Draft2Digital vs Smashwords in 2026: What's the Difference Now?

If you learned self-publishing a few years ago, you may remember Smashwords and Draft2Digital as rival aggregators with different strengths. That picture is out of date. Draft2Digital acquired Smashwords in 2022, and by January 2026 Smashwords had finished becoming a dedicated ebook store. This guide explains what each does now, what it costs, how the Smashwords Store pays, and how to decide where your books should go.

What changed

Side by side

Checked October 2026. See sources below.

Draft2Digital: the distributor

Draft2Digital takes one upload and sends your book to many retailers and library services, handling formatting, metadata and payments. Its FAQ lists partners such as Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and library platforms, with Amazon described as invite-only. In return it keeps roughly 10% of the retail price of each sale, so a store that pays 70% becomes about 60% for you.

Its formatting tools are one of its best-loved features: upload a Word document and it produces a clean ebook and, for print, an interior. Draft2Digital's FAQ says print books are distributed through Amazon and Ingram channels, and authors can expect about 45% of the list price minus printing.

The fees are new for 2026. New accounts pay a one-time $20 activation fee, and accounts that earned less than $100 in net royalties over the previous twelve months pay $12 a year. For working authors that's small, but it ended Draft2Digital's fully free model.

Smashwords: now a store

Smashwords sells ebooks directly to readers, DRM-free, so they open in any EPUB-compatible app or device. Its about page says authors must publish through Draft2Digital, which is now the only supplier to the store. From January 1, 2026, the store pays 75% of list price for ebooks priced at $2.99 and up, and 40% for ebooks under $2.99.

The new rates reward books at $2.99 and above. A $1.99 book earns about $0.80 per Smashwords sale; a $2.99 book earns about $2.24. If you've kept books at $0.99 or $1.99 for years, the Smashwords rates are a reason to review those prices, keeping low prices for short promotions.

Should you switch on the Smashwords Store?

Because it's a channel inside Draft2Digital, switching it on costs nothing extra beyond your Draft2Digital account. For most authors already using Draft2Digital, there's little reason not to, and you can always turn the channel off again later if it isn't earning its place in your mix.

Libraries: a quiet strength

One reason many authors stay with Draft2Digital even after going direct to their biggest stores is library distribution. Getting ebooks into library platforms on your own is harder than listing in a retail store, and Draft2Digital's partners include library services such as OverDrive and cloudLibrary. Library readers borrow rather than buy, but a borrowed book still pays the author under the library platform's terms, and library readers often go on to buy an author's other books. If libraries matter for your genre, that alone can justify keeping Draft2Digital in your mix.

Keeping prices and details consistent

When one book is on sale in many places, small inconsistencies creep in: a price changed in one store but not another, an old description on a store you forgot about, a series number missing. Readers notice. Using a distributor for several stores helps here, because you change a detail once and it flows out to every store in that channel. For stores you manage directly, keep a simple list of where each book is listed and update them together when anything changes.

Price consistency matters for another reason too. Some stores watch prices elsewhere and may match a lower one, which can quietly reduce what you earn. Keeping your list price the same everywhere, and running promotions deliberately, avoids surprises.

Draft2Digital vs going direct

An aggregator's 10% is the price of convenience. Authors with strong sales at a particular store often go direct to that store, keeping the full retailer payment, and use Draft2Digital only for the stores and libraries they can't easily reach themselves. Just don't send the same book to the same store twice. See aggregator vs direct publishing and KDP vs Draft2Digital.

What you earn: a $4.99 ebook

Illustrative; each store's own terms apply. D2D's share is roughly 10% of retail price.

Is an aggregator right for your first book?

For a first book, the case for Draft2Digital is mostly about time. Setting up accounts with several stores, learning each one's dashboard, tax forms and payment rules, and keeping them all in step takes hours you might rather spend writing the next book. An aggregator does that work once, for a share of each sale. With modest early sales, the difference between an aggregator's rate and going direct is often a few dollars a month, while the time saved is real.

As your catalogue and sales grow, the balance shifts. Once one store is clearly your biggest, going direct there captures the aggregator's share on your most important sales. Many authors follow exactly this path: start with an aggregator for simplicity, then go direct store by store as the numbers justify it, keeping the aggregator for the long tail of smaller stores and libraries.

Whatever path you choose, keep at least one channel where you control the price and keep the most per sale. It gives you a place to send your own readers where more of their money reaches you.

For former Smashwords authors

If you published on Smashwords before the change, your books are now managed at Draft2Digital. It's worth logging in to check:

• Every book is there, with the right files, covers and descriptions.
• Prices, especially any under $2.99, given the new Smashwords rates.
• Channels, so each book goes to the stores and libraries you want, including the Smashwords Store.
• Payment and tax details, so royalties reach you.
• Series links and numbering, so readers on every store can see the reading order and find the next book.

Free ebooks and series starters

Smashwords has long been known for free ebooks, and a free first book can draw readers into a series. The store remains a good home for a free starter. Remember that stores differ: some, including Amazon, don't let you set a free price directly. Plan a free series starter store by store. See turning readers into series readers.

Three authors, three setups

A new romance author with two books uses Draft2Digital for everything except Amazon, switches on the Smashwords Store, and raised both ebooks to $2.99 once the new Smashwords rates took effect.

A mid-list fantasy author sells strongly on two stores, so goes direct there, keeps Draft2Digital for the remaining stores and libraries, and lists the series directly on BooksOasis too.

A former Smashwords author with a large backlist logged in to Draft2Digital after the move, found several old prices at $0.99, and reset them to reflect the 2026 rates.

Where BooksOasis fits

BooksOasis isn't a Draft2Digital channel. You list your books directly, and there's no exclusivity, so it sits comfortably alongside Draft2Digital and the Smashwords Store.

• 100% of the ebook price on every BooksOasis sale, with no percentage taken.
• Ebook, paperback and hardcover on one listing, printed on demand.
• Flat plans from $29.99 a year for 10 books.
• Series pages, pre-orders and promotional prices built in.

Sources

Checked October 2026: Smashwords: about; Draft2Digital FAQ; Draft2Digital royalty rates; Jane Friedman on the 2026 Smashwords rates; ALLi on Draft2Digital's 2026 fees.

In short

Draft2Digital is the distributor and Smashwords is a store it supplies. Use Draft2Digital to reach many stores, switch on the Smashwords Store if your ebooks are $2.99 or more, go direct where you sell most, and add a store where you keep 100% of the ebook price. That mix gives you reach and a better return on every sale.

Curious how readers find books? Browse our reading guides on the BooksOasis store.