Smashwords pricing is simple in 2026: there is no upload or listing fee, and the Smashwords store pays you 75% of list price on ebooks priced $2.99 or higher and 40% below $2.99. Because Smashwords is now a Draft2Digital company, you publish through a D2D account, which means a one-time $20 activation fee and a $12 yearly maintenance fee if you earn under $100 a year.
In this breakdown, you’ll get:
- The current Smashwords royalty tiers, checked against Draft2Digital’s own rate table
- The account fees that came with the Draft2Digital merger
- Real per-sale math at $0.99, $1.99, $4.99 and $9.99
- Where Smashwords honestly beats Chapter, and where Chapter fits instead
Every number below was checked on 8 October 2026 against Smashwords’ publishing page, Draft2Digital’s royalty rate table and the Draft2Digital FAQ.
How Much Does Smashwords Cost?
Smashwords costs nothing to list a book. It earns money by keeping a share of each sale. The only fixed charges come from the Draft2Digital account you now need to publish there.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Listing an ebook in the Smashwords store | $0 | No per-title fee |
| Royalty at $2.99 and up | 75% of list | Paid to you |
| Royalty under $2.99 | 40% of list | Paid to you |
| Draft2Digital account activation | $20 | One-time, non-refundable, new accounts |
| Annual maintenance | $12 | Only if you earn under $100 a year |
| Coupons and store sales | $0 | Managed in the Smashwords Coupon Manager |
Smashwords — An independent ebook store, founded in 2008, that merged with Draft2Digital in March 2022. Authors no longer upload to Smashwords directly. They publish through Draft2Digital, which is the exclusive supplier to the Smashwords store.
If you remember the old Smashwords dashboard and the “Meatgrinder” converter, that workflow is gone. Our Smashwords review covers the full story of what changed.
What Are the Smashwords Royalty Rates in 2026?
The Smashwords store pays 75% of list price on ebooks priced at $2.99 or higher and 40% on ebooks priced below $2.99. This two-tier structure took effect on 1 January 2026, replacing the older model, which Smashwords describes as paying authors 80% or more.
Draft2Digital lists these figures as the royalty to the author, so they are what you actually receive. Compare that with D2D’s other stores:
| Store (via Draft2Digital) | Royalty to you |
|---|---|
| Smashwords, $2.99 and up | 75% |
| Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Tolino | 60% |
| Amazon, $2.99–$9.99 | 60% |
| Amazon, outside $2.99–$9.99 | 30% |
| Smashwords, under $2.99 | 40% |
| OverDrive (library purchase) | 46% |
At $2.99 and up, Smashwords is the best-paying store in the entire Draft2Digital network. Below $2.99, it drops beneath the 60% you get from Apple or Kobo. That gap is the single most important thing to understand about Smashwords pricing.
What Do You Actually Earn Per Sale on Smashwords?
You earn $3.74 on a $4.99 ebook and $0.80 on a $1.99 ebook in the Smashwords store. Here is the per-sale math at common price points, next to what the same book earns at Apple Books through D2D.
| List price | Smashwords tier | You earn (Smashwords) | You earn (Apple via D2D, 60%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.99 | 40% | $0.40 | $0.59 |
| $1.99 | 40% | $0.80 | $1.19 |
| $2.99 | 75% | $2.24 | $1.79 |
| $4.99 | 75% | $3.74 | $2.99 |
| $9.99 | 75% | $7.49 | $5.99 |
The pattern is clear. If you price at $2.99 or above, a Smashwords sale is worth about 25% more than the same sale elsewhere in the D2D network. If you price at 99 cents, it is worth about a third less.
Not sure where to land? Our guide on how to price a self-published ebook walks through genre norms and price testing.
What Fees Come With the Draft2Digital Merger?
Publishing to Smashwords now means opening a Draft2Digital account, and new D2D accounts pay a one-time $20 activation fee. Accounts with titles in distribution that earn under $100 a year also pay a $12 annual maintenance fee.
The details worth knowing:
- The $12 is waived if you earned $100 or more in the previous twelve months.
- Accounts with no titles in distribution pay nothing for maintenance.
- One account covers every store. The same $20 gets you Apple, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, libraries and Smashwords together.
So the realistic first-year cost to sell on Smashwords is $20. Our Draft2Digital pricing breakdown explains these fees, and why D2D introduced them, in more depth.
How Do Smashwords Payouts Work?
Smashwords royalties are paid through Draft2Digital, monthly, on or around the 15th, once you clear the minimum for your payment method. Stores typically report ebook sales 30 to 60 days after the month of sale.
| Payment method | Minimum | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Direct deposit (US) | $10 | None listed |
| International direct deposit | $20 | None listed |
| PayPal | $10 | 2.5%, capped at $1.50 (US) or $25 (non-US) |
| Payoneer | $20 | None listed |
| Check | $100 | $2.50 (US) or $4.00 (non-US) |
If you live outside the US, D2D withholds 30% for US tax by default unless you file a W-8 form claiming a treaty rate. That can cost you more than every other fee on this page.
Do Smashwords Coupons and Sales Affect Your Royalty?
Coupons are free to create in the Smashwords Coupon Manager, and they only apply to your ebook in the Smashwords store. You can publish a public markdown or hand out a private code for readers to redeem at checkout.
Be careful with discounting, though:
- The 40% tier is set by price. Draft2Digital’s rate table keys the tiers to a $2.99 threshold, so check how a discount affects your rate before running a deep markdown.
- Promotions can stack. D2D’s FAQ warns that a scheduled D2D promotion running during a Smashwords sitewide sale creates a double discount on the overlapping ebooks.
Smashwords runs two big reader events every year, Read an Ebook Week and the End of Year Sale. They are genuinely useful for visibility, as long as you price with the tiers in mind.
Where Smashwords Beats Chapter
Here is the straightforward truth: Smashwords sells books, and Chapter does not. Chapter is AI book writing software. It helps you finish a manuscript. It does not put that manuscript in front of readers or pay you royalties.
Smashwords also wins on things worth saying plainly:
- It is close to free. Listing costs $0, and the only fixed charge is a $20 account activation. Chapter costs $97, and there is no free plan or trial.
- The best royalty rate in the D2D network. At 75% for books priced $2.99 and up, Smashwords pays more per sale than Apple, Kobo or Amazon through D2D.
- Built-in reader events. Sitewide sales give you discovery you cannot buy from a writing tool.
- Flexible coupons. You can create private reader codes and public markdowns at no cost.
If your book is already written, edited and formatted, you do not need Chapter today. Go set up your Draft2Digital account and list it.
Where Chapter Fits in the Same Budget
Our Product — Chapter
Chapter helps you write the book you will eventually sell on Smashwords. It is not a replacement for a store. It is the step before one.
Best for: authors whose real bottleneck is a finished manuscript, not a sales channel Pricing: $97 one time, 2 books included (fiction or nonfiction), 30-day money-back guarantee Why we built it: a 75% royalty on a book you never finish is 75% of nothing.
That is why we still recommend Chapter first for most people reading a pricing page like this one. More than 2,147 authors have used Chapter to write 5,000+ books, and the platform has been featured in USA Today and The New York Times. Your rights stay 100% yours.
A sensible stack for many authors looks like this: Chapter to write the draft, Draft2Digital for Smashwords and wide distribution, and KDP direct for Amazon. For a full map of where your book can go, see book distribution options for self-publishers.
Is Smashwords Worth It in 2026?
Smashwords is worth it if you price at $2.99 or higher and already plan to publish wide through Draft2Digital. In that case it costs you nothing extra and pays the best royalty in the network.
It is less compelling if you live at 99 cents. At that price you earn 40 cents per sale, less than Apple or Kobo would pay. It also matters less if you are enrolled in KDP Select, because Kindle Unlimited requires ebook exclusivity and you cannot sell the same ebook on Smashwords at all.
Weighing those two paths? Read Kindle Unlimited vs wide distribution first. For other options, see our list of Smashwords alternatives and the head-to-head Smashwords vs Draft2Digital comparison.
FAQ
Does Smashwords charge a fee to publish?
Smashwords does not charge a listing fee to publish an ebook. You now publish through Draft2Digital, which charges new accounts a one-time $20 activation fee and a $12 yearly maintenance fee for accounts earning under $100 a year.
What percentage does Smashwords pay authors?
Smashwords pays authors 75% of list price on ebooks priced at $2.99 or higher and 40% of list price on ebooks priced below $2.99. These rates took effect on 1 January 2026 and apply only to sales in the Smashwords store.
Is Smashwords still separate from Draft2Digital?
Smashwords is no longer separate. It merged with Draft2Digital in March 2022 and now operates as a Draft2Digital company. The Smashwords store still exists for readers, but authors upload, manage and get paid through their Draft2Digital account.
Is Smashwords better than Amazon KDP for royalties?
Smashwords pays 75% at $2.99 and up, which beats the 70% KDP royalty for books priced $2.99 to $9.99 before Amazon’s delivery fee. But Amazon has far more readers, so most authors earn more in total on KDP and treat Smashwords as an extra channel.
Where to Go Next
- Book royalties explained: how every major retailer’s split compares
- Cost to self-publish a book: the full budget beyond distribution
- Amazon KDP royalty options: Amazon’s official 35% and 70% rules
- ALLi’s self-publishing advice centre: independent ratings of author services
