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Best Tools for KDP: Paid and Free

Writer's picture: Renee ClancyRenee Clancy



Ready to crush your KDP goals but feeling overwhelmed by which tools to use? Whether you’re writing novels or creating low-content books, today I’ll show you the top free and paid tools that will help your book get noticed. From stunning covers to smart keyword strategies, these tools are exactly what you need to boost your success—let’s dive in!


Paid vs. Free Tools: What’s the Difference?


Let’s start by breaking down the benefits of both paid and free tools for KDP authors. I’ll introduce each paid option first, followed by its free alternative, so you can decide which suits your needs best.



What Are They? BookBolt and Publisher Rocket are excellent paid tools designed specifically for KDP authors. They help with keyword research, niche discovery, and formatting, ensuring your book is discoverable and stands out on Amazon.


Why They're Great:

  • They offer in-depth keyword insights to boost your book's visibility.

  • Help you find untapped niches to maximize your sales potential.

  • BookBolt includes a crossword and word search generator for creating medium-content books.


Price Points:

  • BookBolt: Starts at $9.99 per month, ideal for low- or medium-content book creators.

  • Publisher Rocket: A one-time purchase of $97.


Alternative Free Tool: Keyword Tool


What Is It? Keyword Tool is a free online keyword research platform that provides basic keyword suggestions for Amazon searches.


Why It’s a Good Free Option:

  • It generates keyword ideas without the need for a paid subscription.

  • Offers basic insights into trending searches on Amazon.


Limitations:While it’s a helpful starting point, it lacks the depth of BookBolt and Publisher Rocket, especially in terms of competition and profitability insights.

Paid Tool: Kittl


What Is It? Kittl is a premium design platform, perfect for creating high-quality book covers and AI-generated art.


Why It’s Great:

  • It provides advanced design tools and a variety of pre-made templates.

  • Grants full publishing rights, so there’s no concern about licensing issues.

  • Offers customization features that allow your book covers to stand out.


Price Point:

  • Starts at $10 per month for access to all premium features.


Alternative Free Tool: Canva


What Is It? The free version of Canva is a user-friendly design tool suitable for creating both book covers and interior pages.


Why It’s a Good Free Option:

  • Drag-and-drop interface that’s easy for beginners.

  • A variety of free templates for creating professional-looking book covers.


Limitations: While Canva is great for beginners, it does not provide full publishing rights for all designs, so you’ll need to verify the licensing on any elements used.


Paid Tool: Scrivener


What Is It? Scrivener is a powerful writing tool designed to help novelists plan, write, and organize their manuscripts.


Why It’s Great:

  • Provides advanced organizational features for plotting, character development, and chapter management.

  • Allows exporting to multiple formats, including KDP-ready files.


Price Point:

  • One-time purchase of $49.


Alternative Free Tool: Reedsy Book Editor


What Is It? Reedsy Book Editor is a free, user-friendly online editor that lets authors write, format, and export manuscripts.


Why It’s a Good Free Option:

  • It has a simple, minimalist interface for writing and formatting.

  • Offers collaboration features for working with editors or co-writers.


Paid Tool: Atticus


What Is It? Atticus is an all-in-one writing and formatting tool for novelists and non-fiction authors.


Why It’s Great:

  • Combines writing and formatting, making it ideal for authors who want to streamline the publishing process.

  • Works seamlessly across devices.


Price Point:

  • One-time payment of $147.


Alternative Free Tool: Google Docs


What Is It? Google Docs is a free, cloud-based word processor that offers writing, formatting, and collaboration features.


Why It’s a Good Free Option:

  • Allows for real-time collaboration with editors and co-authors.

  • Supports exporting into PDF or other KDP-compatible formats.


Paid Tool: Designrr


What Is It? Designrr helps authors and marketers create polished ebooks or lead magnets from web pages or blog posts.


Why It’s Great:

  • It cleans up web content by removing ads and sidebars, leaving you with professional content.

  • Ideal for repurposing existing blog posts into ebooks.


Price Point:

  • Starts at $29 per month.


Alternative Free Tool: Google Docs


Why They’re Different: While Designrr is perfect for turning web content into ebooks, Google Docs is a simple, free solution for writing from scratch or for collaboration.


Choosing the right tools for KDP can be the difference between success and frustration. While paid options like BookBolt, Kittl, and Scrivener offer more advanced features, the free alternatives such as Keyword Tool, Canva, and Reedsy Book Editor provide a great starting point for beginners. Explore these tools and find out which combination works best for you.


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