How Much Does an ISBN Cost? KDP’s Free ISBN vs. Buying Your Own

An ISBN is the number that identifies one version of a book. ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. Stores and libraries use it to find and order the right book.

KDP, short for Kindle Direct Publishing, is Amazon’s service for publishing your own books. If you publish with KDP, you can get an ISBN in two ways. KDP gives you one for free, or you buy your own.

In the US, one ISBN costs $125. A pack of 10 costs $295, which is $29.50 each. KDP’s free ISBN costs nothing, but it works only on KDP. Kindle ebooks don’t need an ISBN at all.

Prices can change. Check them on the seller’s website before you buy.

What is an ISBN?

An ISBN is a 13-digit number. Each one identifies one version of a book from one publisher. Two things set a version apart.

• A format is the form your book takes, such as a paperback, a hardcover, or an ebook.
• An edition is one version of your book’s content. A version with big changes is a new edition.

Since January 1, 2007, every new ISBN has had 13 digits. That’s why you’ll see the term ISBN-13. Older books may also show a 10-digit number, called an ISBN-10.

In a printed book, the ISBN usually goes on the copyright page. That’s the page near the front that says who owns the rights to the book. Our copyright page generator for KDP writes this page for you, with your ISBN on it.

How much does an ISBN cost in the US?

An ISBN agency is the official organization that sells or gives out ISBNs to publishers in its country or region. In the US, that’s Bowker. Bowker serves publishers located in the US and its territories, such as Puerto Rico and Guam.

Here are the prices on Bowker’s Buy ISBNs page.

The price per ISBN is the pack price divided by the number of ISBNs. For example, $295 ÷ 10 = $29.50. Bowker says ISBNs never expire.

KDP’s Get an ISBN page says Bowker offers discounted rates for KDP authors. The page’s link adds one ISBN, labeled “KDP Print,” to Bowker’s cart at $99. That’s $125 − $99 = $26 less. Neither KDP nor the cart says whether this ISBN has limits. If you plan to sell outside KDP, ask Bowker before you buy it.

What does KDP’s free ISBN give you, and what does it limit?

KDP offers a free ISBN for paperbacks and hardcovers. When you choose it, KDP registers the ISBN with Bowker using your book’s details.

The free ISBN has two limits. The first is your imprint. An imprint is the publisher name tied to an ISBN. With KDP’s free ISBN, your imprint is always “Independently published.” You can’t use your own name or brand. Bowker’s record for your book also lists “Independently published” as the publisher.

The second limit is where you can use it. KDP says its free ISBNs work only on KDP. To print the same book through another service, you need a different ISBN there.

How do you get KDP’s free ISBN?

1. Go to your KDP Bookshelf. That’s the page that lists your books.
2. Click the “...” button next to your book.
3. Select Edit Paperback Content or Edit Hardcover content.
4. In the ISBN section, choose Get free KDP ISBN.
5. Click Assign ISBN.

While your book is still a draft, you can change its ISBN. After you publish, you can’t. To change it then, you must unpublish the book, which takes it off sale. Then you publish it again as a new edition.

Do you need an ISBN for KDP?

Paperbacks and hardcovers need one. For ebooks and low-content books, an ISBN is optional.

Do low-content books need an ISBN?

A low-content book has little or no content on its inside pages. The buyer fills them in. KDP’s examples include notebooks, journals, planners, and log books. Puzzle books and coloring books usually don’t count.

Low-content books don’t need an ISBN. They can’t use KDP’s free ISBN either. To publish one, check the Low-content box under Categories when you enter your book’s details. Then, under Print ISBN, choose Publish without an ISBN or Use my own ISBN.

Without an ISBN, KDP still prints a barcode on the back cover. That’s the box of black bars that store scanners read. Amazon won’t show a sample of your pages, though. KDP calls this feature Read Sample (Look Inside the Book). If you want it, KDP suggests buying your own ISBN.

How many ISBNs does one book need?

Each format needs its own ISBN. So one book in paperback, hardcover, and ebook may need up to three ISBNs.

On KDP alone, the paperback and the hardcover each get a free ISBN. The ebook needs none. That costs $0.

If you buy your own for all three formats, three single ISBNs cost 3 × $125 = $375. A pack of 10 costs $295 and leaves 7 ISBNs for later books.

What counts as a new edition?

KDP says you can’t reuse an ISBN for a new edition with significant changes. Its ISBN pages don’t say what counts as significant.

Bowker’s FAQ says a reprint is a new batch of copies with no real changes, perhaps with a few typos fixed. It keeps its ISBN. A new edition has substantial changes and needs a new ISBN. Bowker’s examples include revised text, a redesigned book, and added material such as a new preface at the front or appendix at the back. A new price doesn’t need a new ISBN. If you aren’t sure, ask KDP or your ISBN agency before you publish.

When is one ISBN enough, and when does a pack save money?

If you buy your own, one ISBN is enough for one book in one format. A paperback-only novel is one example.

Two single ISBNs cost 2 × $125 = $250. That’s less than the $295 pack. Three cost 3 × $125 = $375. That’s $375 − $295 = $80 more than the pack. So the pack of 10 costs less once you need three or more ISBNs.

The pack of 100 costs $575. For 11 or 12 ISBNs, a pack of 10 plus singles still costs less. Twelve cost $295 + 2 × $125 = $545 that way. Thirteen would cost $295 + 3 × $125 = $670. Two packs of 10 would cost 2 × $295 = $590. Both are more than $575. So from 13 ISBNs on, the pack of 100 costs the least.

You can’t sell or give spare ISBNs to someone else. Bowker says ISBNs belong to the publisher that bought them and can’t be transferred one at a time.

Do you need to buy a barcode?

A barcode is the box of black bars on the back of a print book. Store scanners read it to get the ISBN.

You don’t need to buy one for KDP. If your cover file has no barcode, KDP adds one at no extra cost. Keep a space 2 inches (50.8 mm) wide and 1.2 inches (30.5 mm) tall empty in the lower right-hand corner of the back cover. KDP prints the barcode there. KDP rejects covers with images or text in that spot.

Bowker sells barcodes on its barcode page for $25 each. Its pack of 1 ISBN and 1 barcode costs $150. That’s the same as $125 + $25 bought separately.

A Bowker barcode includes a price code. That’s a small second barcode that holds your book’s price. It sits to the right of the main barcode. For example, take the price code 51995. The first digit, 5, means US dollars. The other four digits, 1995, mean $19.95.

Bowker says you can’t change the price on a barcode after you make it. A new price needs a new barcode. KDP says a price code should match your list price, the price you set for your book on KDP. If you plan to change your price, Bowker lets you enter 0.00 for a barcode with no set price.

If you already own an ISBN, our free ISBN barcode generator makes a barcode from it. It can add a price code or leave it out. It can’t create an ISBN.

Where do you buy an ISBN outside the US?

You get your ISBN from the agency in the country where you live or where your publishing business is based. Your book’s language doesn’t change this. Neither does the country where you plan to sell it.

In the table, £ means British pounds and A$ means Australian dollars.

How do you get an ISBN in Canada?

ISBN Canada, run by Library and Archives Canada, gives free ISBNs to eligible Canadian publishers. If you self-publish, you must be physically located in Canada. If you publish only in French, apply to Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec instead.

ISBN Canada doesn’t give ISBNs to low-content products, such as journals, notebooks, and planners. It also refuses coloring books with little text and activity books, such as crossword and sudoku books. It doesn’t provide barcodes either.

How much does an ISBN cost in the UK and Ireland?

The Nielsen ISBN Store sells to publishers based in the UK, Ireland, or a British Overseas Territory, such as Gibraltar. One ISBN costs £93. A pack of 10 costs £174, which is £17.40 each. These prices include VAT (value-added tax), a UK tax on sales.

How much does an ISBN cost in Australia?

Thorpe-Bowker sells to publishers located in Australia. One ISBN costs A$44. Ten cost A$88, which is A$8.80 each. Your first purchase adds a one-time A$55 fee for new publishers. So your first single ISBN costs A$44 + A$55 = A$99.

How do you get an ISBN in India?

The Raja Rammohun Roy National Agency for ISBN gives ISBNs for free. Self-publishing authors must live in India. An account for a self-published author gets one ISBN at a time. You can apply for the next one after you use the first. The agency doesn’t provide barcodes.

For any other country, find your agency in the International ISBN Agency’s list of national agencies.

Should you use KDP’s free ISBN or buy your own?

What if you’ll publish only on KDP?

Use KDP’s free ISBN for your paperback and hardcover. Your ebook doesn’t need one. You’ll pay nothing. Your imprint will show as “Independently published.”

What if you’ll also sell through IngramSpark or to bookstores?

IngramSpark is a self-publishing service that prints each copy when it’s ordered. It’s also a distributor, a company that offers your book to libraries, bookstores, and online stores.

Buy your own ISBN for each print format. You can use each one on both KDP and IngramSpark. KDP’s free ISBN won’t work on IngramSpark. IngramSpark gives free ISBNs to US self-publishers, but those work only on IngramSpark. They also show IngramSpark’s imprint, Indy Pub, instead of yours. IngramSpark warns that listing one book under different ISBNs in different places may confuse stores and readers.

For a paperback and a hardcover, two single ISBNs cost 2 × $125 = $250. From three ISBNs on, the $295 pack of 10 costs less.

What if you want your own imprint name?

Buy your own ISBN. Bowker says the imprint KDP asks for is the Organization Name in your Bowker account. Enter your title, author name, and imprint in KDP exactly as Bowker shows them. KDP checks that they match Bowker’s record. Even a different capital letter or an extra space at the end can stop you from publishing. KDP suggests copying and pasting the details from Bowker’s site. If you change them at Bowker, KDP can take up to 5 business days to see the change.

Once you’ve chosen your ISBN, pick your book’s size with our guide to standard book sizes. Then set up your pages with our KDP paperback formatting guide.