Getting your formatting wrong on KDP costs you more than a rejection — it costs you readers. A poorly formatted ebook breaks on devices. A paperback with wrong margins comes back with a cover wrap error. This KDP book formatting guide covers everything you need to submit correctly in 2026: file types, trim sizes, margins, bleed, cover specs, and royalty implications of your choices. No padding, just the specs.
KDP Format Types: Three Paths to Publication
KDP accepts three main format types, and picking the right one upfront saves you a lot of rework. Reflowable ePub is the standard choice for most ebooks — text adjusts to the reader's font size and screen. Fixed-layout is for image-heavy content like children's picture books or illustrated guides where precise positioning matters. Print-ready PDF is what you submit for paperback and hardcover — every page is locked in place.
One important change in 2026: as of March 2025, KDP no longer accepts MOBI files for fixed-layout ebooks. If your workflow still outputs MOBI, update it now. For reflowable ebooks, EPUB is the cleanest format to submit, but KDP also accepts DOCX, KPF (Kindle Create's native format), HTML (as a ZIP), RTF, TXT, and Adobe PDF (PDF is limited to a specific set of languages including English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Catalan, Galician, and Basque). The maximum manuscript file size for any upload is 650MB. For context on how your format choices affect discoverability, explore our KDP niche pages.
Ebook Formatting Requirements
Reflowable ebooks are forgiving about page layout but strict about structure. Your table of contents must be functional and linked. Chapter headings should use proper heading styles, not just bold text — KDP's conversion engine reads those styles to build navigation. Avoid fixed-width tables, absolute positioning, and anything that assumes a specific screen size.
For cover images, KDP's specs are precise: 2,560 pixels tall by 1,600 pixels wide, minimum 300 DPI, maximum 5MB, JPEG preferred, and the color profile must be RGB — CMYK is not supported by Kindle. SVG files are not supported for the Kindle app on iPad. If your cover has a light background, KDP recommends adding a narrow 3–4 pixel border in medium gray so it doesn't disappear on white screens. Keep the cover centered both vertically and horizontally. Covers with fewer than 500 pixels on the shortest side won't display on the Amazon website.
A few things KDP explicitly prohibits on ebook covers: pricing or promotional text, duplicate covers, and separate HTML cover pages embedded in the manuscript (these cause duplication errors in the final product).
Paperback Formatting Requirements
Print formatting is less forgiving than ebook because every dimension is physical. Start with trim size. The most common options are 5x8 inches (standard for novels and memoirs), 5.5x8.5 inches, 6x9 inches (the trade paperback standard), and 8.5x11 inches for workbooks and children's books. Choose based on your genre — readers have expectations, and an oddly sized novel stands out for the wrong reasons.
Margins depend on your page count. KDP's gutter (inside) margin requirements are: 24–150 pages = 0.375 inch; 151–300 pages = 0.5 inch; 301–500 pages = 0.625 inch; 501–700 pages = 0.75 inch; 701–828 pages = 0.875 inch. Outside margins are 0.25 inch without bleed, or 0.375 inch with bleed. These are minimums — you can go larger for readability.
For bleed, images that extend to the page edge must go 0.125 inch (3.2 mm) beyond the final trim size. Your PDF should be formatted 0.25 inch taller and 0.125 inch wider than the trim size to accommodate this. Interior images must be at least 300 DPI (600 DPI recommended). Minimum font size is 7 points. Minimum line weight is 0.75 point or 0.01 inch. Gray backgrounds need at least 10% grayscale fill to print visibly.
Page count limits: minimum 24 pages, maximum up to 828 pages depending on trim size, ink type, and paper. Spine text only prints on books exceeding 79 pages. Spine width for black-and-white on cream paper follows a formula: page count multiplied by 0.0025 inches. Paperback manuscripts are accepted as PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML, or TXT — non-PDF formats are auto-converted, but all fonts and images must be embedded before submission. Check our KDP how-to guides for workflow walkthroughs.
Cover Design Specifications
Ebook and paperback covers have different requirements, so don't assume one file works for both. For paperback covers, KDP accepts PDF, JPG, PNG, and GIF. The bleed requirement is 0.125 inch on all sides. Safe content (anything you don't want trimmed) must sit at least 0.25 inch from the outside edge. Spine text needs at least 0.0625 inch of clearance from the spine edge on each side.
For ebook covers, the specs listed above apply: 2,560 x 1,600 px, RGB, JPEG preferred, max 5MB. The most common mistake here is submitting a CMYK file exported from print design software — it will look washed out on Kindle screens. Always export in RGB and check your colors on a screen, not a printed proof.
Formatting Software Worth Using
Your choice of tool shapes how much time you spend fighting the format. Kindle Create is KDP's free tool — straightforward for simple novels, limited for complex layouts. Atticus handles both ebook and print from one file and has become popular for authors doing everything themselves. Vellum produces clean output but is Mac-only and costs more upfront. Reedsy Book Editor is browser-based and free, good for straightforward manuscripts. Scrivener compiles to multiple formats but requires you to understand its export settings. Microsoft Word works and is widely documented, though it requires careful style setup to avoid conversion artifacts. Adobe InDesign is the professional standard for complex layouts and fixed-layout books — steeper learning curve but precise control.
For most fiction authors, Atticus or Vellum covers every need. For non-fiction with heavy layout requirements, InDesign is worth learning. Avoid formatting in tools that don't embed fonts — KDP will reject the file.
Ebook Royalty Rates and Pricing
KDP offers two ebook royalty tiers. The 35% tier applies to all price points with no delivery fee. The 70% tier requires pricing between $2.99 and $9.99 (USD) and comes with a delivery fee of $0.15 per MB — averaging $0.06 per unit for a typical ebook. Sales outside 70% territories earn 35% regardless of your tier selection. Public domain works are restricted to the 35% option unless you've added substantial original content or a translation.
For Brazil, Japan, Mexico, and India, you must also be enrolled in KDP Select to earn 70%. The $2.99–$9.99 band applies in other major currencies too (equivalent bands exist for JPY, INR, and others). Price your ebook strategically — at $2.99 you qualify for 70% and still keep about $2.00 per sale after delivery fees. Use our KDP Royalty Calculator to model different price points before you publish.
Paperback Royalty Rates and Printing Costs
Paperback royalties use a straightforward formula: (Royalty Rate × List Price) − Printing Cost = Your Royalty. The standard royalty rate is 60% (or 50% depending on list price) for standard distribution and 40% for Expanded Distribution. Expanded Distribution is not available for hardcover.
Printing costs on Amazon.com: for black ink with 110+ pages, it's $1.00 fixed plus $0.012 per page. For short books (24–110 pages, black ink), it's $2.30 fixed with no per-page charge. Standard color is $1.00 plus $0.0255 per page. Premium color is $1.00 plus $0.065 per page. A 300-page black-and-white paperback costs $1.00 + (300 × $0.012) = $4.60 to print. Royalties are paid approximately 60 days after the end of the month for standard sales, and 90 days for Expanded Distribution.
To see how your trim size and page count affect real-world royalties at different price points, run the numbers in our KDP Royalty Calculator.
KDP Select: What You Give Up and What You Get
KDP Select enrolls your ebook exclusively in the Kindle Store for 90-day periods that auto-renew unless you opt out before the renewal date. During that window, you cannot sell the ebook anywhere else — no other retailers, no your own website. You can still make up to 10% of the book available as a sample outside the Kindle Store.
In exchange, your book is available through Kindle Unlimited, which readers pay $9.99 per month to access. A borrow counts once the reader passes 10% of the book. You earn KENP (Kindle Edition Normalized Pages) royalties at approximately $0.0044 per page read. For longer books in active genres, this can add up — for shorter books, direct sales at 70% often pay better.
Select also unlocks two promotional tools per 90-day period: Kindle Countdown Deals (discounted pricing for up to one week while maintaining the 70% royalty even below $2.99) and Kindle Free Promotions (up to five free days). Both can be effective for driving reviews and rank — but only if you have a launch strategy behind them. The BSR Sales Calculator can help you estimate the sales volume you'd need from a free run to move your rank meaningfully.
Publishing Workflow and Title Limits
One practical constraint most guides skip: KDP limits you to 10 new title submissions per format per week. If you're publishing a series or running a high-volume operation, plan your upload schedule around this. Exceptions can be granted, but you'd need to contact KDP support and explain your situation.
Before submitting, run through this checklist: fonts embedded, images at 300 DPI or higher, margins set correctly for your page count, bleed added if needed, cover in RGB, manuscript under 650MB. Preview your file in KDP's online previewer before approving — it shows you exactly how the book will look on different Kindle devices and in print. Fix issues at the preview stage, not after publication.
If you're researching what's already selling in your niche before you format and publish, the Pubscout Chrome Extension shows live BSR, estimated monthly sales, and niche data directly on any Amazon book page — useful for sanity-checking your category before you commit to a format and price strategy.