Store costs
What a direct book store costs on WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin. You pay for hosting yourself, and for extensions when you want more than the basics, such as bundles. You also look after the updates.
Three stores, three bills
The bill changes with how many books you have, which formats you sell and how much you sell. For each store we picked the cheapest WooCommerce plan for those sales.
| Store | WooCommerce plan | WooCommerce, a year | Lanternbee, a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting out | Hosting for WordPress and WooCommerce | US$300 | US$0 on Free |
| A growing backlist | Hosting for WordPress and WooCommerce | US$379 | US$468 on Author |
| A busy store | Hosting for WordPress and WooCommerce | US$379 | US$468 on Author |
Both sides always count the same jobs. For a store starting out we compare Lanternbee Free, so we count only the store and sending ebooks to buyers. For the other two we compare Lanternbee Author, so we also count bundles and reader reviews, and printing for the busy store. When a platform can't do one of these jobs itself, we add one app that does. When it can, we add nothing. When we found no way at all, we say so. Lanternbee takes no fee on sales. These are what each platform charges. Card payment fees (for example Stripe's) are not included, because you pay them wherever you sell.
Starting out
3 titles, selling ebooks. About US$500 in sales a month from 50 orders.
| What you pay for | Price | Each month |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting for WordPress and WooCommerceThe store itself | from US$25 a month | US$25 |
| Total each month | US$25 | |
| Total for a year | US$300 |
| The same store on Lanternbee | Each month | A year |
|---|---|---|
| Lanternbee FreeNo monthly cost and no fee on your sales. Covers every job above | US$0 | US$0 |
| Lanternbee AuthorUS$39 a month. Adds bundles, reader reviews and release-day emails | US$39 | US$468 |
We compare Lanternbee Free here. Free has no bundles or reader reviews, so we don't count them on either side.
These are what each platform charges. Card payment fees (for example Stripe's) are not included, because you pay them wherever you sell.
A growing backlist
8 titles, selling ebooks and audiobooks. About US$2,000 in sales a month from 160 orders.
| What you pay for | Price | Each month |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting for WordPress and WooCommerceThe store itself | from US$25 a month | US$25 |
| WooCommerce Product BundlesSeries and format bundles | US$79 a year | US$6.58 |
| Total each month | US$31.58 | |
| Total for a year | US$379 |
| The same store on Lanternbee | Each month | A year |
|---|---|---|
| Lanternbee FreeFree covers up to 3 books | Not available | Not available |
| Lanternbee AuthorUS$39 a month, no fee on your sales. Covers every job above | US$39 | US$468 |
We compare Lanternbee Author here. Author has bundles and reader reviews, so we count them on both sides.
These are what each platform charges. Card payment fees (for example Stripe's) are not included, because you pay them wherever you sell.
A busy store
20 titles, selling ebooks, audiobooks and print books. About US$10,000 in sales a month from 500 orders.
| What you pay for | Price | Each month |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting for WordPress and WooCommerceThe store itself | from US$25 a month | US$25 |
| WooCommerce Product BundlesSeries and format bundles | US$79 a year | US$6.58 |
| Lulu for WooCommercePrinting and shipping paperbacks | No monthly price listed | US$0 |
| Total each month | US$31.58 | |
| Total for a year | US$379 |
| The same store on Lanternbee | Each month | A year |
|---|---|---|
| Lanternbee FreeFree covers up to 3 books | Not available | Not available |
| Lanternbee AuthorUS$39 a month, no fee on your sales. Covers every job above | US$39 | US$468 |
We compare Lanternbee Author here. Author has bundles and reader reviews, so we count them on both sides.
Printed books on Lanternbee: you set them up for BookVault or Lulu, but sending each order to the printer isn't built yet. Until it is, you place each print order with the printer yourself.
These are what each platform charges. Card payment fees (for example Stripe's) are not included, because you pay them wherever you sell.
Try your own numbers
- WooCommerce
- Lanternbee Free
- Lanternbee Author
Same prices and apps as the tables above. With up to 3 books we compare Lanternbee Free, so bundles and reader reviews are not counted for WooCommerce. With more, we compare Author and count them. These are what each platform charges. Card payment fees (for example Stripe's) are not included, because you pay them wherever you sell.
What we counted
- US prices on monthly billing.
- Any fee WooCommerce itself takes on each sale.
- WooCommerce puts most stores' hosting at US$25 to US$350 a month, rising with traffic. We use the low end. A busy release day may need more.
- Extensions cost US$29 to US$299 a year each. Bundles is the only paid one we counted; ebook downloads and reader reviews are built in.
- Lulu's own add-on prints and ships each book. You pay Lulu for each order; we found no monthly price for the add-on.
What we left out
- Printing and shipping costs, which you pay the printer whichever store you use.
- Your domain name, a paid theme and any design work.
- An email tool for your newsletter. Lanternbee doesn't send newsletters, so you keep one wherever you sell.
- Sales tax and VAT themselves. Tax tools may cost extra, including Stripe Tax on your own Stripe account where you are registered to collect tax.
- Card payment fees, such as Stripe's, on every sale. You pay them wherever you sell, so they don't change which store costs less.
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