Print cost per copy: KDP vs IngramSpark vs Lulu

The result

Per-copy print cost for one book, before shipping and tax, in US dollars for the US market. Each figure comes from the company's own published calculator or rate table on October 21, 2026.

KDP: Amazon.com rates from Paperback Printing Cost and Hardcover Printing Cost. IngramSpark: Publisher Compensation Calculator. Lulu: Pricing Calculator. All checked October 21, 2026.

Three things stand out. KDP and IngramSpark are close, within about $1.10 a paperback and within 10 cents on the hardcover. Lulu costs roughly twice as much per copy for this book. And a hardcover costs two to three times a paperback everywhere, which matters more for author copies you pay for than for copies a store sells.

What we entered

Comparisons like this go wrong when the books are not the same. These are the exact choices, so you can repeat them with your own page count.

For KDP we used the published formula rather than a calculator because Amazon prints it in full: $1.00 plus $0.012 a page for a black-ink paperback of 110 to 828 pages, and $5.65 plus $0.012 a page for a hardcover of 110 to 550 pages. KDP defines a large trim as wider than 6.12 inches or taller than 9 inches, so 6 x 9 is regular, and KDP says trim size within that range, bleed and cover finish do not change the price. KDP's own worked examples (a 300-page paperback at $4.60 and a 300-page hardcover at $9.25) match our figures.

We chose the cheapest standard black-and-white option on each service. Lulu's Premium B&W costs more: $9.39 for the 200-page paperback instead of $6.99. If a quote you see is higher than ours, check the paper and ink setting first.

Setup, revision and other fees

The per-copy price is only part of the bill. This is what each company charges, or does not, around it.

Sources: KDP Update Your Manuscript, Expanded Distribution, ISBNs, author copies; IngramSpark 2026 changes and free ISBNs; Lulu Sell on Lulu, Global Distribution: The Basics (modified October 8, 2026), Pricing.

For IngramSpark's other charges, from returns to rush printing and bulk discounts, see what it costs to publish on IngramSpark. A free ISBN from any of the three ties that edition to that service. If you plan to print the same edition through two of them, buy your own; the ISBN guide covers the $125 and $295 options. Lulu adds a tax wrinkle: with a Lulu-owned ISBN your earnings count as royalties reported to the IRS, while with your own ISBN Lulu treats them as "Other Revenue" (Lulu).

None of the three publishes a shipping rate card for author copies. KDP shows shipping at checkout, and the other two show it when you build an order. Get a real figure before you budget for a launch box of books.

What each copy leaves you at the same price

Print cost matters most because it comes out of every sale. Here is the 200-page paperback at a $16.99 list price through each company's retail channel, using each one's own published method.

Our arithmetic from KDP Paperback Royalty, the IngramSpark calculator and Lulu's Creator Revenue Guide.

The IngramSpark figure is $16.99 less the 55% discount, less the $4.25 print cost, less the 1.875% market access fee. The calculator's answers matched that fee taken on the list price, to the cent, for all four books we priced. A 55% discount is the level IngramSpark's user guide says "generally allows for the widest availability"; a lower discount pays you more per copy and may reach fewer stores.

Lulu has a floor worth knowing before you set a price. For retail distribution, its help pages say "Your list price must be at least twice the print cost." At 300 pages ($9.49) that means at least $18.98 for the paperback, and the hardcovers would need at least $31.36 and $36.36. On Amazon, the same 300-page paperback at $16.99 still earns $5.59. The guide to what authors make per book runs these numbers for every format.

Which one fits which book

• Selling mostly on Amazon: KDP had the lowest paperback cost in every case we checked and pays 60% at $9.99 and above. Most self-published nonfiction starts here. See what publishing on KDP costs.
• Wanting bookstores and libraries to order it: IngramSpark is the usual route, at a print cost about a dollar higher on the paperback and near KDP's on the hardcover. Many authors use KDP for Amazon and IngramSpark for everything else, with their own ISBN.
• Selling from your own website or Lulu's store: Lulu prints and ships orders from your site and pays 80% of profit on its own bookstore. At $16.99 a Lulu Bookstore sale left $8.00, more than any retail channel above, but only if your readers buy there. Lulu is also the only one of the three that prints coil-bound books; see what a workbook costs to print.
• A hardcover: KDP and IngramSpark were within 10 cents of each other. Check whether KDP's hardcover page range (75 to 550 black-ink pages) fits your book, and note that only IngramSpark offers a dust jacket; what a hardcover costs to print prices the jacket and the royalty.

Local and offset printers

A local print shop or an offset printer prices each job, so there is no published per-copy figure to compare fairly. If you need a few hundred or a few thousand copies for events, a company order or a mailing, ask two or three printers for a written quote for the same specification: trim, page count, paper, ink, binding, cover finish, quantity and delivery. Ask whether the quote includes setup, proofs, freight and storage. The printing costs guide explains when a print run beats print on demand.

Mistakes when comparing

• Comparing different papers or inks. Lulu's Premium B&W raised the 200-page paperback from $6.99 to $9.39. Match every setting before you compare.
• Ignoring the channel. A lower print cost does not help if the channel you sell through takes a bigger share. Compare what each copy leaves you, not only what it costs.
• Assuming prices stay put. IngramSpark changed its print prices on February 1, 2026, with some books costing more and some less. Re-run the calculator before you set a price.
• Forgetting shipping on author copies. It is extra everywhere, and KDP's author copy orders do not get free or Prime shipping.

To turn a print cost into a full budget, open the calculator with a 200-page book and 50 author copies and change the lines to match your plans. It uses KDP's rates for print cost. Scribe Media, which makes this site, sells publishing with editing, design and distribution included, from $29,000 (scribemedia.com/pricing). If what you need is printing, the three services above cost nothing to set up and are the place to start.