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ARC services compared: NetGalley, BookSirens, BookFunnel, StoryOrigin and Bervet

By R. S. Breed · Updated

An advance review copy (ARC) service does some or all of three jobs: it delivers the book to readers, it finds readers you don't already have, and it tracks who read it. The services below split those jobs differently, and charge very differently for them.

Every price here comes from the service's own pricing page, checked on 29 September 2026. Prices change: check the page before you pay.

The short version

Service What it costs Finds readers for you? How readers get the book
NetGalley $575 per title for a 6-month listing Yes: members request titles Through NetGalley
BookSirens $10 per ARC + $2 per reader it finds, or $100 a year Yes, and your own readers are free Readers download the book
BookFunnel ARC delivery from $200 a year No: it delivers to readers you bring Files and the BookFunnel app
StoryOrigin Review copies on the $10/month or $100/year plan Through newsletter swaps with other authors File delivery
Bervet Free Readers can ask from the Advance copies page; you bring your own too Read in the browser, on any device

NetGalley

NetGalley's pay-per-title package is "Digital Review Copy 6-month listing for $575", with an optional "Featured Title for $150" for a week-long boost. It suggests this plan for authors listing one to four books a year.

What you're paying for is NetGalley's members: it's "free to request, read, and recommend books before they are published", and members ask for the titles they want. NetGalley notes that publishers "tend to approve requests from members who have a history of providing feedback", so you choose who gets in.

Good for: a book that needs readers beyond your own, where the budget allows.

BookSirens

BookSirens charges "$10 per ARC" plus "$2 per Reader", and the per-reader fee "Only applies to readers we find for you": "You can still invite your readers for free." There's also an Author Plan at "$100 / year" with "Unlimited ARCs for 2 Pen Names" and no per-reader fees.

Readers use it free. They download the book, and BookSirens asks them to "leave an honest review (or 'did not finish') on BookSirens" and copy it to the site the author chooses.

Good for: paying only for the readers it actually brings you.

BookFunnel

BookFunnel delivers reader magnets and direct sales, and ARCs too. The cheapest plan, First-Time Author at $30 a year, doesn't include "Secure ARC Delivery". That starts on Mid-List at "$200/year" (or "$20/month"), with 5,000 downloads a month and up to four mailing list integrations. Bestseller, at "$300/year" (or "$30/month"), adds "Unlimited Downloads" and "Watermarked Files".

BookFunnel delivers; it doesn't find readers. You bring them, usually from your newsletter.

Good for: authors who already use it for reader magnets or direct sales.

StoryOrigin

StoryOrigin's free Basic plan has "Unlimited file delivery" but no review copies. Review copies come with Standard at "$10 / month or $100 / year", which also includes "Newsletter swaps" and tools to "Vet review history & completion" and "Automate reviewer follow-up".

A note on checking review history: Amazon lets you give free copies "as long as you do not require a review in exchange or attempt to influence the review", and its promotional content rules prohibit "conditioning any future benefit on writing a review", naming "future opportunities to receive free or discounted products" and "continued membership in a program or club". Choosing readers by whether they reviewed last time comes close to that. Choosing by whether they finished the book doesn't. More in getting Amazon reviews without breaking the rules.

Good for: building your list through swaps with other authors, with ARCs as part of it.

Bervet

Hosting an advance copy on Bervet is free. You upload the manuscript (Word, EPUB or plain text), check the chapter split, and share one private link with your own readers, or make it public so readers can ask for a place from the Advance copies page. A public ARC also gets its own thread in the forum.

Readers read in the browser, on any device, and it keeps their place. Nothing is emailed around: every copy carries a hidden mark tied to the reader it was shown to. You see how many readers reached each chapter, where they stalled, their one-tap reactions and the typos they send, and one button tells everyone when the book's out. Readers' email addresses stay with Bervet.

To keep you on the right side of Amazon's rule, Bervet shows you how many ARCs a reader has finished, never whether they reviewed. And if your ebook is going into Kindle Unlimited, the ARC closes on release day for you.

Honest limits: Bervet is new, so its own pool of readers is still growing. Right now it works best as the place your newsletter, your socials and your reader groups come to read.

Good for: running your ARC team free, and seeing where readers stop.

Which to choose

  • Your own readers are enough: you don't need to pay. Host it free, send your newsletter the link.
  • You need new readers and have a budget: BookSirens charges only for the readers it finds; NetGalley lists you for six months.
  • You already use BookFunnel or StoryOrigin: their ARC tools come with plans you may already have.

Whatever you use, the rules are the same: give the book free, ask what readers thought, and never require a review. More in running an ARC without breaking Amazon's rules and getting ARC readers without paying.

Host your ARC free on Bervet.

Sources

Platforms change their rules often. If something here is out of date, tell us in the forum and we'll fix it.

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