Storefronts and publishing services
Bookrata vs Zenpage
Zenpage is free and takes nothing. That is hard to beat, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
If you only need a site to send your own mailing list to, Zenpage is the honest answer and costs less than Bookrata. The difference is what happens around the checkout: whether anyone else will ever see the page, and what protects the file after it leaves.
Every Zenpage figure here is taken from Zenpage'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.
Zenpage
A free author website builder with direct sales of ebooks, audiobooks and print. $0 forever, 0% cut, your own Stripe. Eight templates, custom domain, CSV email export.
Doesn't doPublishes no marketplace or reader-audience claim. No DRM or watermarking documented. Print is yours to post.
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 |
| Zenpage | 0% | $0 forever Single tier, no paid upgrade | You So VAT and sales tax are yours too |
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 Zenpage, row by row
Every row from the Zenpage column of the full comparison, next to Bookrata's. Where Zenpage publishes nothing on a point, it says "not documented" rather than guessing.
| Capability | Bookrata | Zenpage |
|---|---|---|
| Getting found | ||
| A reader audience grown from both sides | ✓Readers browse the rated catalogue bringing qualified buyers to your page | –Publishes no marketplace or reader-audience claim; its discovery features are SEO metadata and social preview cards |
| Discovery by measured content | ✓Six categories, five tiers, one yardstick for every book | –Not offered |
| 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 | ~Same — no store, so nothing to promote |
| Selling | ||
| Platform's cut of each sale | ✓0% on every plan | ✓0% — nothing at all |
| You are the merchant of record | ✓Your Stripe, your customer, your money | ✓Your own Stripe; VAT is yours too |
| Storefront on your own domain | ✓From $65/yr Pro | ✓Free, with free SSL |
| Signed print copies | ✓Author-fulfilled physical sales from Pro | ✓Buyers can request dedications; you fulfil |
| The buyer's email belongs to you | ✓Consented purchaser capture on every plan, free one included; lead export and giveaway leads from Pro | ✓Confirmed emails, CSV export, six newsletter integrations |
| 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 | ~Traffic sources by search, social, newsletter and country; no per-campaign links |
| 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 | ~Cookieless visitor stats, retailer click-through, a weekly search summary |
| Delivering | ||
| Per-buyer watermarking instead of DRM | ✓Every copy personalised to its buyer, on every plan | –Not offered |
| The reader keeps it, forever, in a real app | ✓Browser reader and installable web-app, always re-downloadable | –An emailed link good for 72 hours and 5 downloads — and buyers "can ask for a new one any time". No reader library or app |
| Audiobooks | ✓Sell on Premier or a $15/yr add-on — and the Guild will fund making oneComing in November | ✓Sells files you already have |
| 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 | –Describes individual author sites only; no shared catalogue is documented |
| Buy a book as a gift | ✓Free The recipient gets it by email and claims it into their own library | –Not offered |
| 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 offered |
| 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 | –Not offered |
| Cost before you sell anything | ✓$0 to start; $150/yr for everything | ✓$0 — the cheapest option here, by some distance |
✓ 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 Zenpage is the right answer
A comparison that finds nothing good in the other product is an advert. Here is where Zenpage genuinely does better, and you can keep using it alongside Bookrata. Nothing you upload here becomes exclusive.
Zenpage
You cannot beat free
A full author site with direct sales of ebooks, audiobooks and signed print with buyer-requested dedications, a custom domain, CSV email export, 0% cut, and no paid tier at all. If what you need is a place to send your own list and nothing more, this is the honest answer and Bookrata costs more than it.
Weighing more than one?
The full comparison puts all eight platforms in one place, with every table and source note.