How KDP Royalties Work

Royalties in one sentence

A KDP royalty is the share of each sale that Amazon pays you. For eBooks it is a percentage of the list price (minus delivery costs on the 70% option). For paperbacks and hardcovers it is a percentage of the list price minus the cost of printing that copy. Everything else in this guide is detail on how those percentages and costs are set.

eBook royalties: the 35% and 70% options

When you publish a Kindle eBook you choose between two royalty options. The 35% option pays 35% of the list price with no delivery charge. The 70% option pays 70% of the list price after a delivery cost is subtracted, and it only applies when your list price sits inside a set band for each marketplace.

35% royalty = 0.35 x list price (excluding VAT)

70% royalty = 0.70 x (list price excluding VAT - delivery cost)

If you choose 70% but price outside the band, you receive 35% instead. KDP also applies other conditions to the 70% option, such as which sales territories qualify, so check the KDP Help Center for the full list.

Delivery costs and VAT

On the 70% option, Amazon charges a delivery cost for every copy sold, based on the size of your converted eBook file. Our calculators use US$0.15 per MB for Amazon.com as a configurable assumption based on historically published KDP rates. KDP states that the average delivery cost is about US$0.06 per unit, because most text-only eBooks are small.

Example: a US$4.99 eBook with a 2 MB file

• 70% option: delivery cost is 2 x 0.15 = US$0.30, so royalty = 0.70 x (4.99 - 0.30) = US$3.28 per sale.
• 35% option: royalty = 0.35 x 4.99 = US$1.75 per sale.
• At US$14.99 the book is above the 70% band, so it earns 35%: 0.35 x 14.99 = US$5.25.

In many marketplaces outside the US, the list price you set includes VAT, and royalties are calculated on the price after VAT is removed. For example, a GBP 3.99 eBook on Amazon.co.uk with 20% VAT has a price of about GBP 3.33 before VAT. With a 2 MB file (GBP 0.10 per MB, so GBP 0.20 delivery), the 70% royalty is about GBP 2.19.

Image-heavy eBooks can carry large delivery costs. If your file is big enough that 70% pays less than 35%, compress your images or reconsider the option.

Print royalties: the 50% and 60% tiers

Paperback and hardcover royalties use a tiered rate. If your list price is above a marketplace threshold, you earn 60% of the list price minus the printing cost. If the list price is at or below the threshold, the rate drops to 50%.

Print royalty = royalty rate x list price - printing cost

The threshold creates a sharp step. Take a paperback with a US$4.60 printing cost. At US$9.98 it earns 50%: 0.50 x 9.98 - 4.60 = US$0.39. At US$9.99 it earns 60%: 0.60 x 9.99 - 4.60 = US$1.39. One cent on the price changes the royalty by a dollar. Our guide on how to price a KDP book covers this in more depth.

Expanded distribution

If you enrol a paperback in expanded distribution, copies sold through bookstores and other retailers outside Amazon earn 40% of the list price minus printing cost. At US$14.99 with a US$4.60 printing cost, that is 0.40 x 14.99 - 4.60 = US$1.40, compared with US$4.39 for the same sale on Amazon. Because your royalty cannot fall below zero, expanded distribution also needs a higher minimum price (US$11.50 in this example).

How printing costs are calculated

Printing cost depends on page count, ink type, trim size and marketplace. For black ink paperbacks on Amazon.com, books from 24 to 108 pages pay a flat fee, and longer books pay a fixed fee plus a per-page charge:

Printing cost = fixed cost + (page count x per-page cost)

A 300-page, 6" x 9" black ink paperback costs 1.00 + (300 x 0.012) = US$4.60 to print. The minimum list price is the price at which your royalty reaches zero: 4.60 / 0.50 = US$9.20. At US$14.99 the book earns 60%, so the royalty is 0.60 x 14.99 - 4.60 = US$4.39 per sale. Large trim sizes cost more to print; see KDP trim sizes explained.

Kindle Unlimited and other income

If your eBook is enrolled in KDP Select, Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Owners' Lending Library readers can borrow it. Those reads are not paid using the 35% or 70% rates. Instead, Amazon pays from a separate monthly fund that is shared across all enrolled authors based on pages read. The amount per page changes each month, so we do not include it in our royalty calculators.

Remember too that a royalty is not profit. Editing, cover design and advertising all come out of your royalty. The KDP Profit Calculator and our guide on how to calculate KDP ad profit help you see the full picture.