Softwr

Publishing · head to head

GIMP vs Kobo Writing Life

GIMP logo

GIMP

Publishing

Free and open-source image editor

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kobo Writing Life logo

Kobo Writing Life

Publishing

Rakuten Kobo self-publishing platform paying a 70% royalty with no delivery fee deduction and no upper price cap, a materially different structure from Amazon KDP

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: GIMP gPLv3 licence requires derivative works to be open-source and freely distributed; Kobo Writing Life kobo overall market share is smaller than Amazon Kindle in the US specifically, so an author relying only on Kobo reaches a smaller US audience than KDP alone would.
  • They diverge on capability: GIMP covers Photo editing, Kobo Writing Life covers Free publishing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GIMP and Kobo Writing Life actually diverge.

Attributes where GIMP and Kobo Writing Life differ
AttributeGIMPKobo Writing Life
Pricing modelopen-sourceFree to publish; Kobo earns a royalty share rather than a fee
PlatformsGNU/Linux, macOS, WindowsWeb
Founded1995Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 GIMP

  • Photo editing
  • Digital painting
  • Image processing
  • Batch editing
  • Filters
  • Color correction
  • Layer support
  • Script-fu automation

Only in Kobo Writing Life

  • Free publishing
  • 70% royalty, no price ceiling
  • No delivery fee
  • Automatic price matching
  • International reach
  • Direct payment threshold

What people use each for

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

GIMP

  • Photo editing and retouching with professional colour managementnot Kobo Writing Life
  • Digital art creation with power and flexibility for image transformationnot Kobo Writing Life
  • Icon and UI element design for application developmentnot Kobo Writing Life
  • Batch image processing through Python, C, C++, and Scheme scriptingnot Kobo Writing Life

Kobo Writing Life

  • An author with a long or image-heavy ebook wanting to avoid the delivery fee that would apply on KDP at the same pricenot GIMP
  • An author pricing a book above $9.99 who wants the 70% royalty without hitting the price ceiling that would apply on Amazon before its July 2026 expansionnot GIMP
  • A wide-distribution author targeting Canadian, UK or other international markets where Kobo has stronger relative reach than in the USnot GIMP
  • An author who wants to understand that price-matching to other retailers may automatically change their Kobo price without a manual updatenot GIMP

Where each one falls short

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

GIMP

  • GPLv3 licence requires derivative works to be open-source and freely distributed
  • Community-driven development with no commercial support tier
  • No native CMYK support for professional print workflows
  • Ecosystem depends on community plugins and scripts for advanced features

Kobo Writing Life

  • Kobo overall market share is smaller than Amazon Kindle in the US specifically, so an author relying only on Kobo reaches a smaller US audience than KDP alone would.
  • Automatic price matching to other retailers means an author discounting on one platform can see their Kobo price change without a deliberate action, which requires active monitoring to avoid unintended royalty impact.
  • The requirement to price at least 20% below any physical edition to qualify for 70% is easy to overlook and can silently drop an author into the 45% tier if a print edition price changes without an ebook price adjustment.
  • Below the qualifying threshold, the fallback royalty is 45%, not the 35% floor on KDP, which sounds better but is a smaller total addressable audience given lower Kobo market share, so gross revenue comparison still favours evaluating both platforms together.
  • As with any single-retailer self-publishing tool, relying solely on Kobo concentrates risk in one platform policy and market position rather than spreading across a wide-distribution strategy.

Pricing, plan by plan

GIMP

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the GIMP review.

Kobo Writing Life

Free
  • 70% royalty tierFree
    • Applies from $2.99 USD (or currency equivalent) with no upper price cap
    • No delivery fee deducted, full 70% kept
    • Ebook must be priced at least 20% below any physical edition list price
  • 45% royalty tierFree
    • Applies below the $2.99 threshold
    • No delivery fee deducted

Which should you pick?

Choose GIMP if

  • You need photo editing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on GNU/Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want digital painting.
GIMP review

Choose Kobo Writing Life if

  • You need free publishing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want 70% royalty, no price ceiling.
Kobo Writing Life review

Questions people ask

Is GIMP or Kobo Writing Life better?
Neither clearly leads. GIMP starts at Free and Kobo Writing Life at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GIMP or Kobo Writing Life?
GIMP starts at Free and Kobo Writing Life at Free.
Does GIMP or Kobo Writing Life run on more platforms?
GIMP runs on GNU/Linux, macOS, Windows. Kobo Writing Life runs on Web.
Can I use GIMP for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is GIMP best used for?
GIMP is most often used for photo editing and retouching with professional colour management, digital art creation with power and flexibility for image transformation, icon and ui element design for application development, batch image processing through python, c, c++, and scheme scripting. Of those, photo editing and retouching with professional colour management and digital art creation with power and flexibility for image transformation are not what Kobo Writing Life is typically brought in for.
What can GIMP do that Kobo Writing Life cannot?
GIMP covers Photo editing, Digital painting, Image processing, Batch editing. Kobo Writing Life covers Free publishing, 70% royalty, no price ceiling, No delivery fee, Automatic price matching.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

GIMP: How much does GIMP cost?

GIMP is completely free to use and distribute. The software is released under the GNU General Public License v3 (GPLv3), an open-source license that guarantees freedom to use, modify, and distribute.

Source
Kobo Writing Life: Does Kobo Writing Life charge a fee?

No. Like KDP, it is free to publish; Kobo earns its share through the royalty percentage on each sale.

GIMP: Can I modify and distribute GIMP?

Yes, GIMP's source code is available for modification and redistribution according to the terms of the GPLv3 license.

Source
Kobo Writing Life: Is there a price ceiling on the 70% royalty?

No. Unlike KDP, which caps the 70% band at $12.99 as of July 2026, Kobo 70% rate has no upper price limit, only the $2.99 lower threshold.

Kobo Writing Life: Does Kobo deduct a delivery fee like Amazon?

No. Authors keep the full 70% regardless of file size; there is no per-megabyte delivery deduction.

Share

Related pages

More on GIMP

More on Kobo Writing Life

Keep looking

Other head to heads