Reedsy vs. Read&Rate: Which Book Review Platform Actually Delivers Anything Worth a Damn?
I’ve tried both. Paid the money. Did the work. Got the reviews — or didn’t. And if you’re here, you’re probably wondering which one of these platforms is actually worth your time: Reedsy or Read&Rate?
Here’s how it played out. No fluff. No affiliate links. No pretending either of these platforms is a magical solution.
Let’s go.
Cost: who takes your money faster?
Reedsy hits you with $50 per book, upfront. No review guarantee. No refunds. Just a “we’ll list your book and see what happens” shrug.
Read&Rate works on a monthly fee ($10 or $20), plus a fake currency called “inkdrops.” You earn those by reviewing other people’s books. Then you spend them to post yours. It’s like Chuck E. Cheese for indie authors — but with more Kindle links.
Winner? Depends. Reedsy is more expensive, but it’s one fee. Read&Rate is cheaper, but makes you work for every token like it’s 1999 Neopets.
Review count: who actually delivers?
Reedsy: I listed two books. I got two reviews. After chasing people.
Read&Rate: I listed 27 review slots, got 15 reviews — not bad. Until the flow dried up completely and I stared at 12 listings that never moved.
Read&Rate wins on volume — at least for the first round. Then it stalls. Hard.
Review quality: who actually reads your book?
Reedsy’s reviews felt like someone actually opened the book. Maybe even took notes. Detailed, thoughtful, even if it wasn’t glowing.
Read&Rate? Four out of 15 were total trash. I’m talking sentences that read like a refrigerator magnet poetry kit got knocked over.
Reedsy wins on quality. Read&Rate wins on quantity. Neither wins on consistency.
Platform transparency: who tells you what’s actually happening?
I asked Read&Rate support how many active reviewers they had. Their answer? “Our community is constantly growing.” Translation: we’re not going to tell you. Maybe we don’t even know.
Reedsy doesn’t share stats either, but at least you’re not required to earn tokens before participating. They’re vague, but not pretending they’re a functioning economy.
Both fail here. Read&Rate fails harder.
Ease of use: who makes you work harder?
Reedsy: upload your book, wait, email reviewers like a panhandler outside Barnes & Noble.
Read&Rate: upload, earn tokens, track token balance, review books, bank “inkdrops,” watch your dashboard, pray someone picks up your book.
Reedsy is a pain. Read&Rate is a spreadsheet with gamification. Pick your poison.
Reviewer incentives: who’s doing this for the right reasons?
Reedsy reviewers apply because they’re interested. Some want money on the side, but they generally care. You can tell.
Read&Rate reviewers are just trying to earn “inkdrops” to get their own books reviewed. Once they hit their quota, they ghost. I know — I did it myself.
Reedsy runs on ego. Read&Rate runs on fake currency and desperation. Both are flawed. Read&Rate breaks faster.
SEO and visibility: who helps you show up in Google?
Reedsy: I searched my book title + Reedsy. Nothing. The review might as well have been taped to a lamppost in a snowstorm.
Read&Rate? Showed up immediately. Front page Google. That alone was worth more than half the reviews I got.
Clear winner: Read&Rate.
Platform bias and distribution limits: who’s in bed with Amazon?
Reedsy doesn’t care where you sell. Post your book, done.
Read&Rate is Amazon-obsessed. Kindle Unlimited, Amazon links, Amazon posting. You can earn extra “inkdrops” by copying reviews to other platforms, but it’s not the default behavior.
If you’re wide, Reedsy makes more sense. Read&Rate expects you to worship at the altar of Bezos.
Exposure perks: who gives you anything extra?
Reedsy has a newsletter. You get in if you beg your network to join and upvote your book. So basically, you pay $50 to become their email marketing intern.
Read&Rate has no bells, no whistles. But it also doesn’t lie about it.
They both want you to work for their benefit. Reedsy just wraps it in a newsletter.
Overall ROI: who actually gave you something useful?
Reedsy gave me two solid reviews — eventually — after I paid fifty bucks per book and chased reviewers like I was collecting signatures for a lost cause. High effort, high cost, low visibility.
Read&Rate gave me 15 reviews for twenty bucks and a decent SEO bump. Four reviews were crap. Three landed on Goodreads. But at least I didn’t have to stalk anyone’s inbox or pretend “inkdrops” were anything but indie author arcade tokens.
So yeah — one gave me credibility I had to dig for. The other gave me stats I had to wade through. Neither handed me a damn thing without work.
Final score: who’s actually worth it?
Let’s call it straight:
Reedsy: more professional, better reviews, slower, more expensive, way less visible
Read&Rate: more reviews, lower cost, less quality, stronger SEO, dies without constant user churn
If you want to build credibility and don’t mind chasing people, go Reedsy.
If you want numbers fast and don’t mind rolling the dice, go Read&Rate.
Or better yet — drop your book to 99 cents, send it to 50 people in your network, and ask for real reviews. You’ll get better ROI — and you won’t have to become a marketing intern for Reedsy or gamify your dignity for Read&Rate.
