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Alternatives

Best Platforms to Sell Books Directly to Readers

Amazon takes 30-65%. These platforms let you keep most of your revenue.

Selling books directly to readers is the single biggest revenue lever for indie authors. Instead of giving Amazon 30-65% of your ebook revenue, you can keep 85% or more. Here are the best platforms for direct book sales in 2026.

1.

Folio

Our Pick

Author website builder with built-in direct sales. Your store lives on your author website — no separate platform needed. Stripe + Razorpay for global payments.

Pros

Store is part of your author website — one platform
Keep 85% of every sale
Automatic ebook delivery (EPUB + PDF)
Stripe + Razorpay for global payments

Cons

Requires Store plan ($29/month)
No print-on-demand integration (yet)
2.

Payhip

Simple digital product store. Good for selling ebooks without building a full website. Takes a small transaction fee.

Pros

Free plan available (5% transaction fee)
Simple setup for ebook sales
Handles EU VAT automatically

Cons

Not an author website — just a store
No book catalog or series pages
Basic design options
3.

Gumroad

Popular digital product marketplace. Easy to use, but takes 10% of every sale and adds Gumroad branding.

Pros

Large existing audience
Easy to set up products
Handles payments and delivery

Cons

10% transaction fee on free plan
Gumroad branding on storefront
Not author-specific
4.

BookFunnel

Ebook delivery and reader magnet platform. Excellent for distributing books, but not a storefront or website.

Pros

Best-in-class ebook delivery
Reader magnet and ARC management
Multi-format support

Cons

Not a sales platform — just delivery
Requires a separate payment processor
Not a website
5.

Shopify

E-commerce giant that can sell anything, including books. Powerful but expensive and complex for authors.

Pros

Full e-commerce platform
Thousands of integrations
Physical product fulfillment

Cons

Starts at $39/month
No book-specific features
Overkill for most authors

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