Purchase Credits
You have a free Leanpub Reader membership. You can buy book and course credits from this page, or you can consider upgrading to a premium Reader Membership, which gives you free access to about 2000 books and courses on Leanpub, as well as book and course credits every month. You can learn more about Reader Memberships here.
You currently have book credit(s) and course credit(s).
Frequently Asked Questions about Reader Memberships and Credits
If you can't find what you're looking for below, chances are the answer is in our amazing Help Center which has hundreds of carefully-written articles and a number of lovingly-created videos answering the questions we've been asked over the years. Or, email our support team and one of us will get back to you.
What are reader and author memberships?
Every Leanpub user has two memberships: a Reader Membership and an Author Membership. The Reader Membership affects your features as a Leanpub reader, and the Author Membership affects your features as a Leanpub author. By default, both the Reader and Author memberships are the Free Reader Membership and Free Author Membership. You can upgrade either membership to one of our paid memberships at any time.
Why would I upgrade to a paid Reader Membership?
The paid Reader memberships give you access to about 2000 books which are free with membership, plus credits for premium books and courses. The details are different for each Reader membership.
Why would I upgrade to a paid Author Membership?
If you're not a Leanpub author, there's no reason to do so! The paid Author memberships give you access to premium authoring features like custom themes, GitHub mode, print-ready PDF export, etc. The details are different for each membership. To learn more about Author memberships, visit the Author Memberships page under the Authors menu.
What books are free with a Reader Membership?
There are about 2000 books which are free with a Reader Membership. You can search them by going to the Store in the top menu, choosing the Books submenu, and changing the filter from Bestsellers Last Week to Free With Membership.
Are there any books which are free without a Reader Membership?
Yes! You can search them by going to the Store in the top menu, choosing the Books submenu, and changing the filter from Bestsellers Last Week to Free For Everyone.
How do I search both Free For Everyone and Free With Membership books?
You can search for all free books by going to the Store in the top menu, choosing the Books submenu, and changing the filter from Bestsellers Last Week to Free Minimum Price. This search includes books which are Free With Membership or Free For Everyone.
How does my paid Reader Membership support Leanpub authors?
Most of the cost of the paid Reader Memberships goes toward paying for the credits that you get. Leanpub authors earn excellent royalties from those credit purchases, as you'll see below. However, we also pay into a Royalty Pool to support the authors of the books you get which are Free With Membership. We've paid thousands of dollars of Royalty Pool earnings already, and we're just getting started. The amount that is paid into the Royalty Pool is $2.50/month for a paid Monthly Reader Membership, and $9.50/year for a paid Annual Reader Membership. (This matches the amounts that the Legacy Reader Memberships contribute to the Royalty Pool.)
What is a Legacy Reader Membership? What happened to the old Reader Membership?
We used to sell just one type of Reader Membership. We are now calling this the Legacy Reader Membership. The Legacy Reader Membership used to cost $4.99 per month, $19 per year, or $99 lifetime. (These memberships paid $2.50, $9.50 or $49.50 into the Royalty Pool, respectively.) The Legacy Reader Membership provided free access to about 2000 books which are Free With Membership, and did not come with any credits for premium books or courses. The Legacy Reader Membership is no longer available for sale. We discontinued the Legacy Reader Membership when we introduced the new paid Reader Memberships with credits.
I have a Legacy Reader Membership. What happens to it?
If you currently have a Legacy Reader Membership, nothing changes. Your price does not increase, and the membership benefits do not change. This is true if you have a Monthly, Annual or Lifetime Legacy Reader Membership. Your membership continues to give you free access to about 2000 books which are Free With Membership. It does not come with any credits for premium books or courses, of course, because those credits were never part of that membership.
If I upgrade to one of the other Reader Memberships, what happens to my Legacy Reader Membership?
If you upgrade from a Monthly or Annual Legacy Reader Membership, you cannot downgrade back to the Legacy Reader Membership. If you upgrade from a Lifetime Legacy Reader Membership, you will automatically downgrade back to the Lifetime Legacy Reader Membership if your upgraded Reader Membership expires or if you cancel it.
How do my Leanpub credit card, PayPal or royalty purchases support Leanpub authors?
For credit card, PayPal or royalty purchases, we pay 80% royalties on books and courses priced at $7.99 and up. Below $7.99, we pay 80% minus 50 cents. So, Leanpub authors earn $3.50 from a $5 sale, $8 from a $10 sale, $16 from a $20 sale, and $24 from a $30 sale. You'd be surprised how many people buy $20 and $30 ebooks! Similarly, on a $129 course sale, the author earns $103.20. That adds up fast. Leanpub was founded by authors, and exists to serve our authors.
What are book credits and course credits?
One or more book credits can be used to purchase ANY Leanpub book, and one or more course credits can be used to purchase ANY Leanpub course. Every Leanpub book and course has a price in credits listed on its store page. When you use credits to purchase a book or course, you do not pay anything extra. (You pay any taxes on credits when buying the credits themselves.) Most Leanpub books cost either 1 or 2 book credits, and most Leanpub courses cost 1 course credit.
Why are book credits and course credits different?
There are two reasons: (1) books are typically much cheaper than courses, and (2) book credits and course credits need to be taxed differently in the EU and UK. More about taxes below.
How are the credit prices of books and courses calculated?
To calculate the credit price, by default we divide the the minimum price of a book by $25, or the minimum price of a course by $125, and round up. So, a $19 minimum price book costs 1 credit, and a $39 minimum price book costs 2 credits. Similarly, a $99 minimum price course costs 1 credit, and a $249 minimum price course costs 2 credits. Now, this is just the default: authors can choose to price their books and courses at a discount when purchased with credits, so your credits may go even further! (For example, an author might choose to price a $29 or $39 book at 1 book credit, or a $129 or $149 course at 1 course credit.)
How can I get book credits or course credits?
You can get credits when your reader membership subscription renews, either monthly or annually. You can also buy additional credits at any time from the Buy Credits page.
Can I use my royalties to buy book credits or course credits?
Yes! Just add the credits to the shopping cart on the Buy Credits page, and at checkout choose to pay with your Leanpub royalties, credit card or PayPal.
Do I still support authors with book credits or course credits?
Yes! When you use credits to purchase a book or course, the author still earns great royalties. Typically the author earns the same amount of royalties as a minimum nonzero price purchase with a credit card or PayPal. The exact details are shown later on this page. So, you continue to provide excellent support to Leanpub authors when you use book or course credits to make a purchase.
Why get a paid Reader Membership?
A paid Reader Membership gives you book credits and course credits, typically at a discount to their a la carte price. These credits can be used toward buying any book or course on Leanpub, sometimes at a discount to the cash price. Also, it's easier to pay with credits than with money: just click a button! You also get free access to about 2000 books which are Free With Membership. Your paid Reader Membership helps support Leanpub authors through the Royalty Pool, as explained above. Finally, your paid Reader Membership helps us build a better Leanpub for our authors and our readers!
Why buy extra book credits or course credits?
We have different levels of paid Reader Memberships, which come with a different number of book credits and course credits. However, if you need extra credits, you can buy them easily on the Buy Credits page. This way, you can get the credits you need without changing your membership level, and have the convenience of shopping with credits instead of money. These credits are just like the book or course credits you get with your paid Reader Membership, and can be used toward buying any book or course on Leanpub.
How do taxes like VAT work for book credits and course credits?
Book credits are taxed like Leanpub ebooks, and course credits are taxed like Leanpub courses. For our EU and UK customers, this means that if your country has a discounted rate for ebooks, then the book credits will have this same discounted rate. This is correct because a book credit can only be used to purchase a Leanpub ebook, so it is a single-purpose voucher whose VAT rate can be calculated at the time of purchase. Similarly, a course credit can only be used to purchase a Leanpub course, so it is also a single-purpose voucher that gets the standard non-discounted VAT rate that applies to Leanpub courses. For example, in the UK, ebooks are taxed at 0% VAT, while online courses are taxed at 20% VAT. This is the main reason why we have separate book credits and course credits.
How do author royalties work for purchases using book credits or course credits?
The short answer is that the author typically earns the same royalties they would earn on a minimum nonzero price purchase. The longer answer is that the royalty rate is determined by comparing the credit cash price to the minimum nonzero price, as explained in the questions below.
What is the credit cash price?
The credit cash price is determined by calculating the cash equivalent of the credit price. The credit price is the number of book or course credits needed to purchase the book or course. To calculate the credit cash price, the credit price is multiplied by $25 for each book credit and by $125 for each course credit, regardless of their actual purchase cost. (With Leanpub Reader Memberships, book and course credits are typically acquired at a discount.) For example, if a book has a 2 book credit price, the credit cash price is $50 (as 2 book credits x $25 per book credit = $50). Similarly, if a course has a 1 course credit price, the credit cash price is $125 (as 1 course credit x $125 per course credit = $125). The credit cash price is then compared to the minimum nonzero price to determine author royalties, as explained in the cases below.
What is the minimum nonzero price?
The minimum nonzero price is set by the author, and is the minimum non-free price that a reader can pay for a book or course. Leanpub books and courses can also be available for free, either Free With Membership or Free For Everyone. However, even in these cases, there is also a minimum non-free price which the author sets, and which any reader can pay to buy the book or course. This price is the minimum nonzero price. The minimum nonzero price is the smallest amount of money above $0 that a reader can pay for the book or course. The minimum nonzero price affects how author royalties work for purchases using credits, as discussed below.
What are the author royalties for purchases where the credit cash price is lower than the minimum nonzero price?
If a reader is using credits to buy a book or course, and the credit cash price is lower than the minimum nonzero price, the author earns 80% royalties on the credit cash price. So, in this case, the author earns $20 per book credit used (as $20 is 80% of the $25 book credit cash price), or $100 per course credit used (as $100 is 80% of the $125 course credit cash price). For example, if a book has a $29 minimum nonzero price and a 1 book credit price, the author earns $20 (which is 80% of $25) when a reader purchases the book with 1 book credit. Similarly, if a course has a $129 minimum nonzero price and a 1 course credit price, the author earns $100 (which is 80% of $125) when a reader purchases the course with 1 course credit. For us, this is the ideal scenario: the reader gets a slight discount, and the author still earns excellent royalties!
What are the author royalties for purchases where the credit cash price is greater than or equal to the minimum nonzero price?
If a reader is using credits to buy a book or course, and the credit cash price is greater than or equal to the minimum nonzero price of that book or course, the purchase is treated as a minimum nonzero price purchase. For example, if a book has a $19 minimum nonzero price and a 1 book credit price, the author earns $15.20 (which is 80% of $19) when a reader purchases the book with 1 book credit. Or, if a book has a $39 minimum nonzero price and a 2 book credit price, the author earns $31.20 (which is 80% of $39) when a reader purchases the book with 2 book credits. Similarly, if a course has a $99 minimum nonzero price and a 1 course credit price, the author earns $79.20 (which is 80% of $99) when a reader purchases the course with 1 course credit. Or, if a course has a $249 minimum nonzero price and a 2 course credit price, the author earns $199.20 (which is 80% of $249) when a reader purchases the course with 2 course credits. Finally, if a book has a $5 minimum nonzero price and a 1 book credit price, the author earns $3.50 (which is 80% of $5 minus 50 cents) when a reader purchases the book with 1 book credit. (In this case, however, the reader typically would be better off just using money to make the $5 purchase, of course, so we don't expect this to be a common use case!) In all of these cases, the author earns the same royalties as they would on a minimum nonzero price purchase.
I have more questions, what should I do?
Click on the Help menu above to go to our amazing Help Center. We put way more thought and effort into it than you would typically expect. Check it out, and if you can't find the answer, email us at hello@leanpub.com!