SelfPub Go vs ScribeCount
Two different jobs. ScribeCount pulls your earnings together from more platforms than anything else we checked. SelfPub Go goes the other way — one retailer, in depth, with what your Amazon Ads cost sitting next to what your books earned, per book. Below is where the line falls, with a link to ScribeCount’s own page next to every claim we make about it.
Facts checked 21 August 2026. Documentation changes; if something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
What ScribeCount is good at.
Breadth, and it is not close. As of August 2026 ScribeCount’s own platform list marks 28 publishing and advertising platforms as tracked, with 13 more listed as coming soon — the widest coverage among the tools we checked. If your money arrives from eight different storefronts, that is the whole problem solved.
It also states that it collects new data every 15 minutes, including while your computer is off — an architecture SelfPub Go does not attempt — and that its connection to publishing platforms is strictly read-only: “ScribeCount cannot and does not modify any data on the platforms it connects to.” For a tool that lives inside your logged-in sessions, saying that plainly is the right instinct.
So if you publish wide and your question is what did I earn, everywhere, this week, ScribeCount answers it and SelfPub Go does not. We read Amazon and nothing else — no other storefront, no audio distributor, no direct sales.
SourceScribeCount — Supported platformsScribeCount — FAQchecked 21 August 2026
Where it stops.
ScribeCount is a royalty aggregator that also reads advertising data. Everything below is documented on its own site — quoted where the wording matters, and never stated more strongly than the source states it.
Ad tracking reports; managing campaigns is not described
ScribeCount's Ad Tracking module reports, it does not manage. In its own words: “ScribeCount matches your ad spend against the royalties those campaigns actually generated — so you see profit, not just impressions.” Nothing on its feature, pricing or FAQ pages describes creating campaigns, changing bids, pausing campaigns or managing negative keywords.
SourceScribeCount — FeaturesScribeCount — FAQScribeCount — Pricingchecked 21 August 2026
For Amazon it reads the export, not the live dashboard
This is a deliberate accuracy trade, and ScribeCount explains it: “ScribeCount uses the spreadsheet rather than the real-time dashboard because it includes only fully processed sales and is more accurate.” It buys cleaner numbers at the cost of freshness, which is the opposite of the trade SelfPub Go makes on the advertising side.
SourceScribeCount — FAQchecked 21 August 2026
Kindle Unlimited income is an estimate for most of the month
In ScribeCount, Kindle Unlimited income is an estimate for most of the month. You pick a rate — last month's, a six-month average, or your own — and “Your selected rate is used to calculate estimated KU income until the 15th of each month, at which point ScribeCount updates to the officially published rate from Amazon.” To be fair about it: this is not a ScribeCount problem. Amazon publishes the KENP rate after the fact, so SelfPub Go estimates it the same way.
SourceScribeCount — FAQchecked 21 August 2026
Processing has to happen on their servers, by design
ScribeCount requires server-side processing by design. Asked why it cannot work locally on the user's computer, its FAQ answers that the volume of cross-platform calculation “exceeds what individual computers can handle reliably,” and that it collects data “including when your computer is off.” That is a coherent position for a tool aggregating dozens of platforms — it is simply a different bet from ours.
SourceScribeCount — FAQchecked 21 August 2026
It needs a browser extension, and each platform has to be visited
ScribeCount needs a browser extension installed in Chrome, Firefox or Edge, and each publishing platform must be visited with the extension active.
SourceScribeCount — Supported platformschecked 21 August 2026
What SelfPub Go does differently.
Not more features — a different question. ScribeCount answers “what did I earn, everywhere?” SelfPub Go answers “what did I earn on Amazon, and what did it cost me?”
Ad spend and royalties in the same row
Royalty in, ad spend out, refunds deducted, KENP page reads counted — one line per book, per day. ACOS is measured against what a sale actually pays you instead of the cover price, so profit per book is a number on the screen rather than a calculation you do at midnight.
The ads side is a control surface, not a report
Sponsored Products, Brands and Display in one table, with bulk bid edits and search-term reports parsed for the terms quietly eating your budget. The rules engine proposes changes and every one of them waits for you to approve it — nothing executes on its own.
Royalty reports stay on your computer
SelfPub Go is a desktop app for macOS and Windows. Royalty reports are parsed and stored locally and never uploaded to us. Advertising data comes from Amazon's official Advertising API through our servers, because that is the only way that API works — those are campaign metrics, not your earnings.
Depth on one marketplace instead of breadth across many
SelfPub Go reads Amazon and only Amazon: your KDP royalty reports and your Amazon Ads account, joined per book and per marketplace, in real time on the advertising side. That is a narrower promise on purpose — it is the only way to answer the profit question rather than the earnings question.
SelfPub Go vs ScribeCount, row by row.
The ScribeCount column is what its own pages said on 21 August 2026. Where its pages are silent, this table says so rather than guessing.
| ScribeCount | SelfPub Go | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A browser extension for Chrome, Firefox or Edge feeding a hosted dashboard; each publishing platform must be visited with the extension active. | A desktop app for macOS and Windows. |
| Platforms covered | As of August 2026 its own platform list marks 28 publishing and advertising platforms as tracked, with 13 more listed as coming soon — the widest coverage among the tools we checked. | Amazon only: your KDP royalty reports and your Amazon Ads account. |
| Advertising | Reporting: “ScribeCount matches your ad spend against the royalties those campaigns actually generated — so you see profit, not just impressions.” Creating campaigns, changing bids, pausing campaigns or managing negative keywords is not described on its feature, pricing or FAQ pages. | Sponsored Products, Brands and Display in one table, with bulk bid edits, search-term reports and negative keywords. Suggested changes wait for your approval. |
| Where the Amazon sales figures come from | The downloadable report, on purpose: “ScribeCount uses the spreadsheet rather than the real-time dashboard because it includes only fully processed sales and is more accurate.” | The KDP royalty export you point the app at, plus Amazon's Advertising API for spend. |
| Kindle Unlimited value | An estimate until mid-month: “Your selected rate is used to calculate estimated KU income until the 15th of each month, at which point ScribeCount updates to the officially published rate from Amazon.” | Also an estimate, and labeled as one. You set the rate; past months recalculate when Amazon publishes the real one. |
| Where the data is processed | On its servers by design. Its FAQ says local processing “exceeds what individual computers can handle reliably,” and that it collects data “including when your computer is off.” | Royalty reports are parsed and stored on your computer and never uploaded to us. Advertising data passes through our servers, because that is the only way Amazon's API works. |
| How the connection behaves | Read-only, in its own words: “ScribeCount cannot and does not modify any data on the platforms it connects to.” | Read-only for royalties. On the ads side SelfPub Go writes back — bids, budgets and negative keywords — through Amazon's official Advertising API, and only after you approve the change. |
| What it costs | Income-based plans. We are not quoting a figure here — see the note below the table. | Nothing to buy. SelfPub Go is in closed early access and there is no checkout. |
Why there is no ScribeCount price on this page
Their plans are income-based, but we are not putting a number next to a competitor we cannot stand behind. As of August 2026 ScribeCount’s own homepage carries the notice: “ScribeCount is evolving from a simple reporting dashboard into a full Indie Author Operating System… This webpage is under construction.” Prices move during a rebuild. Read the current figure on their page, not on ours.
Which one should you use?
For wide-published authors the answer is ScribeCount, and saying so costs us nothing we were ever going to get.
Use ScribeCount if…
- You publish wide and a real share of your income arrives from storefronts other than Amazon — check their platform list for yours.
- You want one earnings number across everything, refreshed without you opening anything.
- Amazon Ads is a line item you review monthly, not a lever you pull every week.
- You would rather have breadth now than depth on one retailer.
Use SelfPub Go if…
- Most of your income comes from Amazon, in royalties and KENP page reads.
- You spend real money on Sponsored Products every month and adjust bids by hand.
- The question you cannot answer is profit per book, not earnings per month.
- You would rather your royalty files never left your own computer.
Use both if…
- Your catalog is wide but your advertising is Amazon-only — a common shape.
- ScribeCount gives you the everywhere-total; SelfPub Go gives you the Amazon P&L and the campaigns behind it.
- Neither one blocks the other: one reads your platforms, the other reads your exports and your ads account.
Questions we get asked about ScribeCount.
Does ScribeCount manage Amazon Ads campaigns?
Not as described on its own pages, checked on 21 August 2026. The Ad Tracking module matches ad spend against the royalties those campaigns generated — its words: “so you see profit, not just impressions” — and nothing on its feature, pricing or FAQ pages describes creating campaigns, changing bids, pausing campaigns or managing negative keywords. If they ship it, this page is wrong and we will fix it.
Can SelfPub Go replace ScribeCount?
Only if you are effectively an Amazon business. As of August 2026 ScribeCount's own platform list marks 28 publishing and advertising platforms as tracked, with 13 more listed as coming soon; SelfPub Go reads your KDP royalty reports and your Amazon Ads account, and nothing else. If a real share of your income arrives from storefronts other than Amazon, ScribeCount sees a picture SelfPub Go simply cannot draw — check its platform list for the ones you sell on.
Why does SelfPub Go run on my computer when ScribeCount runs on servers?
Because we are solving a narrower problem and can afford to. ScribeCount's FAQ makes the case for its own architecture — cross-platform calculation that “exceeds what individual computers can handle reliably,” and collection that continues “including when your computer is off.” Across dozens of platforms that is a fair argument. SelfPub Go reads one retailer, so we can afford to parse royalty reports locally and keep them there. Two defensible engineering choices, aimed at different jobs.
Is SelfPub Go's KENP number more accurate than ScribeCount's?
No, and anyone claiming otherwise is selling you something. Amazon publishes the KENP rate after the month closes, so until then every tool in this category is estimating — ScribeCount by the rate you select, updating to the official rate on the 15th; SelfPub Go by the rate you set, recalculating past months when Amazon announces the real one. The difference between us is not the KENP rate. It is that SelfPub Go subtracts your Amazon Ads spend from the result, per book.
Facts checked August 2026
Every statement about ScribeCount on this page comes from ScribeCount’s own website, quoted or closely paraphrased, and links to the page it came from. All of it was read on 21 August 2026. Where their pages say nothing about a feature, this page says that instead of concluding the feature is missing — and where their site is mid-rebuild, we send you there rather than repeat a number.
- ScribeCount — FAQ
- ScribeCount — Features
- ScribeCount — Supported platforms
- ScribeCount — Pricing
- ScribeCount — Homepage
ScribeCount is not affiliated with SelfPub Go. Product names and quotations belong to their owners and are used here for identification and comparison.
ScribeCount is a product of ScribeCount, LLC and is not affiliated with SelfPub Go. Product names and quotations belong to their owners and are used here for identification and comparison.