Softwr

Publishing · head to head

IngramSpark vs Pressbooks

IngramSpark logo

IngramSpark

Publishing

Print-on-demand and distribution into the wholesale catalogue that bookshops order from

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Pressbooks logo

Pressbooks

Publishing

Open source book production built on WordPress, and the default tool for open textbooks

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Pressbooks has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: IngramSpark you must buy your own ISBN for every format, which is a real upfront cost in territories such as the United States where the national agency charges over a hundred dollars for a single number.; Pressbooks self-hosting is free in licence terms only; it requires WordPress multisite administration, upgrades and backups, which is a real staff cost most institutions underestimate.
  • They diverge on capability: IngramSpark covers Ingram catalogue distribution, Pressbooks covers Single source, three outputs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which IngramSpark and Pressbooks actually diverge.

Attributes where IngramSpark and Pressbooks differ
AttributeIngramSparkPressbooks
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelFree title setup, then per-unit print cost and revision feesOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Self-hosted

Identical on both: 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 IngramSpark

  • Ingram catalogue distribution
  • Global print on demand
  • Discount and returns settings
  • Hardback and colour printing
  • Ebook distribution
  • Author copies at cost

Only in Pressbooks

  • Single source, three outputs
  • Cloning and adaptation
  • H5P interactive content
  • LMS integration
  • Open source under the GPL
  • Accessibility tooling

What people use each for

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

IngramSpark

  • An author who wants independent bookshops and libraries to be able to order the book on normal trade terms rather than only through Amazonnot Pressbooks
  • A small press that needs hardback and colour formats printed on demand without holding stocknot Pressbooks
  • A non-fiction author selling at conferences and events who wants author copies at print cost and trade distribution from the same title recordnot Pressbooks
  • A publisher printing for international readers who needs local manufacturing in the UK or Australia to avoid shipping costs killing the marginnot Pressbooks

Pressbooks

  • A university library replacing a commercial textbook by adapting an existing open textbook rather than commissioning a new onenot IngramSpark
  • A course team that wants readings delivered inside Canvas or Moodle with embedded exercises rather than as a static PDFnot IngramSpark
  • A research institute publishing reports that must exist as a web page, an EPUB and a printable document without maintaining three filesnot IngramSpark
  • A consortium standardising open textbook production across several institutions with a shared catalogue of adaptable titlesnot IngramSpark

Where each one falls short

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

IngramSpark

  • You must buy your own ISBN for every format, which is a real upfront cost in territories such as the United States where the national agency charges over a hundred dollars for a single number.
  • Setting the 55% wholesale discount and returns flag that bookshops expect can reduce net revenue on a modestly priced paperback to near nothing once print cost is deducted.
  • Enabling returns exposes you to charge-backs for unsold copies that are returned and destroyed, which turns a bookshop order that looked like a sale into a cost months later.
  • Print quality varies between plants and print runs, colour reproduction in particular, and resolving a complaint about a misprinted batch is slow because you are dealing with a distributor and not a printer you can telephone.
  • File revisions after publication carry a fee each time, so correcting an error found by an early reader costs money and takes days to propagate through the retail listings.

Pressbooks

  • Self-hosting is free in licence terms only; it requires WordPress multisite administration, upgrades and backups, which is a real staff cost most institutions underestimate.
  • Professional print PDF output depends on a commercial rendering engine that is licensed separately, so the genuinely free self-hosted route produces web and EPUB output but not press-quality print.
  • Design control is limited to the supplied themes unless someone writes custom CSS, so books tend to look recognisably like Pressbooks books.
  • There is no distribution, no ISBN service and no retail channel, so it produces files and web pages but plays no part in selling anything.
  • The editing experience inherits WordPress conventions, and authors working on long or heavily structured manuscripts find it slower than a dedicated writing application.

Pricing, plan by plan

IngramSpark

On request
  • IngramSpark$undefined/month
    • No title setup fee
    • File revisions after publication charged per title, around twenty-five dollars
    • Print cost deducted per unit from the wholesale payment

Pressbooks

Free
  • PressbooksFree
    • GPL licensed, self-hostable with no software fee
    • WordPress multisite administration is your responsibility
    • Print PDF export depends on a separately licensed rendering engine

Which should you pick?

Choose IngramSpark if

  • You need ingram catalogue distribution.
  • You also want global print on demand.
IngramSpark review

Choose Pressbooks if

  • You need single source, three outputs.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want cloning and adaptation.
Pressbooks review

Questions people ask

Is IngramSpark or Pressbooks better?
Neither clearly leads. IngramSpark starts at On request and Pressbooks at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IngramSpark or Pressbooks?
Pressbooks has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for IngramSpark and Free for Pressbooks.
Does IngramSpark or Pressbooks run on more platforms?
IngramSpark runs on Web. Pressbooks runs on Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use Pressbooks for free?
Yes. Pressbooks has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. IngramSpark starts at On request.
What is IngramSpark best used for?
IngramSpark is most often used for an author who wants independent bookshops and libraries to be able to order the book on normal trade terms rather than only through amazon, a small press that needs hardback and colour formats printed on demand without holding stock, a non-fiction author selling at conferences and events who wants author copies at print cost and trade distribution from the same title record, a publisher printing for international readers who needs local manufacturing in the uk or australia to avoid shipping costs killing the margin. Of those, an author who wants independent bookshops and libraries to be able to order the book on normal trade terms rather than only through amazon and a small press that needs hardback and colour formats printed on demand without holding stock are not what Pressbooks is typically brought in for.
What can IngramSpark do that Pressbooks cannot?
IngramSpark covers Ingram catalogue distribution, Global print on demand, Discount and returns settings, Hardback and colour printing. Pressbooks covers Single source, three outputs, Cloning and adaptation, H5P interactive content, LMS integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

IngramSpark: Does IngramSpark give me a free ISBN?

No. You supply your own, one for each format. That is a cost, and it is also why the publisher of record on the book is your imprint rather than theirs.

Pressbooks: Is Pressbooks really free?

The software is GPL licensed and free to self-host. The hosted service is priced, and professional print PDF output requires a commercially licensed renderer, so budget accordingly.

IngramSpark: Will bookshops actually stock my book?

They can order it, which is a precondition, not a guarantee. Being in the catalogue on trade terms, discounted and returnable, is what makes stocking possible; convincing a shop to do it is still your job.

Pressbooks: Can I sell a book made in Pressbooks?

You can sell the EPUB or the printed book through any distributor, but Pressbooks itself provides no ISBN, no storefront and no distribution.

IngramSpark: Should I use IngramSpark and Amazon print together?

Many authors do, using Amazon for Amazon sales and IngramSpark for everyone else. Watch for duplicate listings and check which edition Amazon shows as the buy option.

Pressbooks: Why do universities use it for open textbooks?

Because an openly licensed book can be cloned into another institution network and adapted for a different course, which turns a finished textbook into a starting point rather than a fixed artefact.

Share

Related pages

More on IngramSpark

More on Pressbooks

Keep looking

Other head to heads