Storefronts and publishing services
Bookrata vs Tertulia
Tertulia is the closest rival here. It has a bookstore with real readers, today.
Both run a store with an audience and both take no per-sale commission. The difference is how a reader finds a book. Tertulia curates with editors. Bookrata measures every book on the same scale and lets the reader filter by it.
Every Tertulia figure here is taken from Tertulia's own published pages, checked on , and pulled from the same source as the full comparison. Plans change, so verify before relying on any figure.
Two different products, side by side
The same summary cards that appear on the full comparison. Each one ends with what that product does not do, including Bookrata.
Bookrata
Every book measured across six content categories on a five-tier scale. Readers set comfort caps and browse what clears them. You're the merchant of record, keep 100%, and delivery, watermarking and a reading app come with every plan.
Doesn't doNewsletter swaps. Print-on-demand printing. ARC campaign tooling.
Tertulia
The closest thing here to a rival: a co-op bookstore with a real reader audience, plus Tertulia for Authors — a website and direct-sales tool at $7.99–$15.99/mo. Its About page names a strategic partnership with IngramSpark.
Doesn't doContent ratings. Print fulfilment — you ship it yourself.
What each one takes
The platform's cut, what you pay before you sell anything, and who is the merchant of record, which decides who owns the customer and who carries the tax.
| Platform | Cut of each sale | What you pay | Merchant of record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bookrata | 0% | Free, or $65/yr Pro, $150/yr Premier Audiobook add-on $15/yr | You Your Stripe, your customer |
| Tertulia | 0% "Tertulia takes no per-sale commission" | $7.99/mo Basic, $15.99/mo Pro Billed annually; ~$96–$192/yr | Not published |
Card processing is separate everywhere and goes to Stripe or the equivalent, typically around 2.9% plus 30¢. Where you are the merchant of record you keep the customer relationship and carry the tax obligation; where the platform is, it's the reverse. Neither is strictly better — but it's worth knowing which one you've signed up for.
Bookrata and Tertulia, row by row
Every row from the Tertulia column of the full comparison, next to Bookrata's. Where Tertulia publishes nothing on a point, it says "not documented" rather than guessing.
| Capability | Bookrata | Tertulia |
|---|---|---|
| Getting found | ||
| A reader audience grown from both sides | ✓Readers browse the rated catalogue bringing qualified buyers to your page | ✓A real co-op bookstore with editorial curation — the strongest here after Bookrata |
| Discovery by measured content | ✓Six categories, five tiers, one yardstick for every book | –Editorial curation, not content measurement |
| Nothing gets pushed at readers | ✓No recommendation engine, no bestseller list, no "customers also bought", no sponsored shelf. A reader finds your book by filtering for what she wants, not by being told what's popular | –Editorial curation and recommendation lists are the product |
| Selling | ||
| Platform's cut of each sale | ✓0% on every plan | ✓0% — "Tertulia takes no per-sale commission", on its own FAQ |
| You are the merchant of record | ✓Your Stripe, your customer, your money | –Not published |
| Storefront on your own domain | ✓From $65/yr Pro | ✓On Basic, plus a free .com for year one |
| Signed print copies | ✓Author-fulfilled physical sales from Pro | ~Print sold, but you print and ship it yourself |
| The buyer's email belongs to you | ✓Consented purchaser capture on every plan, free one included; lead export and giveaway leads from Pro | ✓Mailing-list building on both tiers |
| Campaign links you can attribute to sales | ✓Tagged links per campaign, tracked from click through visit, buy-click and purchase — so you learn which newsletter or post actually sold copies | –Not documented |
| How deep the analytics go | ✓15 panels on Premier — including a four-step conversion funnel, which Bookrata tags and filters surfaced your book, abandoned carts with real revenue, impressions against clicks per title, and reading completion | ~Basic on Basic, advanced on Pro; the contents aren't published |
| Delivering | ||
| Per-buyer watermarking instead of DRM | ✓Every copy personalised to its buyer, on every plan | –Not documented |
| The reader keeps it, forever, in a real app | ✓Browser reader and installable web-app, always re-downloadable | ~Download link by email; a reader app exists for the store, not for author sales |
| Audiobooks | ✓Sell on Premier or a $15/yr add-on — and the Guild will fund making oneComing in November | ✓Sold and delivered on Pro |
| Shipped in October 2026 | ||
| Readers can browse what's on sale | ✓An On Sale filter in the library. Set a sale price and readers browsing the catalogue can find it, with no placement fee and no application. Pro and Premier | –Has a catalogue; no deals or sale browse category is documented. Member prices are per-item, not a browse view |
| Buy a book as a gift | ✓Free The recipient gets it by email and claims it into their own library | –Not documented |
| Your own discount codes and timed sales | ✓Pro+ Author-created codes plus scheduled sale prices per listing, so a launch week starts and ends without you at the keyboard. Pro and Premier | –Not documented |
| Sell a whole series as one bundle Live | ✓Pro+ Price the series you already organise; the buyer gets every book in it | –Not documented |
| Readers can write to you, and you can write back Live | ✓Free Reader Notes: a verified owner sends a note, you heart it and reply once. A next-book discount code on the reply follows in a later phase | ~Public reviews, not a private note from a verified buyer |
| Cost before you sell anything | ✓$0 to start; $150/yr for everything | ~~$96–$192/yr; direct sales need Pro |
✓ Does this ~ Partly, or with a condition – Doesn't
Rows marked Coming in November describe the Bookrata Guild, which launches in November 2026. They are not counted as shipped.
Where Tertulia is the right answer
A comparison that finds nothing good in the other product is an advert. Here is where Tertulia genuinely does better, and you can keep using it alongside Bookrata. Nothing you upload here becomes exclusive.
Tertulia
A bigger bookstore, today
A co-op bookstore with editorial curation, its own warehouse, and a reader audience that exists right now — plus author tools at $7.99–$15.99 a month. Bookrata's bet is that filtering by measured content beats curation for the reader who knows what she wants. Tertulia's readership is the stronger starting position.
How is Bookrata different from Tertulia?
Tertulia is the strongest competitor here on audience — it runs a co-op bookstore with editorial curation and its own warehouse fulfilment, and its author tools start at $7.99 a month. The differences are what the reader can do and what happens to the file. Tertulia's discovery is curated by editors; Bookrata's is filtered by the reader against measured content ratings. And on Tertulia, print sold through your author site is yours to package and post — it doesn't print or ship for you.
Weighing more than one?
The full comparison puts all eight platforms in one place, with every table and source note.