🆓 Free Tool
Is Permafree Book 1 Actually Profitable?
Model whether giving away book 1 of your series for free generates more income through read-through than keeping it priced. Find your break-even point instantly.
📚 Series Setup
What you currently charge (or would charge) for book 1
Royalty earned per sequel purchase
Estimated free downloads per month
Sales you'd get if book 1 stayed priced
% of readers who continue to the next book
📊 Monthly Comparison
Paid strategy: book 1 income—
Paid strategy: series read-through—
Paid strategy: total monthly—
Permafree: book 1 income$0
Permafree: series read-through—
Permafree: total monthly—
Monthly difference—
Permafree Read-Through Breakdown (per 100 free downloads)
| Book | Readers | Royalty/sale | Revenue per 100 downloads |
|---|
Frequently Asked Questions
What is permafree and how does it work?
Permafree means making book 1 of a series permanently free. You earn no royalty on downloads of the free book, but a percentage of those readers continue to book 2 and beyond, where you earn full royalties. It works as an organic funnel, replacing ad spend with free visibility.
Is permafree still effective in 2025?
Yes, especially in genre fiction (romance, fantasy, thriller). Permafree titles still rank highly on free charts on Apple Books, Kobo, and other wide platforms. The strategy works best when you have at least 3 books in a series and a read-through rate above 25%.
What is a good read-through rate for permafree?
For a permafree strategy to be profitable, you typically need at least 20–30% of readers to continue to book 2. Strong series in popular genres can see 40–60% read-through from book 1 to book 2, dropping by 10–15 percentage points for each subsequent book.
Can I make book 1 free on Amazon?
Amazon doesn't allow a $0 price directly. The standard method is to set it free on other retailers (Smashwords, Draft2Digital, etc.), then report the free price to Amazon via their price-match form. Amazon typically matches within a few weeks, though they can reverse it.
Track Your Series Read-Through with Real Data
ScribeCount shows your actual book-by-book read-through rates from live sales data across 40+ platforms — so you know whether permafree is actually working.
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