12 Free & Paid Publisher Rocket Alternatives to Increase Your Chances For Success

Kindlepreneur has been a great source for people wanting to publish their books online. Their software can get pricey though, so if you’re trying to pinch a few pennies, there are a ton of Publisher Rocket alternatives on the market to choose from.

Some of the SaaS programs below are extremely powerful, but can also charge a bundle. On the other other hand, some are free but only provide limited features. You — and your wallet — will have to decide which one is right for you.

Additionally, you should also consider what features you really do need. Keyword research is an obvious need, but do you have other software that can handle that? If you have subscriptions to other keyword research tools, you can usually accomplish most of your goals through those platforms.

In the end, there are two different paths here. Either you can pay for a suite of software services that can do everything, or piece together your own services from different platforms. It just depends on which approach is right for you.

Free Publisher Rocket Alternatives

For those new to self-publishing or who just want to dip their toes into software to boost an already-existing portfolio, check out the below options. They might just provide the lift you need to take your business to the next level.

Self Publishing Titans

The team at Self Publishing Titans (SPT) actually has a few very valuable self-publishing tools for you to use.

The two Chrome extensions that they’re known for help with category and keyword research. Both help you find underutilized niches and then capitalize on them by picking the right search term. 

Additionally, if you want to make low content books like planners or coloring books, SPT has free software that can help you. 

That being said, SPT is a great place to start if you’re solely focused on functionality. If the look and feel of the tool don’t bother you, try it out.

Amazon ASIN

Almost everything you would ever need to know to market your book successfully can be found on Amazon ASIN. Features of their platform include:

• Keywords
• Sales data
• Trends
• PPC costs
• Competition analyzer

Not all of their features are free, but the ones that writers would use — like keyword researcher and product listing tool — are available at no cost. Many people have used the HTML description writer to create eye-catching descriptions with little effort.

Although technically an Amazon KDP listing tool that can be used for products as well as books, Amazon ASIN provides reliable information that can help you succeed. They also offer a sales calculator that will let you know how sales ranks of your competitors correspond to real-time sales.

AMZ Suggestion Expander

AMZ Suggestion Expander is another Chrome extension that becomes active when you visit Amazon. Unlike some of the others on this list, it only does keyword research.

When you do a keyword search on Amazon’s search bar, a drop-down menu will appear showing ways to build on that keyword. It’ll give you commonly used words you can plug in either before or after your primary search term. You can then take those words and use them in your blurb or even the title itself.

For a free service, you can do a lot worse than AMZ Suggestion Expander. It may not do it all, but what it does do, it does extremely well.

Book Bird

For a lot of self-publishers, nailing the book cover and interior design is one of the hardest parts of the process. It’s a completely different skillset that usually results in outsourcing that part to a third party.

Or you could just use a service like Book Bird. 

With dozens of templates for use in coloring books or low-content books, you can create great designs in no time. And if you need more, they have bundles that you can buy as part of a package.

For those that are just starting out with self-publishing, Book Bird also has courses and videos that can accelerate your progress. They’re not free, but they might be extraordinarily helpful to get you started.

KDP Miner

Simple, lightweight, and effective. Those three terms define KDP Miner’s functionality in a nutshell.

Listed as a free Chrome extension, KDP Miner creates an exhaustive list of keyword suggestions from either a single keyword or a page that you’re analyzing. Their data isn’t the most accurate, but it’s far from the worst either.

At the very least, KDP Miner will give you some words to build off of.

KDP Wizard

To be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure whether or not KDP Wizard fit into the “free” or “paid” portion of this list. There is technically a free tier, but the features are very limited. You only get the basic listing and product search capabilities for free.

Still, it won't cost you anything and can be helpful, so I put it on this half.

However, once you move to a paid plan, you get all sorts of sales and product data. Keywords and categories are pretty standard, but you also have integrations with major online retailers like Google Play and Barnes and Noble. 

Paid Publisher Rocket Alternatives

At some point — especially if you’re considering a career in self-publishing -- you’ll need to invest in some paid tools. Below are some of the best that we could find. 

Most of them come with a free trial, so take them for a test drive and see which one you like the most.

BookBolt

Here’s the short version: Book Bolt is a one-stop shop for all of your self-publishing needs. Plus, at $10 a month (or $200 a year), it’s affordably priced for most writers.

The problem is that while Book Bolt does a lot of things well, it doesn’t really do any one thing great. It does Amazon Kindle keyword research, trendspotting, and helps develop your product listing, but all of them are just so-so.

If you’re looking for design help, Book Bolt can help you there as well. It can create a sharp-looking cover and layout the interiors of your book (great for low-content books), but you won’t find the versatility like you would on platforms that solely focus on design.

Those aren’t necessarily drawbacks but are just issues to be aware of.

Despite all that, Book Bolt is remarkably easy to use and has a lot of functionality for the everyday user. It’s worth a shot, especially considering the low barrier to entry.

KDSpy

Without a doubt, one of the best Publisher Rocket alternatives is KDSpy. It’s so good, we did a full write-up comparing KDSpy vs Publisher Rocket. If you’re on the fence between the two platforms, it’s worth looking at.

One of the reasons KDSpy is so powerful is that it gives you just about the most accurate data you can find about books. It’s keyword research tool is phenomenal, handles international data, and can even track your competitors.

All of this for a single payment of $97 (although they usually run deals bringing it to $59). All upgrades and improvements are pushed straight to your account for free. Although there isn’t a free trial per se, they do offer a 60-day money back guarantee, which is almost as good.

Helium10

Some people might claim that Helium 10 is overkill for a self-publisher. Its proponents argue that there’s no such thing as having “too much power” when it comes to crushing your competition.

One thing’s for sure: With plans ranging rom $29 to $399 a month, you’ll have to be a dedicated user to get the most out of this platform.

Helium10 is primarily used for research by Amazon sellers, but the same features can be carried over to self-publishing. You’ll have access to some of the most powerful product research and paid Amazon ads data on the planet. 

It’s not for everyone, but if you truly want to approach your writing like a business, Helium10 might be worth the cost.

Merch Titan

Merch Titan isn’t technically a self-publishing tool. It’s actually a SaaS program that helps you create and rank apparel on Merch By Amazon.

Since the platform is the same though, you can still use this tool to help find keywords and book categories that will help you rank (the same is true of a service like Jungle Scout that helps with Amazon FBA). 

Merch Titan is the perfect tool for writers who want to focus on Amazon’s platform and explore other ways to make money inside the same ecosystem.

Kindle Ranker

Although their website isn’t much to look at, Kindle Ranker has a suite of tools that are very powerful. 

The usual suspects are there: niche research, keyword selection, and sales data. But what really sets Kindle Ranker apart from the competition is their focus on the book marketing process as a whole. They don't just focus on the data, but the book idea itself.

Instead of just giving you tools that spit out data, Kindle Ranker gives you a set of scores to help you determine if a book subject is worth writing about. It measures competition, profitability, difficulty in ranking, and niche quality.

You’re free to disregard their suggestions and write about whatever you want, but with a tool like Kindle Ranker, you’ll at least know what your financial prospects look like.

Tangent

If design is what you’re needing in your self-publishing journey, Tangent is where you want to go. 

It provides virtually nothing in the way of keyword research and category help, but it provides outstanding design features that can make developing low-content books a snap.

Tangent has a ton of templates that are available to implement immediately, but they also have dynamic features that can update automatically. A planner that needs dates on every single page, for instance, can be created using a dynamic prompt. It saves a ton of time and headaches in the process.

Which Publisher Rocket Alternatives are Right for You?

Dave Chesson has done a great job with Kindlepreneur. His website has been around for a long time and has helped numerous writers make money from writing books that would’ve just been sitting on shelves otherwise.

Publisher Rocket is the logical extension of those resources that are already available. It helps with keyword research, niche selection, competition analysis, and more. It’s a powerful tool developed by a brand that is fiercely loyal to self-publishing.

As you can see though, there are a lot of Publisher Rocket alternatives to choose from if you want to look elsewhere. The main thing is to find what works for you and use it to launch your career.