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Publishing · head to head

Kindle Direct Publishing vs QuarkXPress

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
QuarkXPress logo

QuarkXPress

Publishing

The original desktop publishing software for print and digital design

From
On request
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: 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.; QuarkXPress specific pricing amounts not displayed on product page
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Kindle Direct Publishing and QuarkXPress differ
AttributeKindle Direct PublishingQuarkXPress
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree to publish; Amazon earns a royalty share rather than a feesubscription
Free tierYesNo

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 Kindle Direct Publishing

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

Only in QuarkXPress

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 QuarkXPress
  • An author pricing a book between $2.99 and $12.99 to qualify for the 70% royalty tier rather than 35%not QuarkXPress
  • A publisher considering KDP Select exclusivity to earn Kindle Unlimited page-read royalties, trading away distribution on other retailers for the enrollment periodnot QuarkXPress
  • An author with a large, image-heavy ebook file who needs to understand the per-megabyte delivery fee before setting a pricenot QuarkXPress

QuarkXPress

  • Brochure design and layoutnot Kindle Direct Publishing
  • Book and magazine layout with professional typographynot Kindle Direct Publishing
  • Newspaper layout and productionnot Kindle Direct Publishing
  • Brand identity and logo designnot Kindle Direct Publishing
  • Print-ready publication designnot 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.

QuarkXPress

  • Specific pricing amounts not displayed on product page
  • AI features require subscription or maintenance contract
  • System requirements limited to macOS 26.x/15.x/14.x and Windows 11/10 only

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

QuarkXPress

On request
  • Annual Subscription$undefined/mo
    • Variable Fonts with adjustable weight, width, slant
    • 1,500+ high-quality Google fonts
    • Full Pantone Color Libraries
  • Perpetual License$undefined/mo
    • Buy once, keep forever
    • AI features require active maintenance contract
  • Education$undefined/mo
    • Special educational pricing available
  • Not-for-Profit$undefined/mo
    • Special nonprofit pricing available

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 QuarkXPress if

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

QuarkXPress review

Questions people ask

Is Kindle Direct Publishing or QuarkXPress better?
Neither clearly leads. Kindle Direct Publishing starts at Free and QuarkXPress at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kindle Direct Publishing or QuarkXPress?
Kindle Direct Publishing has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Kindle Direct Publishing and On request for QuarkXPress.
Does Kindle Direct Publishing or QuarkXPress 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. QuarkXPress starts at On request.
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 QuarkXPress is typically brought in for.
What can Kindle Direct Publishing do that QuarkXPress 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.

QuarkXPress: How much does QuarkXPress cost?

QuarkXPress offers two purchasing options: Annual Subscription and Perpetual License (buy once). Special pricing is available for Education, Not-for-Profit, and Government sectors. Specific pricing amounts are not listed on the product page.

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.

QuarkXPress: Do QuarkXPress AI features require a subscription?

Yes, AI features including Quarky AI Assistant and Font Pairing require either an active subscription or perpetual license with active maintenance contract (v21.1+).

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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