Is Cardel an alternative to BookBub or WordPress?

Cardel is a home for your craft: a site of your own with a blog, newsletter, shop, community, and one inbox. It can replace BookBub or WordPress when you want your work, audience, and sales in one place. The feature list on this page shows where BookBub and WordPress are marked.

Can I use Cardel with BookBub or WordPress?

Yes. Cardel pages can link out to other products, so you can keep BookBub or WordPress for what it does best and bring the rest of your work to Cardel.

How much does Cardel cost compared with BookBub and WordPress?

You don't pay for Cardel until you publish. Choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live. BookBub and WordPress set their own prices, so check their pricing pages on this page for current plans.

How do I switch from BookBub or WordPress to Cardel?

Start with Build Your Site, set up your home, and bring your work over at your own pace. You do not have to move everything on day one.

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BookBubvsWordPress

BookBub Author Websites builds a book-first site and simple newsletter for authors. WordPress.com hosts the world's most used publishing software with themes, plugins, and commerce plans.

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How BookBub and WordPress compare

BookBub Author Websites is made for writers who would rather be writing. Import an ebook from Amazon or BookBub and its cover, description, and retailer links fill in, and each book gets its own page that you update in one place. Templates are designed around genres, the Author Bio, Blog, and Contact pages are ready on day one, and a built-in newsletter pulls your book details into every email. Pro adds series pages, a press kit and events, and reader magnets that trade a free download for a signup, and the Free plan has no time limit.

WordPress powers a huge share of the web for good reason. This page compares WordPress.com hosted plans. You get the block editor, thousands of themes, comments and likes, Jetpack newsletters, and on higher plans the full plugin ecosystem and WooCommerce. Nothing else offers this much freedom to extend, and your content is exportable and yours.

Where they are different

BookBub

BookBub's book pages send readers to Amazon, Apple Books, and other retailers, with no checkout on the site.
BookBub's newsletter sends 1,000 emails a month on Free and 10,000 on Pro, from a no-reply address on your domain on Pro, and replies go to your personal email.
BookBub's blog has an RSS feed but no comments, and its only automation is a welcome email.
BookBub's Events page lists your appearances.

WordPress

WordPress extends by plugin: a form plugin, a booking plugin, an email plugin, each with its own settings.
WordPress email is Jetpack newsletters or a plugin.
WordPress accessibility and SEO depend on your theme and plugins.

Choose BookBub when your books sell through retailers, you want a polished author site in an afternoon, and a simple monthly newsletter is all the email you need.

Choose WordPress when you want maximum control, plugins for anything, and the option to self-host.

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What's on BookBub and WordPress

A check means that capability is available. BookBub and WordPress are marked only when the offer is comparable, not the same product.

Site and brand

Workspace site
BookBub: Included
WordPress: Included
Custom domain
BookBub: Included
WordPress: Included
Editor Mode
BookBub: Not included
WordPress: Included
Theme and fonts
BookBub: Included
WordPress: Included

Public content

Blog
BookBub: Included
WordPress: Included
Reader engagement
BookBub: Not included
WordPress: Included
Showcase pages
BookBub: Included
WordPress: Included
Shop pages
BookBub: Included
WordPress: Included

Reach and quality

SEO
BookBub: Included
WordPress: Included

Audience and email

Audience
BookBub: Included
WordPress: Included
Marketing emails
BookBub: Included
WordPress: Included
Bulk email workflows
BookBub: Not included
WordPress: Included

Commerce

Shop payments
BookBub: Not included
WordPress: Included

Team

AI Assistant
BookBub: Not included
WordPress: Included

Feature comparison for BookBub and WordPress
Feature	BookBub	WordPress
Site and brand
Workspace site	Included	Included
Custom domain	Included	Included
Editor Mode	Not included	Included
Theme and fonts	Included	Included
Public content
Blog	Included	Included
Reader engagement	Not included	Included
Showcase pages	Included	Included
Shop pages	Included	Included
Reach and quality
SEO	Included	Included
Audience and email
Audience	Included	Included
Marketing emails	Included	Included
Bulk email workflows	Not included	Included
Commerce
Shop payments	Not included	Included
Team
AI Assistant	Not included	Included

* Note: This table does not capture every feature of BookBub or WordPress, and is not intended as a comprehensive list. We keep this page current, but BookBub or WordPress may add or remove features that are not shown here.