KDP Royalty Calculator: Print Cost, Paperback and Ebook Royalty
A KDP paperback royalty is the royalty rate times the list price, minus the print cost. On Amazon.com the rate is 50% at $9.98 and below and 60% at $9.99 and above; hardcovers are a flat 60%. A 200-page black-ink paperback costs $3.40 to print, so at $9.98 you earn $1.59 and at $9.99 you earn $2.59 - one cent of list price, $1.00 more royalty. Ebooks are simpler: 35% of the list price, or 70% of the list price minus a delivery fee, if the price sits between $2.99 and $12.99.
The KDP royalty formulas
For paperbacks and hardcovers, straight from KDP’s help pages:
print cost = fixed cost + (page count x per-page cost)
royalty = (royalty rate x list price) - print cost
For ebooks:
35% option: royalty = 0.35 x list price
70% option: royalty = 0.70 x (list price - delivery cost)
(VAT comes off the list price first in countries that charge it; Amazon.com prices are shown before sales tax, so the US figures below have none.)
KDP print cost: the rates
These are the Amazon.com rates in US dollars for regular trim sizes - up to 6.12 inches wide and 9 inches tall, which covers 5x8, 5.5x8.5 and 6x9:
| Format and ink | Pages | Fixed | Per page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paperback, black ink | 24-110 | $2.30 | none |
| Paperback, black ink | 110-828 | $1.00 | $0.012 |
| Paperback, standard color | 72-600 | $1.00 | $0.0255 |
| Paperback, premium color | 24-40 | $3.60 | none |
| Paperback, premium color | 42-828 | $1.00 | $0.065 |
| Hardcover, black ink | 75-108 | $6.80 | none |
| Hardcover, black ink | 110-550 | $5.65 | $0.012 |
| Hardcover, premium color | 75-550 | $5.65 | $0.065 |
Large trims (wider than 6.12 inches or taller than 9) cost more per page. The black-ink bands overlap at 110 pages on KDP’s own page, so check KDP’s previewer if your book lands exactly there.
These come from KDP’s Paperback Printing Cost, Hardcover Printing Cost, Paperback Royalty and Hardcover Pricing & Royalties pages, checked on October 13, 2026. KDP changes these from time to time - confirm there before you set a price.
Worked example: a 200-page paperback
An illustrative 200-page black-ink 6x9 paperback. Print cost is $1.00 + 200 x $0.012 = $3.40, whatever the list price. At $12.99 the royalty is 60% x $12.99 = $7.79, minus $3.40, which leaves $4.39. Across a range of prices:
| List price | Royalty rate | Print cost | Your royalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| $7.99 | 50% | $3.40 | $0.60 |
| $9.98 | 50% | $3.40 | $1.59 |
| $9.99 | 60% | $3.40 | $2.59 |
| $12.99 | 60% | $3.40 | $4.39 |
| $14.99 | 60% | $3.40 | $5.59 |
The step at $9.99 is the thing to see. Below it the rate drops to 50%, so a $9.98 book earns $1.59 and a $9.99 book earns $2.59 - 63% more for one cent. There is no list price between $9.98 and $9.99 worth choosing over $9.99.
The minimum list price: why KDP refuses some prices
KDP will not let a paperback or hardcover earn a negative royalty, so it sets a minimum list price from the print cost and the royalty rate. Solve the formula for a royalty of zero:
minimum list price = print cost / royalty rate
For a hardcover that is print cost / 0.60. For a paperback it depends on which side of $9.99 the answer lands, because the rate changes there. The 200-page paperback above has a $3.40 print cost, so its minimum is $3.40 / 0.50 = $6.80.
The step makes page count behave oddly. Black-ink paperbacks, same trim:
| Pages | Print cost | Minimum list price | Royalty at the minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | $2.30 | $4.60 | $0.00 |
| 200 | $3.40 | $6.80 | $0.00 |
| 300 | $4.60 | $9.20 | $0.00 |
| 400 | $5.80 | $9.99 | $0.19 |
| 500 | $7.00 | $11.67 | $0.00 |
At 400 pages the print cost is $5.80. At the 50% rate the minimum would be $11.60 - above $9.99, where the rate is 60% instead. At 60% the minimum works out below $9.99, where the rate is 50% again. Neither works, so the minimum is $9.99 itself, where the book earns $0.19. Any print cost above $4.99 and up to $5.99 lands on this step. Going from 300 to 400 pages lifts the minimum from $9.20 to $9.99.
Ink matters more than format
The same 200 pages in every format KDP prints, priced at an illustrative $19.99:
| Format and ink | Print cost | Minimum list price | Royalty at $19.99 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paperback, black ink | $3.40 | $6.80 | $8.59 |
| Paperback, standard color | $6.10 | $10.17 | $5.89 |
| Paperback, premium color | $14.00 | $23.34 | refused - below minimum |
| Hardcover, black ink | $8.05 | $13.42 | $3.94 |
| Hardcover, premium color | $18.65 | $31.09 | refused - below minimum |
A premium-color paperback ($14.00 to print) costs more than a black-ink hardcover ($8.05). The hardcover’s fixed $5.65 is paid once per copy; premium color’s $0.065 a page grows with every page. That is the insight the products below are built on: color page count, not length and not binding, is what pushes a book past the price a buyer will pay.
A 150-page premium-color hardcover costs $5.65 + 150 x $0.065 = $15.40 to print, so Amazon will refuse any list price under $25.67 - at $25.66 the royalty would be negative by a fraction of a cent. Another 50 color pages add $3.25 to every copy, which at 60% needs $5.42 of extra list price just to stand still. The same 50 pages in black ink cost $0.60.
KDP royalty calculator for ebooks: 35% or 70%
For the 70% option on Amazon.com, KDP’s eBook List Price Requirements set the band at $2.99 to $12.99 (widened from $9.99 on July 7, 2026), and the Digital Book Pricing Page sets delivery at $0.15 per megabyte. The 35% option runs from $0.99 up to $200, with the minimum rising to $1.99 for files of 3 MB and $2.99 for files of 10 MB or more. The 70% rate also applies only to sales in eligible territories, and the ebook must be listed at least 20% below your print edition.
An illustrative 2 MB ebook, so delivery is $0.30 a sale:
| List price | 35% option | 70% option | Better option |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.99 | $0.35 | not available | 35% |
| $2.99 | $1.05 | $1.88 | 70% |
| $4.99 | $1.75 | $3.28 | 70% |
| $9.99 | $3.50 | $6.78 | 70% |
| $12.99 | $4.55 | $8.88 | 70% |
| $13.99 | $4.90 | not available | 35% |
| $19.99 | $7.00 | not available | 35% |
Two things the table shows:
- The ceiling is a cliff. At $12.99 you earn $8.88. One dollar more, at $13.99, the 70% option is gone and you earn $4.90 - $3.98 less per sale. To match $8.88 at 35% you would need to list at $25.38.
- Big files can earn more at 35%. Delivery is charged by size. A 20 MB picture-heavy ebook at $4.99 pays $3.00 in delivery, so 70% leaves $1.39 while 35% leaves $1.75. At $4.99 the two options pay the same at 16.6 MB; above that, 35% wins.
How these were calculated
Print costs and royalty rates are the Amazon.com, US-dollar, regular-trim figures from KDP’s help pages linked above, checked on October 13, 2026. Royalties are rounded to the cent; minimum list prices are rounded up to the next cent so the royalty is not negative. Expanded distribution (a 40% rate to other retailers) and other Amazon marketplaces, which have their own rates and currencies, are left out. Every print figure was computed twice - once by the code behind the products below, which carries the same published constants, and once by an independent implementation - and the minimum prices a third time by stepping up a cent at a time; all agree to the cent. Page counts and prices are illustrative. This is not financial, legal or tax advice.
If you want this run on your own page count, format, ink and prices - with the minimum price and royalty laid out side by side - the kit and calculator pack below do this arithmetic.