Understanding how KDP royalties are calculated is not complicated, but there are enough variables — price tiers, delivery fees, printing costs, territory differences, Kindle Unlimited page reads — that getting a clear picture of what you actually earn per sale requires working through each one. This article does exactly that.
For context on how royalties fit into the broader publishing decision, see our complete beginner’s guide to self-publishing on Amazon KDP.
The Two eBook Royalty Tiers
KDP offers two royalty rates for Kindle eBooks: 35% and 70%. Which rate applies to your book depends entirely on your list price.
The 70% tier applies when your eBook is priced between $2.99 and $9.99 (or the local currency equivalent) in the Amazon marketplaces where Amazon offers 70% — which includes the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and several other major markets. This tier also requires that your book is not available cheaper anywhere else on the internet.
The 35% tier applies when your eBook is priced below $2.99 or above $9.99, or when you are selling in certain territories where only 35% is available. There is no delivery fee at the 35% tier.
The practical implication is clear: pricing below $2.99 cuts your royalty rate in half while also reducing your absolute revenue. Pricing above $9.99 similarly triggers the lower rate. For most authors, the $2.99–$9.99 window is the economically rational range.
The Delivery Fee at the 70% Tier
At the 70% tier, Amazon deducts a delivery fee before calculating your royalty. The fee is approximately $0.15 per megabyte of your file size. For a standard text-only novel — typically 1–3 MB — this is negligible: a 2 MB file costs $0.30 in delivery fees per sale.
For illustrated books, children’s books with large image files, or any file that runs 10 MB or above, the delivery fee becomes meaningful. A 15 MB file costs $2.25 per sale in delivery fees at the 70% tier. At a $6.99 list price, that leaves $4.93 multiplied by 70% = $3.45 before the delivery fee, and only $1.20 after. In that scenario, the 35% tier (no delivery fee) produces $6.99 × 35% = $2.45 — significantly more.
Always check your file size and run the numbers through KDP’s royalty calculator before setting your price.
Pricing Strategy by Tier
For fiction, the most common and most economically rational price points are $2.99, $3.99, $4.99, and $6.99 — all within the 70% tier. Series book one is often priced at $0.99 or free as a permanent or temporary lead magnet to drive series read-through; this is typically a deliberate marketing decision rather than a permanent pricing strategy.
For non-fiction, prices of $4.99, $6.99, and $9.99 are common. Non-fiction tends to tolerate higher prices than fiction because readers are paying for specific knowledge or transformation rather than entertainment. For a full strategy guide, read our article on how to price your book for maximum royalties.
Paperback Royalties: How the Calculation Works
Paperback royalties work differently from eBook royalties. You receive 60% of your list price, minus Amazon’s printing cost. The printing cost varies based on page count, trim size, and whether the interior is black-and-white or colour.
Here are some indicative UK printing costs for black-and-white interiors as a reference point:
- 100 pages: approximately £1.50
- 200 pages: approximately £2.50
- 300 pages: approximately £3.40
- 400 pages: approximately £4.30
So for a 300-page paperback priced at £12.99: your royalty is (£12.99 × 60%) − £3.40 = £7.79 − £3.40 = £4.39 per sale. Priced at £9.99: (£9.99 × 60%) − £3.40 = £5.99 − £3.40 = £2.59 per sale.
KDP’s royalty calculator in the pricing section of your book setup shows exact figures for your specific page count and trim size. Use it before you finalise your price. Note that KDP sets a minimum price below which you cannot publish — that floor is the price at which your royalty would fall to zero.
Hardcover Royalties
Hardcover royalties follow the same structure as paperback: 60% of list price minus printing cost. Hardcover printing costs are higher than paperback, which means you generally need to price higher to achieve the same per-sale royalty. Hardcovers are best suited to books where readers will pay a premium — gift books, illustrated titles, or prestige non-fiction.
Kindle Unlimited Page Reads
If your book is enrolled in KDP Select, Kindle Unlimited subscribers can read it as part of their subscription. You don’t receive a per-sale royalty for KU reads — instead, you receive a per-page-read payment drawn from the monthly KDP Select Global Fund.
The per-page rate fluctuates monthly based on total pages read across all enrolled books and the total fund amount. Historically it has sat around $0.004–$0.005 per page, meaning a 300-page novel read in full generates approximately $1.20–$1.50. Whether this is better or worse than a direct sale depends on your price point and your genre’s KU readership. For a full analysis, read our guide to Kindle Unlimited vs direct sales.
Territory Differences
The 70% royalty tier is available in most major English-language markets: the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and several others. In some smaller or emerging Amazon markets — Brazil, Mexico, India — only the 35% rate applies regardless of price.
You can set separate prices for each territory in your KDP dashboard. Many authors allow KDP to automatically set local prices based on their primary market price, but reviewing territory pricing manually is worthwhile for markets where your book has significant readership.
When and How You Get Paid
KDP pays royalties monthly, approximately 60 days after the end of the month in which the sales occurred. Sales from January appear in your March payment. This lag can be jarring for new authors expecting rapid payment — it is simply how the system works.
Payment methods include direct bank transfer (minimum threshold £10 in the UK, $10 in the US) and cheque ($100 minimum). Electronic transfer is strongly recommended — it is faster, has a lower threshold, and avoids the currency conversion costs that can affect cheques for non-US authors. For non-US authors, read our guide to KDP for non-US authors for full guidance on currency, withholding tax treaties, and payment setup.
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