{"id":209207,"date":"2025-12-01T10:03:51","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T16:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.draft2digital.com\/blog\/?page_id=209207"},"modified":"2026-03-24T13:00:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T18:00:46","slug":"royalty-rates","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/royalty-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"Smashwords Royalty Rates"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

Ebook Royalty Rates<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

At Draft2Digital, it\u2019s our mission to help authors become more successful. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve never charged up front fees for our core publishing and distribution services. We strive to make publishing as affordable and accessible to as many authors as possible.<\/p>\n

Our business model is commission-based. This means we don\u2019t earn revenue unless you do. This approach aligns the success of our business with the success of yours.<\/p>\n

What do you get in exchange for this commission? We handle the heavy lifting of file conversion and global retail and library distribution so you don\u2019t have to contend with multiple platforms and differing requirements. It also includes the continuous outreach our promotion team handles with merchandising managers at retailers and libraries to get D2D authors\u2019 books placed in curated promotions, themed lists and storefront features.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n
\n
\n

Here's what we pay authors who distribute through D2D<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Royalty percentages shown are approximations due to rounding and currency exchange rates.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n
Digital Store<\/th>\n Royalty to Author<\/th>\n Pricing Notes<\/th>\n <\/tr>\n <\/thead>\n
Amazon<\/td>\n 60% or 30%<\/td>\n 60% when list price is $2.99-$9.99, otherwise 30%.<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Apple<\/td>\n 60%<\/td>\n Applies to all prices.<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Barnes & Noble<\/td>\n 60%<\/td>\n Applies to all prices.<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n\u00a0\u00a0
Fable<\/td>\n60%<\/td>\nApplies to all prices.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\u00a0\n\t
Gardners<\/td>\n 60%<\/td>\n Applies to all prices.<\/td>\n <\/tr> \n
Kobo<\/td>\n 60%<\/td>\n Applies to all prices.<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Smashwords<\/td>\n 75% or 40%<\/td>\n 75% when list price is $2.99 or higher, otherwise 40%.<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Tolino<\/td>\n 60%<\/td>\n Applies to all prices.<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Vivlio<\/td>\n 55%<\/td>\n Applies to all prices.<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n <\/table>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\n \n \n \n \n\u00a0 \n \n
Subscription Service<\/th>\n Royalty to Author<\/th>\n Pricing Notes<\/th>\n <\/tr>\n <\/thead>\n
Everand<\/td>\n 60%<\/td>\n 60% when a subscriber reads past 20% of your ebook.<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Kobo Plus<\/td>\n51% of your portion of the subscription pool<\/td>\n51% of revenue generated from subscription readers, calculated by total revenue\/minutes read.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n <\/table>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
\n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n
Library Service<\/th>\n OCOU Royalty to Author<\/th>\n CPC Royalty to Author<\/th>\n Pricing Notes<\/th>\n <\/tr>\n <\/thead>\n
BorrowBox<\/td>\n 46%<\/td>\n Not Offered<\/td>\n OCOU is when a library purchases a digital copy.<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
cloudLibrary<\/td>\n 46%<\/td>\n Not Offered<\/td>\n OCOU is when a library purchases a digital copy.<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Hoopla<\/td>\n Not Offered<\/td>\n 3.8%<\/td>\n CPC is paid per each check out from a participating library. Hoopla's CPC payouts are based on a tiered pricing model.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OverDrive<\/td>\n46%<\/td>\n 4.6%<\/td>\n OCOU is when a library purchases a digital copy.
CPC is paid per each check out from a participating library.<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n <\/table>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

For more information visit our Library payment options page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since 2008, the Smashwords store paid royalties using a complicated formula that was based on the dollar amount of the shopping cart checkout rather than the price of the book. Smashwords is simplifying the rate structure so it’s more transparent, predictable, and easier to understand.<\/p>\n

Effective January 1, 2026, books priced under $2.99 will earn 40% list.
\nBooks priced $2.99 and higher will earn 75% list, the highest among all major ebook retailers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":209518,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-209207","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nSmashwords Royalty Rates - Draft2Digital | Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/royalty-rates\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Smashwords Royalty Rates - Draft2Digital | Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Since 2008, the Smashwords store paid royalties using a complicated formula that was based on the dollar amount of the shopping cart checkout rather than the price of the book. Smashwords is simplifying the rate structure so it's more transparent, predictable, and easier to understand. Effective January 1, 2026, books priced under $2.99 will earn 40% list. Books priced $2.99 and higher will earn 75% list, the highest among all major ebook retailers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/royalty-rates\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Draft2Digital | Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/draft2digital\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-24T18:00:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/D2D-Self-Publishing-with-Support.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@draft2digital\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/royalty-rates\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/royalty-rates\\\/\",\"name\":\"Smashwords Royalty Rates - Draft2Digital | Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/royalty-rates\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/royalty-rates\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/5EE33EFB-6F46-4C94-B297-149B1F230EE0.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-01T16:03:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-24T18:00:46+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/royalty-rates\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/royalty-rates\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/royalty-rates\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/5EE33EFB-6F46-4C94-B297-149B1F230EE0.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/5EE33EFB-6F46-4C94-B297-149B1F230EE0.png\",\"width\":647,\"height\":376},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/royalty-rates\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Smashwords Royalty Rates\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Draft2Digital | Blog\",\"description\":\"Distribute your books worldwide. Keep all your rights.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/draft2digital.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Smashwords Royalty Rates - Draft2Digital | Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/royalty-rates\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Smashwords Royalty Rates - Draft2Digital | Blog","og_description":"Since 2008, the Smashwords store paid royalties using a complicated formula that was based on the dollar amount of the shopping cart checkout rather than the price of the book. Smashwords is simplifying the rate structure so it's more transparent, predictable, and easier to understand. Effective January 1, 2026, books priced under $2.99 will earn 40% list. Books priced $2.99 and higher will earn 75% list, the highest among all major ebook retailers.","og_url":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/royalty-rates\/","og_site_name":"Draft2Digital | Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/draft2digital","article_modified_time":"2026-03-24T18:00:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/D2D-Self-Publishing-with-Support.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@draft2digital","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/royalty-rates\/","url":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/royalty-rates\/","name":"Smashwords Royalty Rates - Draft2Digital | Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/royalty-rates\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/royalty-rates\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5EE33EFB-6F46-4C94-B297-149B1F230EE0.png","datePublished":"2025-12-01T16:03:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-24T18:00:46+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/royalty-rates\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/royalty-rates\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/royalty-rates\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5EE33EFB-6F46-4C94-B297-149B1F230EE0.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5EE33EFB-6F46-4C94-B297-149B1F230EE0.png","width":647,"height":376},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/royalty-rates\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Smashwords Royalty Rates"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/","name":"Draft2Digital | Blog","description":"Distribute your books worldwide. Keep all your rights.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/209207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209207"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/209207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":209519,"href":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/209207\/revisions\/209519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}