How much does it cost to publish a book in 2026?

How much to publish a book depends on who does the work and who holds the rights. The range runs from $0 on KDP to $18,599 for the dearest published package. A traditional publisher pays you instead. The table below prices six routes for an 80,000-word non-fiction book.

For a first non-fiction book, the cheapest route that still buys an outside edit is KDP plus one freelance editor. A full freelance team costs about as much as a mid-priced package, but you choose each person and keep every right. The full-team total is our sum of the rows in the next table, at EFA median rates and Reedsy's typical cover range. Vanity press vs hybrid publisher sets the three paid models side by side.

Self-publishing costs $0 to upload and as much as you choose to spend on help. Editing is the largest line: $1,600–4,000 for one edit of an 80,000-word book at EFA median rates. Your own ISBN costs $125, and a 300-page paperback costs $4.60 a copy to print on KDP.

Reedsy's own self-publishing cost guide, updated 13 August 2026 and built from over 230,000 freelancer quotes, lands in the same range: editing $2,160–5,040 for an 80,000-word book and interior design $800 on average. The EFA rates are the medians its members reported for 2025 work, not fixed prices; the EFA says it "neither sets rates nor advises members". Reedsy's marketplace runs lower on most edits. What each edit costs, and why compares the two by edit type.

Cover prices spread widest. Reedsy analyzed over 9,600 cover projects on its marketplace in 2025: the median for non-fiction was $700 and for self-help $800. EFA members who design covers report a lower median, $350 a project. A 99designs contest costs $299–1,199 for about 30–90 concepts from different designers.

Marketing has no floor. Amazon Ads charge per click, with "no minimum spend" and a minimum daily budget of $1.00; Amazon's own advice to authors is to start at $10 a day. Reedsy's quotes put an author website and newsletter at $60–500 a year.

Non-fiction adds one line most cost guides leave out: the index. A professional indexer charges 2.0–2.5¢ a word at EFA median rates, or $55–60 an hour. Budget for one if readers will look things up in your book; a memoir can skip it.

Free KDP ISBN or your own?

Take KDP's free ISBN only if the paperback will be sold through KDP alone. KDP's free ISBN works "Only with KDP" and lists the imprint as "Independently published". IngramSpark's free ISBN (US only) carries its "Indy Pub" imprint and works only on IngramSpark; B&N Press's free one works only on B&N. To sell the same paperback on all three, buy your own: Bowker charges $125 for one ISBN or $295 for ten. Ebooks need no ISBN on KDP or B&N Press.

Self-publishing cost: a lean budget and a full one

How much it costs to publish your own book comes down to how many edits you buy. Both budgets below are for an 80,000-word non-fiction paperback and ebook on KDP, summed from the rows above.

The lean budget skips the developmental edit, so it suits a draft that beta readers or an assessment have already tested. Add $1,600–2,000 to the full budget if the book needs an index. The gap between the two budgets is almost all editing, which is why a manuscript assessment before any edit can save the most.

Kindle Direct Publishing costs nothing up front: KDP lets you publish ebooks, paperbacks and hardcovers "for free". The cost to self-publish on Amazon is the printing, which Amazon takes out of each paperback sale. On Amazon.com you earn 60% of list price at $9.99 or more and 50% below that, minus printing.

Ebooks pay 35% or 70%. Since 7 July 2026, the 70% option covers list prices of $2.99–12.99 on Amazon.com, up from $2.99–9.99. At 70%, Amazon also charges a delivery cost of $0.15 per megabyte. A $9.99 ebook with a 2 MB file earns $6.78 per US sale (0.70 × ($9.99 − $0.30)).

So the Amazon self-publishing cost is printing, not fees. To publish a book on Amazon costs nothing until a copy sells or you order copies yourself. Selling the paperback beyond Amazon through KDP's Expanded Distribution is also free to join, though it pays a lower royalty and is not open to hardcovers.

Proofs and author copies cost the same: KDP charges "the author price", which is the print cost times the number of copies, plus shipping. It offers no further discount and no free or Prime shipping on these orders. A proof carries a "Not for Resale" watermark, so order one to check the print before you approve the book, then order author copies for events.

Kindle Direct Publishing printing costs: a worked example

KDP's printing cost for a black-ink paperback on regular trim is $1.00 plus $0.012 per page, for 110–828 pages. A 300-page 6 × 9 paperback therefore costs $4.60 to print.

• Printing: $1.00 + (300 × $0.012) = $4.60.
• At a $14.99 list price on Amazon.com: (0.60 × $14.99) − $4.60 = $4.39 royalty per copy.
• The same copy sold through KDP's Expanded Distribution earns 40%: (0.40 × $14.99) − $4.60 = $1.40.
• The lowest list price that covers printing at the 50% rate is $9.20 ($4.60 ÷ 0.50).

Above $9.99, every extra dollar of list price adds 60 cents of royalty, because the printing cost stays the same.

Run your own numbers in KDP's printing cost and royalty calculator. To turn a word count into a page count first, use the word count to pages calculator. These are KDP's rates as of October 2026, for Amazon.com.

Barnes and Noble self-publishing costs nothing up front: B&N Press is free to use. Ebooks earn 70% of the price you set. Print books earn 55% of list price minus the printing cost, and since 22 April 2026 a print book must list at $14.99 or more. B&N's Quick Quote tool prices a 251–300-page 6 × 9 black-and-white paperback at $5.95 to print, so a copy at the $14.99 minimum earns $2.29 (0.55 × $14.99 − $5.95). B&N will not take an ISBN already used elsewhere, so KDP's free ISBN will not do; it offers its own free one, usable only on B&N. For contrast, IngramSpark charges nothing to set up a title and nothing for revisions since 1 February 2026. It takes a 1.875% market access fee on books in its distribution, and its rate card puts the same 300-page paperback at $5.71 to print.

A literary agent costs nothing up front. Agents take a commission when you are paid: the Authors Guild says commissions on domestic deals "are generally 15 percent", and foreign sales through a sub-agent are generally 20%. An agent who asks for money before selling your book is a warning sign.

The Association of American Literary Agents bans it outright: "Members may not charge any reading fees for evaluating work for possible representation." That rule binds AALA members only. The Authors Guild adds that reading fees "are not customarily charged by leading literary agents."

The commission is not the only money term in an agency agreement. The Authors Guild's guide (June 2025) flags three more:

• Expenses. An agency may deduct expenses from what it owes you; ask for a total cap in writing.
• Payment. Your advance and royalties are paid to the agency, which should pass on your share "within ten days".
• Leaving. The agency keeps its commission on deals it made before you leave, and unplaced rights stay with you.

With a traditional publisher it costs you nothing: the publisher pays, and may pay you an advance. With a hybrid publisher you pay a fee, $12,000 at She Writes Press in 2026. With a pay-to-publish company you pay a package price: $999–18,599 where prices are published, with a median of about $4,900.

A hybrid should select books and pay more than 50% of net, by the Independent Book Publishers Association's 11 criteria. Most hybrids quote each book: Page Two and Greenleaf send a quote after review, and Ideapress takes a 15–20% commission on its services instead of selling packages. A package buys production and listing; it does not buy readers. Vanity press vs hybrid publisher explains the difference and the checks to run.

What five well-known pay-to-publish companies publish about price, as of 18 October 2026:

• BookBaby publishes no package prices. Its FAQ says a fully produced book "typically lands between $2,000 and $7,000", and cover design starts at $399.
• Page Publishing says its packages cost $4,085–8,081.
• Christian Faith Publishing shows no prices on its packages page.
• Palmetto Publishing says projects "start around $1,598"; its own pages give the average spend as both $3,800 and $4,900.
• Dorrance publishes no prices: "The cost varies depending on the level of support and services you require."

How to check a publishing quote before you pay

Ask for five things in writing before you pay any company or freelancer:

1. The total price, with every optional extra priced. Writer Beware lists "Refusal to provide a firm price" as a warning sign.
2. Which edits are included, by type and word count. A copyedit at EFA rates costs $2,400–3,200 for 80,000 words; check what the quote covers against that.
3. Whose ISBN and imprint go on the book.
4. The contract term, and how you leave it. KDP's terms let you end the agreement "at any time".
5. The royalty, on list price or on net, with one worked example.

Then run the ten-minute check on the company's ratings and court records.

Fifteen companies, with ratings, royalties and rights, are in the best self-publishing companies, compared. Individual company reviews will be listed in the publisher directory.

Do not save on the edit or the cover. They are what readers and reviewers judge first, and no package or platform supplies a good one for free. Everything below can wait or go.

• An ISBN for an Amazon-only ebook. KDP says "You don't need an ISBN for eBooks on KDP."
• A paid ISBN for a KDP-only paperback, if you accept "Independently published" as the imprint. Buy your own ($125) if you also want IngramSpark or B&N.
• A launch or marketing package bought before the book has any reviews. Spend on marketing once readers can see what others thought.
• A second edit of the same kind. One developmental edit, then one copyedit, is the order publishers use.

The edits themselves differ in what they fix and cost. The four types of editing explains which one a first draft needs. Developmental editing covers the most expensive of them. A manuscript assessment is a cheaper first read, at a $600 per-project median (EFA). To see what a chapter-by-chapter report on a finished book looks like, read the sample report for Atomic Habits.