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Publishing · head to head

Blurb vs Kindle Direct Publishing

Blurb logo

Blurb

Publishing

Visual storytelling through print-on-demand books and wall art

From
$3.99/unit
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kindle Direct Publishing logo

Kindle Direct Publishing

Publishing

Amazon self-publishing platform that is free to use, earning Amazon a royalty cut instead of a fee, with a hard price band and per-megabyte delivery cost governing the 70% rate

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Kindle Direct Publishing has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Blurb print-on-demand model; no subscription plans or seat limits; Kindle Direct Publishing the 70% royalty band has hard edges: pricing even one cent outside $2.99-$12.99 drops the royalty to 35%, which is a cliff, not a gradual scale, and easy to trigger by accident when adjusting price for a promotion.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Blurb and Kindle Direct Publishing actually diverge.

Attributes where Blurb and Kindle Direct Publishing differ
AttributeBlurbKindle Direct Publishing
Starting price$3.99/unitFree
Pricing modelusage-basedFree to publish; Amazon earns a royalty share rather than a fee
Free tierNoYes

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Publishing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Blurb

Nothing recorded that Kindle Direct Publishing does not also cover.

Only in Kindle Direct Publishing

  • Free publishing
  • 70%/35% royalty tiers
  • Print-on-demand
  • KDP Select
  • Delivery fee deduction
  • Pre-order and release tools

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Blurb

  • Self-publishingnot Kindle Direct Publishing
  • Print marketing materialsnot Kindle Direct Publishing

Kindle Direct Publishing

  • A self-published author wanting free, no-fee distribution to the largest single ebook and print-on-demand marketnot Blurb
  • An author pricing a book between $2.99 and $12.99 to qualify for the 70% royalty tier rather than 35%not Blurb
  • A publisher considering KDP Select exclusivity to earn Kindle Unlimited page-read royalties, trading away distribution on other retailers for the enrollment periodnot Blurb
  • An author with a large, image-heavy ebook file who needs to understand the per-megabyte delivery fee before setting a pricenot Blurb

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Blurb

  • Print-on-demand model; no subscription plans or seat limits
  • Per-page costs add $0.04-$3.50 depending on product type
  • Volume discounts require minimum orders

Kindle Direct Publishing

  • The 70% royalty band has hard edges: pricing even one cent outside $2.99-$12.99 drops the royalty to 35%, which is a cliff, not a gradual scale, and easy to trigger by accident when adjusting price for a promotion.
  • The delivery fee, roughly $0.15 per megabyte, is deducted on every sale under the 70% tier, so image-heavy or long ebooks lose meaningfully more revenue per sale than a plain-text book at the same list price.
  • KDP Select exclusivity, while optional, is the only route to Kindle Unlimited page-read royalties, so authors face a real trade-off between Amazon-only reach with page-read income and wider distribution without it.
  • Public domain or primarily public-domain content is capped at the 35% royalty regardless of price, so that category of publisher cannot access the higher rate at all.
  • As a single-retailer platform, an author relying solely on KDP is concentrated in one sales channel controlled entirely by Amazon policy, which has changed royalty terms before (the July 2026 price band expansion is itself an example) and can do so again.

Pricing, plan by plan

Blurb

$3.99/unit
  • Paperback$3.99/unit
  • Photo Books$12/unit
  • Notebooks$12/unit
  • Wall Art$65/unit

Kindle Direct Publishing

Free
  • 70% royalty tierFree
    • Applies to ebooks priced $2.99-$12.99 (expanded from $9.99 ceiling in July 2026)
    • In-copyright works only
    • Delivery fee of roughly $0.15/MB deducted per sale
  • 35% royalty tierFree
    • Applies below $2.99, above $12.99, or for public domain content
    • No delivery fee deducted
    • Applies automatically outside eligible territories for the 70% tier

Which should you pick?

Choose Blurb if

Nothing in the data separates Blurb from Kindle Direct Publishing on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Blurb review

Choose Kindle Direct Publishing if

  • You need free publishing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want 70%/35% royalty tiers.
Kindle Direct Publishing review

Questions people ask

Is Blurb or Kindle Direct Publishing better?
Neither clearly leads. Blurb starts at $3.99/unit and Kindle Direct Publishing at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Blurb or Kindle Direct Publishing?
Kindle Direct Publishing has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $3.99/unit for Blurb and Free for Kindle Direct Publishing.
Does Blurb or Kindle Direct Publishing run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Kindle Direct Publishing for free?
Yes. Kindle Direct Publishing has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Blurb starts at $3.99/unit.
What is Blurb best used for?
Blurb is most often used for self-publishing, print marketing materials. Of those, self-publishing and print marketing materials are not what Kindle Direct Publishing is typically brought in for.
What can Blurb do that Kindle Direct Publishing cannot?
Kindle Direct Publishing covers Free publishing, 70%/35% royalty tiers, Print-on-demand, KDP Select.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Blurb: What is Blurb's starting price for printed books?

Blurb's paperback books start at $3.99 for a 5x8-inch book with economy color paper, with prices increasing based on size and binding style.

Source
Kindle Direct Publishing: Does KDP cost anything to use?

No signup or listing fee. Amazon earns revenue through the royalty share (65% or 30% of the list price after territory and delivery-fee adjustments) rather than a subscription or fee.

Blurb: Does Blurb offer volume discounts?

Blurb provides volume discounts: 10-20% for 10-19 copies, 15-20% for 20-49 copies, and 20-25% for 50+ copies depending on product type.

Source
Kindle Direct Publishing: What is the current 70% royalty price band?

As of July 2026, $2.99 to $12.99, expanded from the previous $2.99 to $9.99 ceiling that had been unchanged since 2007.

Blurb: What does Blurb charge for photo book printing?

Blurb's photo books start at $12 and can cost up to $159 depending on size (6 sizes available), paper quality, and cover binding option.

Source
Kindle Direct Publishing: What is the delivery fee?

Roughly $0.15 per megabyte of file size, deducted per sale only on the 70% royalty tier, calculated from the delivered file size.

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