KDP Vs FBA: Which is Better?

[Mika]

KDP or Kindle Direct Publishing is a free publishing platform from Amazon where you can publish ebooks as well as paperbacks for free. The books published under the KDP program will be available for purchase in less than 24 hours on the US Amazon store as well as other regional Amazon stores, Amazon UK or Amazon Japan, for example. Generally speaking, you do not have to spend any money to make money through this method (KDP even offers a free cover creation tool which saves you money to hire a graphic designer for your book cover), however, you might have to run ads to generate sales.

FBA or Fulfilled By Amazon is a program offered for indie businesses to sell through Amazon. Unlike KDP, which is available globally, FBA is available only in those countries where Amazon has regional offices or warehouses. That’s because you are required to send your products to the Amazon warehouse in order to sell through FBA.

So, KDP is a clear winner.

 

[Jasmine]

Yes, I can also say KDP is a winner. However, my reasons are different.
KDP is a free ebook/book publishing platform. You can use this platform to publish your book and earn royalties every time someone buys it. If you don’t know how to write books, you can hire writers on fiverr and make them write books for you, you can then publish that book on KDP and make money from royalties. You can find writers wiling to write entire book just for $100 on fiverr or upwork.
However, if you want to use FBA, you need to fist spend money in developing products or procuring the products. Secondly, you need to package the product and ship to Amazon warehouse. And this cost a lot of money and also involves a lot of work. Just because you have sent them your product does not mean you will generate sales, you still need to promote.

 

[cmoneyspinner]

Not trying to be cantankerous and disagreeable but ...

I don't think it's fair to say KDP is a clear winner. If you're a writer, it's a clear winner. But the FBA program was created for people who are selling products that they need to ship to their customers. It's a great tool, especially for small businesses. KDP is for writers who want to self-publish; and it's an excellent tool which is much easier than sending your manuscripts to publishers only to have them rejected. You can't really compare KDP to FBA, other than to say they are both "tools for success" if used properly.

 

[Jasz]

The KDP vs. FBA debate has been going on for a long time, but there are some very important things to consider before you make your decision. Let’s take a look at each platform and see which one is right for you.

KDP is by far the most popular eBook publishing tool out there, and it offers a lot of great benefits. For starters, it’s simple to use—you just sign up with Amazon and then upload your book. There’s no need to create any type of account or create an author profile before uploading your book (which can take some time).

Furthermore, if you have an existing Kindle ebook published through KDP Select then this platform will automatically add it to your list of eligible books for free. This means that if someone buys your book from Amazon they will get access to it on their Kindle device or app as well as having read access through their Kindle Unlimited subscription (which costs $9.99/month or $99/year).

On the other hand, FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) allows self-publishers to keep 100% of the proceeds from each sale made by their books through their own stores on Amazon's website. This could be considered an advantage if you're just starting out as an author and don't have a ton of cash set aside for marketing expenses—but it also means that you're in charge of making sure that everything runs smoothly once your books are live on Amazon.com.