Smashwords Review

What Is Smashwords?

Smashwords is, in its own words, "a global online retailer of independently published ebooks", founded in 2008. The About page says it became a Draft2Digital company after a merger in March 2022, and that "As of January 2026, Smashwords completed its transformation from a combination publishing platform/distributor/bookstore to its current form, a dedicated ebook store only." The Erotica Content Guidelines page names Draft2Digital LLC of Edmond, Oklahoma as the operator, and the About page calls it "a Draft2Digital company".

Smashwords review: who it suits

Going by the About page and the guidelines, Smashwords suits a reader who wants to buy DRM-free ebooks one at a time, wants free titles, and wants erotica hidden until they ask for it. It is a weaker fit in three cases. If you want a subscription library, there is none. If you want an app, the store is on the web only. If you want a catalogue you can browse for erotica without registering, the default hides it.

What changed in 2026

Until January 2026 Smashwords did three jobs: a place to publish, a distributor to other stores and a shop. It now does only the third. The About page says "Former Smashwords authors and publishers now manage their publishing operations at Draft2Digital." The site update of March 10, 2026 records the shift and, as we read it, no change to the erotica policy. Our news item on the change sets out what it means for writers; for readers the store carries on.

What is in the library

The About page claims "over one million original DRM-free ebooks, including nearly 100,000 priced every day at free". Both numbers are the company's claims, not counts we made. Registration is optional and gets you account features such as the annual sale events, and the store describes search by subcategory, price and word count. Erotica is a filtered category: all genres are carried, and erotica is shown only to a registered user who asks to see it.

Audio and interactive stories are not confirmed on the pages we read, and no policy on AI-written books was found; the Terms address AI agents and bots using the site.

How the erotica filter works

The Erotica Content Guidelines (dated March 10, 2026) say that before erotica listings appear in home page merchandising or search results, a customer "must be a registered user of Smashwords" and must "affirmatively request to view it". The Filtering page lists three settings:

• Exclude erotica, which blocks erotica from the home page and from search results, and is the default;
• Include mainstream erotica, described as "carried by most major ebook stores" and excluding "taboo" erotica;
• Include all erotica, which allows all erotica, including books with "taboo" themes.

The Filtering page adds a limit worth knowing: the setting controls what appears on the home page, in search results and when browsing categories, and it "does not affect the ability to visit specific book pages, or when viewing the book listings displayed on author or publisher profile pages". So the filter shapes what the store shows you, not what a direct link can reach. We do not link to any category, search or title.

What the erotica guidelines say

The guidelines define erotica as words only: "erotic literature comprised of words-only", and add "Pornography has never been allowed at Smashwords." In summary:

• neither covers nor interiors may carry graphic images of nudity, photographed or illustrated, or of people in sex acts, and cover models must be adults;
• erotica publishers must categorise their books as erotica and give supplemental details through the Erotica Certification System, which Smashwords says it created in 2017 so customers can see which taboo themes a book contains;
• mislabelling can lead to title removal, reversed sales, forfeited earnings and account termination;
• there is a zero-tolerance policy for erotica involving characters under 18, in force since 2008;
• scat, snuff and necrophilia erotica are prohibited;
• incest and pseudo-incest erotica are allowed if the other requirements are met, and other taboo themes are carried but labelled;
• a short list of themes is "discouraged", meaning the store takes active measures to reduce them: titles are subject to extra review and may be removed without notice, including erotica whose characters read as under 18, and erotica whose predominant theme is rape for titillation. Bestiality is "allowed but not encouraged";
• titles and descriptions for erotic literature should be kept "PG-13".

These guidelines supplement Draft2Digital's own content guidelines, which we did not read here.

Free books and DRM-free downloads

Free ebooks are a real part of the store, and most other books are paid per title, so the cost depends on what you choose. Ebooks are DRM-free downloadable files; the About page says "DRM-free ebooks means you can enjoy your book your way on any e-reading device or app", which is why the service appears on our offline reading page. How the store handles free samples is not described on the pages we read. An account is needed to buy or download. For other free routes, see how to find free erotica.

Web store, no app

No Smashwords app appeared in an iTunes search or a Google Play search on October 27, 2026; the only result for "Smash Words" is an unrelated word game. The store works in a browser, and on small screens the Filtering link sits in the page footer.

For writers

New and former authors publish through Draft2Digital, whose Terms of Service (effective April 14, 2026) set the money. On Smashwords.com sales the writer receives 75% of list price for sales of $2.99 or more and 40% for sales under $2.99. A Draft2Digital account carries a one-time $20 activation fee, then $12 a year unless the account earned $100 or more in royalties over the prior twelve months. Draft2Digital's FAQ says it requires no exclusivity. Other channels use a different commission. For comparisons see erotica platform fees for writers and how erotica platforms pay writers.

Privacy, billing and age

The Terms, updated March 10, 2026, say you may not use the site "if you are ... under the age of 18". No document check is described: the age control is the Terms, the registered-user requirement for erotica and the filter itself. With no app there is no store rating to compare. We looked for a sentence stating that all characters are adults in the Terms, the Erotica Content Guidelines, the Filtering page and the About page, and did not find one for the whole catalogue. The guidelines do bar erotica involving characters under 18, which is a rule for erotica and not a statement about every title. That describes the pages we read. We did not record a billing descriptor, a refund rule or privacy practices. Our page on what erotica apps look like on a bank statement covers the general question.

Best Smashwords alternatives

Apple Books and Google Play Books are the other per-title stores, with app-based reading and less detailed erotica rules: Apple's is an undefined ban on "prohibited explicit or objectionable content", and Google's allows sexual content only with a stated value and a mature flag. Kindle+ and Everand are subscription libraries from $11.99 a month. Literotica is a free site with its own published rules.

The platforms section lists every service we cover, and how to publish erotica compares the routes for writers.

Final verdict