KDP vs IngramSpark: which should you use?
This is usually framed as a choice, and it mostly is not one. KDP and IngramSpark are print-on-demand services that are strong in different channels, and the reason experienced self-publishers run both is that using either alone leaves a channel closed.
The distinction that actually matters: KDP is Amazon's own service and is unbeatable for selling on Amazon. IngramSpark feeds the wholesale catalogue that physical bookshops, libraries and non-Amazon online retailers order from. They are good at different jobs.
The practical differences
| KDP | IngramSpark | |
|---|---|---|
| Best channel | Amazon storefronts | Bookshops, libraries, wholesale |
| Setup cost | Free | Historically a per-title fee, frequently waived — check current terms |
| Amazon royalty | Highest available | Lower, because the wholesale discount comes out first |
| Bookshop stocking | Effectively no — shops will not order from a competitor | Yes, via the Ingram catalogue |
| Returns | Not applicable | Can be enabled, and bookshops usually expect it |
| Interior/format options | Standard trim sizes, good enough for most books | Wider choice including hardback and specialist papers |
| Proof and revision | Free to re-upload | May carry a revision fee — check current terms |
Why bookshops will not stock a KDP paperback
This is the single most misunderstood point, and it is not about print quality — the printing is comparable. It is about who the shop would be ordering from.
A KDP paperback is distributed by Amazon. Asking an independent bookshop to order stock from Amazon is asking them to hand money to the competitor that is squeezing them. Most will decline on principle, and the ones that would consider it still face a second problem: KDP's expanded distribution offers a wholesale discount too thin for a shop to make a normal margin, and typically no returns.
Bookshops buy on standard trade terms — a wholesale discount in the region of half the cover price, and the right to return unsold stock. IngramSpark lets you offer both. KDP does not.
The setup most authors land on
Use KDP for the ebook and for the Amazon paperback. Use IngramSpark for the same paperback everywhere that is not Amazon, and for hardback if you want one.
- Publish the ebook on KDP.
- Publish the paperback on KDP, but leave expanded distribution switched off.
- Publish the same paperback on IngramSpark with a different ISBN, set to distribute everywhere except Amazon.
- Set the IngramSpark wholesale discount and returns policy to trade-standard if you want shops to be able to order.
Step two is the one people miss. If KDP's expanded distribution is on and IngramSpark is also distributing, both are feeding the same wholesale channel, and the listings can collide — duplicate entries, the wrong edition winning the buy box, and an availability status that flickers. Pick one supplier per channel.
The ISBN consequence
That setup needs two ISBNs for one paperback, because a free KDP-supplied ISBN cannot be used anywhere but KDP. If you own your ISBNs, this is routine — you assign one to each edition, which is what ISBNs are for. If you were planning to rely on the free one, this is the point at which buying a block starts to pay for itself.
When one really is enough
Not everyone needs both. Use KDP alone if your book is ebook-first, your readers buy on Amazon, and you have no realistic route into physical shops — which is true of a great deal of genre fiction and most business books sold off the back of a speaking career.
Use IngramSpark alone if you are selling primarily through events, direct orders, libraries or a local shop, and Amazon is an afterthought. That is rarer, but it happens with regional non-fiction and poetry.
The question worth answering before either is where your readers actually buy books. The platform choice follows from that, and not the other way round.
Common questions
- Will Amazon penalise me for using IngramSpark too?
- No. What causes problems is two suppliers feeding the same channel at once, which produces duplicate or conflicting listings. Keep KDP on Amazon and IngramSpark everywhere else and there is no conflict.
- Is print quality different?
- They are broadly comparable for standard paperbacks, and both print at multiple facilities so there is variation within each. IngramSpark offers more choice of paper stock, trim size and binding, including hardback.
- Do I need two ISBNs?
- For the arrangement above, yes — a KDP-issued free ISBN is locked to KDP. If you buy your own ISBNs you assign a separate one to each edition anyway, which is standard practice.