KDP Print, IngramSpark or both for 2026?

1. R

   R. S. Breed Founder

   9 months ago

   Both print options have shifted this year, so it's a good time to redo the numbers before the new ones kick in.

   KDP Print moved first. In June, the print royalty rate on books priced under US$9.99 dropped from 60% to 50%. If you have a slim paperback at $8.99, you're earning less per copy than you were at the start of the year. Moving it over the line may be the simplest fix, if readers in your genre will pay it.

   IngramSpark has now announced its own changes. From 1 February 2026 its market access fee goes from 1.5% to 1.875%, and print costs are going up for many books, hardcovers and premium colour especially, though standard colour paperbacks actually get cheaper. Its director's letter also says revisions become free from 1 January. Details here:

   https://www.ingramspark.com/blog/a-letter-from-the-director-1

   https://blog.bublish.com/ingramspark-raising-prices-in-2026

   For context, that fee was reported at 1% when it was introduced in 2023, so it's close to doubled in two and a half years.

   So do you need both? The usual argument for IngramSpark is reach: bookshops and libraries that would rather not order from Amazon. The arguments against are another account to manage, another set of costs, and the fact that if most of your print sales come through Amazon anyway (check your own numbers, not someone else's), the extra reach may not be worth much to you.

   The library route also got a bit murkier in October when Baker & Taylor announced it was winding down. That doesn't settle anything on its own, but it's a reminder that the path from your file to a library shelf runs through companies you'll never deal with directly.

   Putting that together: if you sell print mostly to readers who already buy from Amazon, KDP Print alone is fine. If bookshops and libraries matter to you, the second account is usually worth it, but use your own ISBN rather than KDP's free one, since that only works on KDP. Whichever you pick, run the per-copy maths again after 1 February rather than on this year's prices.