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Publishing · head to head

Kindle Direct Publishing vs Marq

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
Marq logo

Marq

Publishing

Web-based design and publishing for brand templates

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Marq enterprise pricing requires sales consultation with no online quotes
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Kindle Direct Publishing and Marq differ
AttributeKindle Direct PublishingMarq
Pricing modelFree to publish; Amazon earns a royalty share rather than a feefreemium

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Kindle Direct Publishing

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

Only in Marq

Nothing recorded that Kindle Direct Publishing does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Kindle Direct Publishing

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

Marq

  • Design automation for print materialsnot Kindle Direct Publishing
  • Team-based design collaborationnot Kindle Direct Publishing
  • Brand asset managementnot Kindle Direct Publishing

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Marq

  • Enterprise pricing requires sales consultation with no online quotes
  • 3 project limit on free tier restricts heavy users

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Marq

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 25MB storage
    • 3 project limit
    • basic template library
  • Pro$10/month
    • 2GB storage
    • 5 free design imports
    • premium library
  • Team$10/month
    • 2GB+ shared storage
    • 15 free design imports
    • admin/user roles
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Unlimited storage
    • 30+ design imports
    • unlimited automations

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Marq if

  • You want to start without paying.
Marq review

Questions people ask

Is Kindle Direct Publishing or Marq better?
Neither clearly leads. Kindle Direct Publishing starts at Free and Marq at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kindle Direct Publishing or Marq?
Kindle Direct Publishing starts at Free and Marq at Free.
Does Kindle Direct Publishing or Marq 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?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Kindle Direct Publishing best used for?
Kindle Direct Publishing is most often used for a self-published author wanting free, no-fee distribution to the largest single ebook and print-on-demand market, an author pricing a book between $2.99 and $12.99 to qualify for the 70% royalty tier rather than 35%, a publisher considering kdp select exclusivity to earn kindle unlimited page-read royalties, trading away distribution on other retailers for the enrollment period, an author with a large, image-heavy ebook file who needs to understand the per-megabyte delivery fee before setting a price. Of those, a self-published author wanting free, no-fee distribution to the largest single ebook and print-on-demand market and an author pricing a book between $2.99 and $12.99 to qualify for the 70% royalty tier rather than 35% are not what Marq is typically brought in for.
What can Kindle Direct Publishing do that Marq cannot?
Kindle Direct Publishing covers Free publishing, 70%/35% royalty tiers, Print-on-demand, KDP Select.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Marq: What storage limits apply to each paid plan?

Pro and Team plans both include 2GB+ shared storage. Enterprise plans offer unlimited storage. Free plan limited to 25MB.

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.

Marq: Can I upgrade from monthly to annual billing for cost savings?

Pro and Team plans offer annual billing at $120 per year (equivalent to $10/month), versus month-to-month at $10/month. Contact sales for Enterprise annual options.

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.

Marq: How many team members can be added per plan?

Team plan supports 2-20 licenses with 1 primary user and 1 secondary free license included. Pro plan limited to 1 user. Contact sales for Enterprise member scaling.

Source
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