Which ARC platform should you use in 2026? Start with StoryOrigin and BookSirens. StoryOrigin is free for delivery and $10 a month for its review tools. BookSirens is $100 a year, or $10 an ARC plus $2 a reader. Add NetGalley only for librarians and booksellers: £495 plus VAT for six months on its UK site.
Checked against each vendor’s own pages on 12 October 2026: StoryOrigin pricing, BookSirens pricing, Booksprout pricing, Hidden Gems ARC FAQ, NetGalley UK plans, NetGalley US plans, Victory Editing co-op, Reedsy Discovery FAQ, BookFunnel pricing and KDP Customer Reviews. Reviewed by Robert Prime, 12 October 2026.
| Platform | Cost on its own page, 12 Oct 2026 | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| StoryOrigin | Free; Standard $10 a month or $100 a year | Swaps and a first reviewer base |
| BookSirens | $100 a year, or $10 an ARC + $2 a reader | Vetted readers, least work |
| Booksprout | $9, $19, $29 or $59 a month | Several releases a year |
| Hidden Gems | $20 covers 10 readers, then $3 each; $400 max | Reviewers picked for you |
| NetGalley | £495 + VAT (UK) or $575 (US) for 6 months; co-op slot $75 a month | Librarians, booksellers, media |
| Reedsy Discovery | $299 per editorial review | One quotable review |
| BookFunnel | $30, $200 or $300 a year | Delivery only, no readers |
In brief. Twenty honest reviews at launch is one of the few levers in self-publishing you control, and ARC platforms are how you get there. Most comparisons of them quote prices in the wrong currency, or from memory, or from two years ago. I took every figure here from the platform’s own pricing page, first on 5 September 2026 and again on 12 October 2026, rated each one the way I rate everything on this site, and worked out how many copies each costs you. The October re-check moved three figures: Reedsy Discovery now costs $299 a review, not $50; NetGalley now prints its own price; and Hidden Gems’ per-reader rate is now on its FAQ.
What an ARC is, and the rule that governs it
An advance review copy is a copy of your book sent free, before or at launch, to a reader who has agreed to review it honestly. The reader posts to Amazon, Goodreads, sometimes a blog.
The rule that matters is Amazon’s, and it is narrower than most authors think. From KDP’s customer reviews page, re-read 12 October 2026:
“You may provide free or discounted copies of your books to readers, as long as you do not require a review in exchange or attempt to influence the review.”
And:
“Offering anything other than a free or discounted copy of the book, including gift cards, will invalidate a review, and the Amazon Community team will remove it.”
So a free book is fine. A required review is not, a paid review is not, and any platform that promises reviews rather than readers is selling you something Amazon will delete. Reviewers should say they received a free copy; “I received an ARC of this book” is the standard line, and every platform below asks its readers to include it.
How to read this page
| Rating | What 1 means | What 5 means |
|---|---|---|
| Impact | A few reviews if you are lucky | Enough reviews at launch to change how the book sells |
| Difficulty | Upload, set a date, wait | Managing reviewers, swaps, follow-ups for weeks |
| Technical | If you can attach a file, you can do it | Integrations, watermarking, mailing-list wiring |
| Budget | Free or under $50 | $500 or more a year |
The break-even basis. A £2.99 ebook at Amazon’s 70% royalty earns about £2.09 a copy; a $2.99 US ebook earns about $2.09. So a $100-a-year platform costs you roughly 48 copies a year.
Prices are in the table at the top of the page.
| Platform | Impact | Difficulty | Technical | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| StoryOrigin | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| BookSirens | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Booksprout | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Hidden Gems | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| NetGalley (direct or co-op) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Reedsy Discovery | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| BookFunnel (delivery only) | multiplier | 2 | 2 | 1 |
1. StoryOrigin
Impact 4 · Difficulty 2 · Technical 2 · Budget free to $100 a year
The workhorse. Free for file delivery and universal links; the paid tier adds the review machinery that matters here.
Verified from StoryOrigin’s pricing page, 12 October 2026: Basic, free; Standard, “$10 / month or $100 / year”; a guided setup is “Setup fee (varies), plus cost of Standard Plan.” Extra pen names on yearly billing are $50 a year each. On 5 September the feature grid listed Basic as file delivery, universal retail links and email-service integration, and Standard as adding group promos, newsletter swaps, reader email collection, “Vet review history & completion”, “Automate reviewer follow-up” and direct ebook sales. The grid did not load when I re-read the page in October, so I have not re-confirmed those feature names.
The model. Largely author swaps: you list your book seeking reviewers and read other authors’ books in return, plus reader-only sign-ups. Reviewers who are also authors tend to be supportive and slow. The vetting tool on Standard, which shows a reviewer’s completion history before you accept them, is the feature that separates a campaign that produces reviews from one that produces downloads.
Break-even: Standard is 48 copies a year.
Best for: any author with no review base yet, and any series author building a team for book two.
2. BookSirens
Impact 4 · Difficulty 1 · Technical 1 · Budget $100 a year or pay as you go
Vetted reviewers who specifically want ARCs. Higher quality than a swap pool, and the simplest of the paid options to run.
Verified from BookSirens’ pricing page, 12 October 2026, unchanged since September: Author plan $100 a year ("$8.33 / month paid annually"), unlimited ARCs for two pen names, three months of promotion per book, review tracking and reminders, with “no per-reader fee and no per-ARC fee”. Or Promote, $10 per ARC plus $2 per reader who downloads; the $10 is charged only if BookSirens accepts the book, and you can set a reader limit to cap spend. A Partner plan for five or more ARCs a month is custom-priced. BookSirens puts its average review rate at about 75% of downloads, and says plainly it cannot promise that for any one book. My BookSirens review goes deeper.
The arithmetic. On Promote, 30 readers on one book is $10 + $60 = $70. Two books a year on Promote costs more than the $100 flat plan, so the flat plan wins from the second book.
Break-even: $100 a year is 48 copies. A single Promote campaign at 30 readers is about 33 copies, once.
Best for: a debut that needs 25 reviews before the first paid promotion, and authors who would rather pay than swap.
3. Booksprout
Impact 3 · Difficulty 2 · Technical 2 · Budget $9 to $59 a month
A distribution platform with built-in review tracking and reminders, tiered by how many books you run at once.
Verified from Booksprout’s pricing page, 12 October 2026. Monthly prices; yearly billing saves 17%.
| Plan | Per month | Active campaigns | Copies per campaign |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growing Author | $9 | 1 | 25 |
| Pro Author (adds audiobook campaigns) | $19 | 3 | 50 |
| Bestselling Author | $29 | 10 | Unlimited |
| Publisher and Review Service | $59 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
A free author account lets you build a following before you pay, and Booksprout offers a 30-day money-back guarantee instead of a trial. Its own FAQ says authors “can expect about 8 reviews for every 10 participants”.
The catch. Readers can claim copies with less obligation than BookSirens imposes, so the completion rate is the thing to watch.
Break-even: $9 a month is about 4 copies a month; $29 is about 14.
Best for: prolific authors with several releases a year who want one reviewer base across all of them.
4. Hidden Gems
Impact 3 · Difficulty 1 · Technical 1 · Budget $20 deposit plus per reviewer
A curated service: you submit, they distribute to genre-matched, vetted reviewers and manage delivery. Quality is the selling point.
Verified from Hidden Gems’ ARC FAQ and product page, 12 October 2026: a $20 non-refundable deposit that “covers your first 1-10 readers”, then $3 a reader up to 140, or a MAX option at a flat $400 that sends the book to everyone who reserves a copy. You are billed only for readers who actually sign up. The product page says most general fiction attracts 5 to 15 readers, and its calendar’s first free general fiction date on 12 October 2026 was in June 2027, so book months ahead.
The arithmetic. 50 readers is $20 + 40 x $3 = $140, about 67 copies at £2.09.
UK reach: predominantly US readers, which matters if your book leans on British setting or idiom.
Best for: authors who want reviewers chosen for them and are happy to pay per head.
5. NetGalley, direct or through a co-op
Impact 3 · Difficulty 3 · Technical 2 · Budget £495 plus VAT direct, or $75 a month through a co-op
The platform librarians, booksellers and journalists actually use, and the one with a UK arm. NetGalley now prints its own price. Verified from NetGalley UK’s plans page, 12 October 2026: a digital review copy, “6-month listing for £495”, with 20% VAT added at checkout (£594 in all), and a Category Spotlight promotion for £80. The US plans page lists the same listing at $575, with a week-long Featured Title promotion at $150. Both say pay-per-title suits “1-4 books per year”; above that, ask about a subscription. You need an ISBN-13, you upload and manage the listing yourself, and NetGalley states that reviews are not guaranteed.
The cheaper indie route is a co-op that holds a NetGalley account and rents you a slot. Verified from the Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, 12 October 2026: "$75.00 / month for e-book slots", $80 a month for audiobook slots and $155 a month for both. You manage your own requests and approvals, titles are listed under Victory Editing, and the co-op suggests about a month per title. In September the page called the fee a once-a-year payment; that wording is no longer on the page, so ask for the minimum term before you pay.
Who it is for. Authors targeting bookshops and libraries, and literary fiction with media aspirations. NetGalley readers are professionals and heavy reviewers, and a co-op slot is only worth it if you have more than one title to rotate through it.
Break-even: a direct UK listing at £594 with VAT is about 284 copies. A co-op slot is about 36 copies for each month you hold it. Either way, this is a catalogue expense, not a debut-novel one.
6. Reedsy Discovery
Impact 2 · Difficulty 1 · Technical 1 · Budget $299 a review
Not an ARC pool in the usual sense: an editorial review from a Reedsy-vetted reviewer, which you can quote on your Amazon page, plus a landing page on Discovery. Strong reviews may be featured on the homepage or in its newsletter.
Verified from Reedsy’s own FAQ, 12 October 2026: “For $299 per review”, up to five reviews per book, charged only when a reviewer submits the review. Your book sits in the review library for up to three months, and a reviewer who picks it up has four weeks to deliver a review of 350 words or more. This page said $50 until October 2026; that is no longer the price.
Break-even: about 143 copies a review. A quotable editorial review, not a launch-day review count.
7. BookFunnel: the delivery tool, not a source of readers
Multiplier · Difficulty 2 · Technical 2 · Budget $30 to $300 a year
BookFunnel does not find you reviewers. It delivers files, watermarks them, supports every e-reader your reviewers own, and handles the “how do I get this on my Kindle” emails so you do not have to. Several of the platforms above use it or integrate with it.
Verified from BookFunnel’s pricing page, 12 October 2026, unchanged since September: First-Time Author $30 a year (500 downloads a month, no ARC feature); Mid-List Author $200 a year or $20 a month (5,000 downloads a month, up to four pen names; adds “Secure ARC Delivery”, watermarked files, mailing-list integration); Bestseller $300 a year or $30 a month (unlimited downloads, six pen names). Prices in US dollars.
Do you need it? If you use StoryOrigin or BookSirens, their delivery is included. BookFunnel earns its money when you run your own ARC team from your mailing list and want watermarked copies and reader support without the platform in between.
The one this page used to recommend
Voracious Readers Only was listed here as a free, UK-friendly reader-only platform. On 5 September 2026 its site carried a page titled as a hiatus announcement that I could not open. On 12 October 2026 its home page was live and signing up readers, but it showed no author terms or pricing. I cannot tell you from its own pages whether it is accepting authors, so I have not restored the recommendation. If you can confirm author terms on the site, it may still be worth a try.
Which to use, by author
- First book, no budget: StoryOrigin Basic, your own newsletter and friends-of-friends. Accept that swap reviewers are slow.
- First book, around £100: StoryOrigin Standard and one BookSirens Promote campaign, or the BookSirens flat plan if a second book is coming within the year.
- Three or more books: BookSirens flat plan plus Booksprout or StoryOrigin Standard, so one reviewer base carries across releases.
- Bookshop or library ambitions, and a catalogue: a NetGalley co-op slot, rotated across titles, on top of the above.
- You want a quotable editorial review: Reedsy Discovery, once and early: a reviewer can take up to three months to pick the book up and four weeks to write.
How to run the campaign
Four to six weeks before launch. Submit with a finished cover, a real blurb and accurate genre tags; reviewers pick by those. Email your own list for ARC volunteers. Set the window in writing: copies go out on one date, reviews are requested by launch day plus a week.
Delivery. Send a DRM-free file with a short note: this is an ARC, the book launches on this date, an honest review that week helps more than you would think. Include the disclosure line reviewers can copy and a link to your newsletter at the back.
Follow-up. One reminder two weeks out, one on launch day, one thank-you to everyone who posted. Then stop. In my experience, chasing past that point loses you the reviewer and sometimes the review.
What determines the outcome. Not the platform. Genre fit, a cover that signals the genre, and whether your blurb reads like the books your reviewers already like. A poorly matched book on the best platform produces downloads and silence.
What I could not verify
- Hidden Gems’ pricing date. The product page says its ARC pricing “has recently changed” and points to the FAQ I quote; the FAQ page itself carries an older edit date, so confirm the total at checkout.
- Victory Editing’s minimum term. The monthly rates are on the page; the billing period is not.
- StoryOrigin’s feature list. Prices re-checked in October; the feature grid did not load, so the feature names are from September.
- Voracious Readers Only’s author terms. See above.
- Any “expected number of reviews”. Earlier versions of this page printed ranges such as “20 to 50 reviews per campaign”. They were estimates, not measurements, and I have removed them.
If any of this has changed, tell me and I will re-check and re-date.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best ARC platform for a UK self-published author?
StoryOrigin for free delivery and swaps, and BookSirens for vetted readers. Together they cover most first and second books for about $100 to $200 a year, from the vendors’ own prices on 12 October 2026.
Is it legal to give away free copies for reviews?
Yes, on Amazon’s own terms: a free or discounted copy is allowed as long as you do not require a review or try to influence it, and anything beyond the free copy, including a gift card, invalidates the review. Reviewers should disclose the free copy.
How much does NetGalley cost for an indie author?
On its UK site, £495 plus VAT for a six-month listing of one title; on its US site, $575. Both were on NetGalley’s own plans pages on 12 October 2026. The cheaper route is a co-op: Victory Editing lists an ebook slot at $75 a month.
Do I need BookFunnel as well as an ARC platform?
Not if you use StoryOrigin or BookSirens, which deliver the files themselves. BookFunnel earns its place when you run your own ARC team from your mailing list and want watermarked delivery and reader support.
How many reviews should I expect from an ARC campaign?
I no longer print a number, because the honest answer depends on genre fit, cover and blurb far more than on the platform. Plan for fewer than the number of copies you send out, follow up twice, and treat every honest review as earned.
Related guides
- Getting reviews for a self-published book: the full review strategy, of which ARCs are one part
- Best platforms to promote your book: 25 platforms rated the same way
- Building an author email list: the reviewer base you own
- Book launch checklist: where the ARC window sits in the timeline
