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Draft2Digital vs IngramSpark: what each is for

Draft2Digital vs IngramSpark is a difference of job, not a ranking. Draft2Digital is an aggregator: one upload can send an ebook to the stores you tick, and its print service lists a paperback with Amazon and with channels Ingram serves. IngramSpark is a print-on-demand and wholesale distributor that also sells ebooks. They overlap, and Draft2Digital says not to use its print service together with IngramSpark or with KDP Expanded Distribution. Checked against the official pages on 6 October 2026.

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The short answer

  1. Draft2Digital sends ebooks to retail and library partners you select. It says it does not take exclusivity.[26]
  2. IngramSpark's wholesale switch makes a print book orderable by bookstores, libraries, and online retailers. Signup and upload cost nothing on its pricing page.[27][220]
  3. Both can deliver print, and both can deliver ebooks. Draft2Digital Print is paperback only. IngramSpark also offers hardcover.[26][222]
  4. The Draft2Digital FAQ states a non-refundable one-time activation fee of $20 for new accounts, a $12 annual maintenance fee for accounts that earn less than $100 a year, and a commission of about 10 percent of the retail price.[26]
  5. With KDP, upload the ebook to KDP yourself and do not also send it to Amazon through Draft2Digital. For print, do not combine Draft2Digital Print with IngramSpark.[26]

01

Is Draft2Digital an aggregator?

Yes. Draft2Digital takes one manuscript and sends the ebook to the partners you choose. The FAQ lists Amazon, which it marks invite only, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo including Kobo Plus, the Smashwords Store, Bookshop.org, Tolino, OverDrive, cloudLibrary, Everand, Hoopla, Vivlio, BorrowBox, and Gardners. The partners page also names Fable. The live account is the list that applies, because you tick stores and Draft2Digital says it will not add a new store unless you opt in. You keep the copyright. Publishing gives Draft2Digital permission to convert and distribute, and the FAQ says you can revoke that permission. It does not require ebook distribution in order to use the print service, or the reverse.[26][60]

  • A free Draft2Digital ISBN can be used only inside Draft2Digital, not at KDP. The FAQ says that limit comes from the agency that supplies the numbers, and that the ISBN does not give Draft2Digital your copyright.
  • Free ebooks are allowed except at certain stores and libraries. A vendor that does not accept a free price is submitted at $0.99. Check that store's special considerations before you tick it.

02

Is IngramSpark mainly print and wholesale?

Print wholesale is the job IngramSpark describes for bookstores and libraries. When distribution is enabled, the book is offered through that network and IngramSpark sends metadata so buyers can order it. The FAQ says this is not exclusive. Ebooks are also part of the service: the pricing page says you earn 85 percent of the net revenue IngramSpark receives on each ebook sale, regardless of retailer. If you only want copies for yourself and do not want distribution, the FAQ says it can assign a SKU instead of an ISBN. Distribution, when you do want it, needs an ISBN for each format.[27][220]

  • The pricing page says signup and upload of a print book or ebook cost nothing.
  • Seeing the book on retailer sites can take 2 to 6 weeks after you enable distribution.

03

Do their roles overlap?

Yes, on both print and ebooks. Draft2Digital Print is print on demand. The FAQ says those paperbacks are listed with Amazon and with distribution channels served by Ingram, including Barnes & Noble and most independent bookstores in the US, and that physical stores can order them. It also says a store is not obliged to put a copy on the shelf. Draft2Digital Print offers perfect-bound paperbacks only, with a minimum of 32 pages and a maximum of 1,050. IngramSpark's user guide describes paperbacks and hardcovers, so a hardcover is an IngramSpark option that Draft2Digital Print does not list. Because Draft2Digital Print already uses Ingram-served channels, the FAQ says not to list the same print book with IngramSpark or with KDP Expanded Distribution.[26][222]

  • If the KDP paperback has Expanded Distribution turned off, Draft2Digital says its print service is a fit for wider print reach.
  • Ebook overlap is the same kind of problem: Draft2Digital says double-listing splits sales rank, and it does not recommend it.

04

How do the fees work?

The Draft2Digital FAQ states a non-refundable one-time activation fee of $20 for new accounts, and an annual maintenance fee of $12 for accounts that earn less than $100 a year in book sales. Accounts with no titles in distribution are not charged that maintenance fee. Commission is about 10 percent of the retail price of each book sale. For print, the same FAQ says you can expect about 45 percent of the list price minus the printing cost. The FAQ also lists payment-method fees: PayPal at 2.5 percent, capped at $1.50 for US authors and $25 otherwise, and a check fee of $2.50 in the US or $4 outside it. IngramSpark's pricing page does not list those account fees. It says upload is free, ebook pay is 85 percent of net, and print pay is what remains after the discount and the print cost. Its discount article says a market access fee is also deducted and does not state the percentage.[26][27][221]

  • Use the royalty estimate on the Draft2Digital price screen for a specific store. The FAQ says that figure updates when you change the list price, and that taxes depend on your location.
  • Do not treat either company's about-percentage as your royalty until the account shows the store and the book.

05

When would you use both with KDP?

A common split that both companies describe is: the ebook on KDP directly, other ebook stores through Draft2Digital with Amazon unticked, and print either on KDP plus IngramSpark, or on KDP plus Draft2Digital Print, but not on IngramSpark and Draft2Digital Print together. IngramSpark's FAQ tells you to leave KDP Expanded Distribution off if the print book is also on IngramSpark. Draft2Digital says the same about its print service. KDP Select changes the ebook half of this. During a Select term you cannot send that ebook to Draft2Digital's stores. Print can still use KDP and IngramSpark while the ebook is enrolled. If the ebook is wide, turn Select renewal off and wait until the current 90 days end before you tick other stores.[26][78][220]

  • Draft2Digital says library retailers often take the longest to list an ebook, and that print listings are somewhere around 2 weeks. It does not promise a day.
  • The publishing cost calculator does not compare these distribution fees. Read the account screens for the book you are actually uploading.

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