Earns.io

SIDE BY SIDE

Put two or three platforms side by side

Pick the ones you are actually choosing between. The same questions get asked of each, the answers come off the company's own pages, and every figure carries the day we read it.

Places that pay youThings you build on

Eight questions about what it costs and who owns the result, asked of each one.

2 PLATFORMS · 8 QUESTIONS · 8 ANSWERED BY ALL

Lemon Squeezy
Amazon KDP

What it costs you

What it really costs to startAll in, not the first-year promotional price.
Lemon SqueezyCost to startFree to open a store: $0/month, no card and no contract required. The only entry cost is the 5% + 50c fee taken per transaction.source · checked 2026-09-07
Amazon KDPFree to publishFree to use: no upfront or listing fee to publish an eBook or print book, and print copies are produced on demand.source · checked 2026-09-07
What it costs to keep alivePer year, once the introductory pricing is over.
Lemon SqueezyOngoing platform feeNo monthly fee. Running cost is the 5% + 50c platform fee per sale, plus +1.5% international, +1.5% PayPal and +0.5% subscription surcharges.source · checked 2026-09-07
Amazon KDP$0.06 per unit soldCharged per sale, not per year: on the 70% royalty option delivery costs average $0.06 per unit sold and vary by file size.source · checked 2026-09-07

The gate before the first cent

The gate before it pays anythingThe traffic, sales or balance you must reach before a single cent moves.
Lemon SqueezyPayout threshold$50 minimum payout threshold. Below it the balance stays Pending and rolls into the next payout cycle.source · checked 2026-09-07
Amazon KDP100 USD on wire, none on EFTNo minimum on direct deposit. Wire and cheque both need 100 USD on Amazon.com and 100 EUR in the EU; Japan is wire only, at 10,000 JPY, with cheque not available there at all.source · checked 2026-09-07
How long before the first paymentThe gap you have to fund out of your own pocket.
Lemon SqueezyPayout lagNet sales are held 13 days, released on the 14th and 28th of the month, then 1-5 days more to land in the bank.source · checked 2026-09-07
Amazon KDPAbout 60 daysPaid monthly, roughly 60 days after the close of the sale month, and 90 days for Expanded Distribution.source · checked 2026-09-07

Is it yours or theirs

Who owns what you buildYours, or a room you are allowed to sit in until the rules change?
Lemon SqueezyStore domainThe store sits on a Lemon Squeezy sub-domain by default; any custom URL must be bought, owned and maintained by the seller.source · checked 2026-09-07
Amazon KDPAuthor keeps copyrightThe author keeps copyright in the book; Amazon's licence to print and distribute is nonexclusive and irrevocable for the term.source · checked 2026-09-07
Can you take it with youThe domain, the list, the content. What actually leaves with you.
Lemon SqueezyExport windowThe export window closes with the account: after termination there is no access to the service or the data stored in it.source · checked 2026-09-07
Amazon KDPBook yes, readers noThe manuscript can be sold elsewhere under a nonexclusive licence, but no reader list travels: Amazon owns all customer data.source · checked 2026-09-07
Can it be soldIs there a resale market, and what does it pay?
Lemon SqueezyAccount transferThe account is not freely sellable: assignment needs Lemon Squeezy's prior written consent and its review and approval of the buyer.source · checked 2026-09-07
Amazon KDPOnly in an asset saleAssignable without consent only in a sale of all or substantially all of your assets, with written notice within 10 business days.source · checked 2026-09-07
What takes it all awayThe single rule, ban or dependency that ends it overnight.
Lemon SqueezyCounterparty entitySingle-vendor dependency: store, checkout, customer list and payouts all sit with one entity, now trading as Link, LLC, formerly Lemon Squeezy LLC.source · checked 2026-09-07
Amazon KDPSuspension at any timeAmazon may terminate or suspend the account at any time if it has concerns with it; termination for breach forfeits unpaid royalties.source · checked 2026-09-07

There is no winner at the bottom of this table

Nothing here gets added up. A score would have to decide that these questions weigh the same for everyone, and they do not. A lower cash-out bar is better if you need the money this month and worse if it arrives as a gift card you cannot spend on rent. One payout method is fine right up until it is the one that does not work where you live.

The rows worth your attention are usually the ones where the columns disagree about whether to answer at all. A platform that publishes its fee and a platform that does not are not two platforms with different fees. One of them has told you, and you can hold them to it.

Rows marked as not checked are about us, not about them. They mean nobody here has gone looking yet, and they stay visible for that reason. Found a figure that has moved? Tell us, and it gets a new source and a new date rather than a quiet edit.

ALL PLATFORMS