KDP vs. IngramSpark: Which Should You Use for Print Distribution?
One book, two routes to readers. Each printer is strongest on the road it actually controls.
For most authors, the best answer to the KDP vs. IngramSpark question is to use both: KDP for Amazon, and IngramSpark, set up independently, for everything outside it. That’s the recommendation I give clients.
Authors often treat it as an either-or choice and stall, weighing one platform against the other when neither one covers the whole market.
My name is Daniel J. Middleton, and I’ve been on the formatting and editing side of book publishing for over two decades now, long enough to stop being surprised by where things go sideways.
This piece covers what each platform does best, why KDP’s Expanded Distribution isn’t the shortcut it looks like, and what to do once you’ve chosen both.
Why Should You Use Both KDP and IngramSpark Instead of Choosing One?
Because each one is strongest in a different place, and picking a winner means giving up the other’s strength. KDP is the better route to Amazon. IngramSpark is the better route to everything else.
Neither platform is the wrong choice. The mistake is expecting one of them to do both jobs.
What Is KDP Best At for Print Distribution?
Amazon. KDP puts your paperback on the Amazon marketplaces it supports, and nothing else matches the way Amazon delivers.
Amazon controls how third-party books are treated on its platform, and by all appearances its own network gives KDP titles priority. Books distributed through KDP don’t show the “available in 2 to 3 weeks or more” delays that are common with third-party print fulfillment, IngramSpark included.
What Is IngramSpark Best At When You Set It Up Independently?
Everything outside Amazon. Set up on its own, separate from KDP, IngramSpark reaches Barnes & Noble’s site, Books-A-Million, Bookshop.org, and retail partners across Canada, Europe, and elsewhere. Bookshop.org matters more than it might seem, because it’s where many readers who prefer independent bookstores go to buy. That’s where IngramSpark is well ahead of KDP.
Title setup on IngramSpark costs nothing today, and what it still charges after setup is worth reading before you upload.
Why Shouldn’t You Use KDP’s Expanded Distribution to Go Wide?
Because you pay extra for something you can set up yourself. Expanded Distribution is the checkbox in KDP that makes your paperback available to distributors, and it’s free to enroll. KDP doesn’t name its distributors, but in my experience it’s IngramSpark’s own network underneath, with an upcharge attached.
The upcharge shows up in your royalty. KDP’s own help page sets the Expanded Distribution royalty at 40% of list price, minus printing costs. The same page works through an example that makes the gap concrete: a $15, 333-page paperback pays $4.00 per sale on Amazon and $1.00 through Expanded Distribution. Rates change, so check KDP’s current Paperback Royalty page.
Setting up IngramSpark directly, independent of KDP, reaches the same wide network for meaningfully less cost.
KDP’s page also says a book’s ISBN can’t have been submitted for distribution through another service to enroll, which is one more reason to leave the checkbox off once IngramSpark is handling your distribution.
Using both platforms isn’t hedging your bets; it’s assigning each printer to the sales channel it actually controls.
How Do You Set Up KDP and IngramSpark Together Without Conflicts?
Load both platforms at the same time, and don’t push either one through to publish until both are fully loaded. The order matters:
Use the same ISBN for each version on both platforms. The paperback carries one ISBN on KDP and IngramSpark, the hardcover carries one, and the ebook carries one.
Set up the metadata in both, then load the files. Both listings get their metadata and files loaded without being published.
Push the title through IngramSpark first, with a future publish date. KDP sits with its metadata and files loaded in the meantime.
Plan around KDP’s three-month limit on print. KDP only lets you schedule a print release up to 90 days ahead, unlike IngramSpark, so the future publish date has to be factored in. Ebooks aren’t held to that limit, since KDP allows an ebook pre-order up to a year out.
If you’d like both platforms set up correctly the first time, the get-started page is where to begin.
