Inkitt vs Kobo Writing Life
February 02, 2026
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Inkitt is the world’s first reader-powered publisher, providing a platform to discover hidden talents and turn them into globally successful authors. Write captivating stories, read enchanting novels, and we’ll publish the books our readers love most on our sister app, GALATEA and other formats.
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Self-publishing platform for the world's second-largest book ecosystem, spanning 190 countries. It allows to publish ebooks and audiobooks, which can be distributed not only through the main Kobo store, but also through OverDrive (in public libraries), Kobo Plus subscription service and online stores of leading retailers. Authors earn up to 70% in royalties (sent directly to your bank account), own the rights to their books, set prices, and run their own advertising campaigns. Kobo doesn't require exclusivity, so you can self-publish your books anywhere. You can track updates in real time with detailed sales analytics (by country, date and reading activity of Kobo Plus subscribers) in a convenient dashboard.
Inkitt vs Kobo Writing Life in our news:
2021. Inkitt wants to turn its data-driven, self-publishing platform into a multi-media powerhouse
Inkitt, the free, popular platform where anyone can write and publish stories — which Inkitt then analyzes using data science to determine which stories to develop further for its separate paid app, Galatea — has secured $59 million in funding. The investment will be used by Berlin-based Inkitt to further develop its algorithms and technology. This is crucial because the curation of stories — including deciding which ones transition from the free app to the paid app as longer works and functioning as an “editor” through A/B testing of different story directions — is driven by these algorithms, not by human input.
2017. Inkitt - reader powered book publisher
Inkitt advertises itself as the world’s first reader-powered book publisher. The Inkitt online community includes a forum for posting work-in-progress and receiving feedback, as well as seeking support for tasks such as editing and plot development. A major emphasis — and crucial to the startup’s distinctive publishing model — is the beta readers section. Here, Inkitt members are encouraged to upload complete manuscripts for review by the app’s over a million readers. This provides an opportunity for reader reviews and additional feedback, but can also result in a publishing contract with Inkitt if the reader engagement data the company gathers suggests a potential bestseller. Additionally, since Inkitt uses Facebook login, the service has demographic information on its readers, allowing it to make decisions with a high degree of objectivity.
