan or 85% on the Pro plan
📇 Distribution: Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Everand, OverDrive, and tens of other retailers and libraries
🌟 ALLi service rating: Recommended
👑 Best for: Publishing in languages other than English

StreetLib has even more of an international focus than PublishDrive. Not only does it distribute ebooks across the globe, but it also offers author portals in several languages and regions, including South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. If you plan to stick to the US and Europe, it’s got your back there as well.

The downside of StreetLib is that it takes a higher percentage of your earnings than Draft2Digital or PublishDrive.

Pros of StreetLib	Cons of StreetLib
➕ Reach non-Western markets	➖ Lower royalty earnings
➕ Upload from 6 continents
➕ Choice of plans
➕ Audiobook distribution also available

Best print-on-demand (POD) services

While plenty of self-publishing authors rely on the ebook market for most of their sales, lots of readers still prefer getting their hands on a beautifully designed paperback. POD services allow almost any indie author to put a paperback up for sale without breaking the bank, since each book is only printed after an order has been placed.

If that piqued your curiosity, here’s a quick look at some of the major players in POD. (And for a deep dive, read our post where we personally tested and compared the five best POD services out there.)

KDP Print

📆 Service offered since: 2016 (formerly as CreateSpace)
🌎 Geographic reach: Global
💰 Cost to authors: Varies depending on your book’s specs, but generally budget friendly
💸 Royalties: 50% on print books priced up to $9.98 or 60% on books priced at $9.99 or higher
📇 Distribution: Amazon and other retailers through Expanded Distribution
🌟 ALLi service rating: Excellent (Partner)
👑 Best for: Reaching a wide global audience on a budget

We recommend Amazon’s POD service for most authors. KDP Print has the cheapest per-unit printing costs, ships the fastest, and reaches not just the gigantic Amazon customer base, but also shops and libraries across the globe via the Expanded Distribution option.

That said, there are two main downsides to KDP Print: it has fewer customization options than competitors, and the print quality is not quite as high. So, if your book has an unusual spec or includes lots of charts and images, it’s probably not the best option for you.

Pros of KDP Print	Cons of KDP Print
➕ Cheapest printing costs	➖ Lower print quality
➕ Fastest shipping times	➖ Fewer customization options
➕ Reach a huge global audience	➖ Not the number one choice of brick-and-mortar stores and libraries
➕ Distribute to external stores and libraries
➕ Same platform as your KDP ebooks

IngramSpark

📆 Service offered since: 2013
🌎 Geographic reach: Global
💰 Cost to authors: Varies depending on your book’s specs, but generally mid-range
💸 Royalty share: Varies depending on print costs and wholesale discount
📇 Distribution: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indigo, Foyles, Waterstones, and thousands of other retailers, libraries, and institutions
🌟 ALLi service rating: Excellent (Partner)
👑 Best for: Getting your book into brick-and-mortar stores

If your focus is on getting your book into brick-and-mortar stores, you’re probably best off using IngramSpark. This subsidiary of Ingram Content Group bridges the gap between self-publishing and traditional publishing by making indie books available through the same channels major publishers use.

Not only does IngramSpark distribute to more retailers than KDP Print, but it also produces books of a higher quality, and it has a better reputation than Amazon among retailers.

The number one drawback of IngramSpark is its user interface, which can be clunky and difficult to navigate. Still, if you choose IngramSpark for your POD services, you might want to distribute your ebook via the platform as well for simplicity’s sake. We wouldn’t recommend it as an ebook distributor on its own, though, as other aggregators are more profitable and easier to use.

Pros of IngramSpark	Cons of IngramSpark
➕ Reach the most brick-and-mortar stores	➖ Poor user interface
➕ High-quality printing	➖ Slow customer service

A word of warning

 

IngramSpark doesn’t guarantee that stores will actually stock your book. They have the option to order it in, but you’ll still have to persuade them to do so. To increase your chances of getting stocked, make sure your wholesale discount is 55% and your book is refundable. You can also speak to nearby stores and libraries, who are often happy to feature local authors.

Blurb

📆 Service offered since: 2005
🌎 Geographic reach: Global
💰 Cost to authors: Varies depending on your book’s specs, but generally very high
💸 Royalty share: Keep 100% of the royalties (Blurb’s share is built into the cost of the book)
📇 Distribution: Amazon, the Blurb bookstore, and over 39,000 other stores via Ingram
🌟 ALLi service rating: Recommended
👑 Best for: High-quality image printing

Blurb produces excellent quality books — but its printing costs are prohibitively expensive. Even though you get to keep 100% of the royalties, this POD service is usually only worth it for works with significant visual components, such as children’s books, or books with uncommon formatting requirements. In other words, choose Blurb if you refuse to compromise on printing quality.

Pros of Blurb	Cons of Blurb
➕ Exceptional printing quality	➖ Very expensive
➕ Wide range of specialty formats available
➕ Reach thousands of stores or sell directly
➕ Keep 100% of the royalties

Best audiobook distributors

Why limit yourself to ebooks and paperbacks? The Audio Publishers Association 2025 Consumer Survey found that 51% of Americans aged 18 and older have listened to an audiobook — that’s 134 million potential consumers in the US alone.

You can self-publish your audiobook alongside your ebook on Apple Books, Kobo Writing Life, PublishDrive, and StreetLib. However, there are also specialized audiobook distributors that you might want to consider, especially if none of these are your first choice for ebook distribution.

ALLi downgraded its service rating for Amazon’s audiobook distribution service, ACX, to “Caution” because of harmful policies, so we will not include the site here. Instead, let’s look at one direct retailer and two aggregators, each of which has its own perks.

Spotify for Authors

📆 Service offered since: 2024
🌎 Geographic reach: Global
💰 Cost to authors: Free
💸 Royalties: Not transparent
📇 Distribution: Spotify
🌟 ALLi service rating: Not yet rated
👑 Best for: Marketing and sales analytics

While Amazon’s Audible still dominates the audiobook scene with a 63.4% share of the US market, Spotify’s popularity is growing rapidly — they’ve seen a 35% rise in audiobook listening hours between January 2024 and January 2025.

If you want to jump on the bandwagon and maximize your success among Spotify’s 696 million users, then you should make an account with Spotify for Authors. Besides earning higher royalties by publishing directly, the main advantage of this platform is their detailed analytics. You can see your listeners’ age, gender, and favorite podcast categories, meaning you can figure out who your audience is and how best to market to them.

Pros of Spotify for Authors	Cons of Spotify for Authors
➕ Gain valuable demographic and behavioral insights on your listeners	➖ Royalty system is not very transparent (but this applies to Spotify royalties earned through aggregators too)
➕ Earn more revenue by cutting out the aggregator	➖ New platform with no proven track record

Voices by INaudio

📆 Service offered since: 2016 (formerly as Findaway Voices)
🌎 Geographic reach: Global
💰 Cost to authors: Free
💸 Royalty share: 80% of net revenue
📇 Distribution: Spotify, Audible, Apple Books, bibliotheca, and tens of other retailers
🌟 ALLi service rating: Excellent (Partner)
👑 Best for: Writers already on Spotify for Authors

Since a large number of people don’t listen to their audiobooks on Spotify, we recommend also choosing an aggregator to distribute to all the other major audiobook retailers. The easiest option if you’re on Spotify for Authors is to link your account with their partner Voices by INaudio (and you’ll still get to keep 100% of your Spotify royalties). With competitive payment terms and global reach, it’s a hassle-free way to cast a wide net with your audiobook.

Pros of Voices by INaudio	Cons of Voices by INaudio
➕ Competitive royalty rates	➖ Limited analytics
➕ Reach all major retailers at once
➕ Keep 100% of Spotify royalties

Author’s Republic

📆 Service offered since: 2015
🌎 Geographic reach: Global
💰 Cost to authors: Free to distribute
💸 Royalties: 80% of net revenue
📇 Distribution: Audible, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify, and tens of other retail, streaming, and library partners
🌟 ALLi service rating: Excellent (Partner)
👑 Best for: Creating and distributing your audiobook in one place

Another option for audiobook distribution is Author’s Republic. Although you’ll have to give up some of your Spotify royalties, this aggregator has one major advantage over Voices: you can create your audiobook on their site before you publish it. For authors who don’t know much about how to make an audiobook, this is an extremely convenient extra. 

But be warned: whether you create your audiobook on their platform or simply upload it, Author’s Republic limits each chapter to 78 minutes in length — compared to 120 minutes on Voices by INaudio.

Pros of Author’s Republic	Cons of Author’s Republic
➕ Can also create the audiobook on their site for a fee (ranging from $50–$400+ per finished hour)	➖ Limited analytics
➕ Competitive royalty rates	➖ Shorter maximum chapter length
➕ Reach all major retailers at once

Best marketing services

Getting your book published in your desired format(s) is only half the battle, of course. You may have created a wonderful book and distributed it to your preferred retailer platforms — but you still need to find a way to make people buy it.

While most of the above companies offer some limited marketing tools, you’ll often get better results from a dedicated service. Thankfully, there are a few companies you can turn to for assistance.

Reedsy Discovery

📆 Service offered since: 2019
🖋️ Service(s): Editorial review
💰 Cost to authors: $50
🌟 ALLi service rating: Excellent (Partner)
👑 Best for: A credible editorial review you can quote to promote your book

Reedsy Discovery helps thousands of self-publishing authors get the boost they need every month. When you submit your book, you get an editorial review in time for your launch date — as well as a chance to be featured in our weekly newsletter, sent out to over 200,000 eager readers.

In addition, Reedsy’s marketplace has dozens of experienced book marketers who can help you optimize your book’s product page, plan an ad campaign, and perfect your email marketing strategy.

Pros of Reedsy Discovery	Cons of Reedsy Discovery
➕ Editorial review lends credibility to your book in your own marketing efforts	➖ No sales tracking or performance analytics
➕ Access a large audience of readers
➕ Cheaper than other editorial review sites

BookBub

📆 Service offered since: 2012
🖋️ Service(s): Promotion services including featured deals and self-serve ads
💰 Cost to authors: Varies by genre and service, but generally expensive
🌟 ALLi service rating: Recommended
👑 Best for: Authors willing to pay significant upfront costs in return for readers

Perhaps the single biggest promotional platform in publishing, BookBub offers self-publishing authors a powerful way to publicize their discount deals. Readers receive a targeted newsletter every day with discounted books in their preferred genres.

As you can imagine, every author wants to make it onto these newsletters — so it can be very expensive to get a featured deal: hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on the book’s price and genre. Even if you’re willing to spend this money, it can be difficult to secure a deal, since you’ll need to be able to compete with other authors in terms of quality, reviews, price, and availability. But if you do get featured, you’ll likely see a significant sales spike.

BookBub also offers less competitive ads, as well as a space for readers to review your book and recommend it to others in the community.

Pros of BookBub	Cons of BookBub
➕ Get community reviews	➖ Very expensive
➕ Access a very large audience of readers	➖ Highly competitive
➕ Strong conversion from featured deals
➕ Targeted marketing
➕ Prestigious reputation

Written Word Media

📆 Service offered since: 2014
🖋️ Service(s): Promotion services including email promotions and social media ads
💰 Cost to authors: Varies by genre and service, but mid-range
🌟 ALLi service rating: Excellent (Partner)
👑 Best for: Smaller, less prestigious promotions that accumulate over time

Written Word Media is the solution to BookBub’s exclusivity problem. It decreases the barriers to entry with several cheaper, smaller-scale promotion opportunities that also target specific reading interests. 

While each individual campaign may not generate a huge sales spike like on BookBub, the cumulative effect of multiple promotions can produce long-term results.

Pros of Written Word Media	Cons of Written Word Media
➕ More affordable promotion opportunities	➖ Smaller audience reach
➕ Not as competitive as BookBub	➖ Requires ongoing management
➕ Targeted marketing

You can find more marketing services over on Reedsy’s directory of book promotion sites.

Best author services

All that being said, your book isn’t likely to gain traction if it’s not written to a high standard and presented professionally. If you’re still concerned with the editing, design, and formatting of your book, then perhaps the companies above don’t quite match what you’re looking for. Thankfully, there’s one place where you can access world-class talent to take care of all three — and you’re already there 😉

Reedsy

📆 Service offered since: 2014
🌎 Geographic reach: Global
🖋️ Service(s): Editing, interior design, cover design, illustrations, and more
💰 Cost to authors: Varies by service; average costs here
🌟 ALLi service rating: Excellent (Partner)
👑 Best for: Giving your book a professional polish

A marketplace for freelance publishing professionals, Reedsy is where authors can connect with editors and designers with years of relevant experience in traditional publishing. Each of our 3,700 professionals sets their own rate, and you can get quotes from up to five of them at a time so that you can find the best fit for your needs and budget. Admittedly, many of our editors don't come for cheap — but that’s because they're committed to quality, human-driven workflows.

In addition to the marketplace, Reedsy has a free book formatting tool that allows any author to quickly create a professional-grade ebook and print book files.

Pros of Reedsy	Cons of Reedsy
➕ Format your book easily	➖ Can be more expensive than sites like Upwork and Fiverr
➕ Work with experienced, vetted editors and designers
➕ Project and payment protection
➕ Quick customer service

Whichever self-publishing companies you choose, understand that it may take a bit of trial and error before you finally figure out your perfect self-publishing system. There's no single right way to go about it — but there are wrong ways, so remain vigilant!