Steps
Determine your eBook royalty tier
KDP eBooks pay either 70% or 35% royalty. You earn 70% if your book is priced between $2.99 and $9.99 (USD) and is enrolled in KDP Select or not enrolled but priced within Amazon's pricing guidelines. Books priced below $2.99 or above $9.99 earn 35% royalty.
Calculate eBook royalty
For the 70% tier: Your royalty = 70% × list price − delivery cost. Delivery cost is $0.15/MB of your eBook file size. A 300KB eBook (typical for a novel) costs $0.045 to deliver. At $4.99: 70% × $4.99 − $0.045 = $3.448 per sale.
For the 35% tier: Your royalty = 35% × list price. No delivery cost deduction. At $0.99: 35% × $0.99 = $0.347 per sale.
Find your paperback printing cost
Go to your KDP dashboard > Pricing > Print Book Pricing. KDP shows your printing cost based on page count, trim size, and paper type. Alternatively, use the KDP printing cost formula: fixed cost + per-page cost × page count.
Example: Black-and-white, 300 pages, 6"×9" = approximately $3.90 in US printing cost.
Calculate paperback royalty
Paperback royalty = 60% × list price − printing cost.
Example: 300-page paperback priced at $12.99: 60% × $12.99 − $3.90 = $7.794 − $3.90 = $3.894 per sale.
Note: Minimum list price is set by KDP to ensure your royalty is not negative (printing cost must not exceed 60% of list price).
Check royalties in different storefronts
Royalty rates vary by marketplace. The 70% tier applies only in select marketplaces (US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Australia, India). Other marketplaces pay 35%. Your KDP pricing page shows projected royalties for each marketplace where your book is listed.
Tips
- Use the Pubscout KDP Royalty Calculator at /pages/tools/kdp-royalty-calculator for instant royalty calculations without manual maths.
- Expanded Distribution (distributing your paperback to bookshops and libraries via KDP) pays 40% royalty instead of 60%, reducing your per-copy earnings significantly. The trade-off is broader availability.
- At $4.99, a typical eBook earns approximately $3.43. At $9.99, it earns approximately $6.92. The 70% tier scales well — each extra dollar in price is worth approximately $0.69 in additional royalty.
FAQ
When does KDP pay royalties?
KDP pays 60 days after the end of the month in which sales occurred. Sales from January arrive in late March. Payment is by direct deposit, wire transfer, or cheque depending on your location and payment settings.
Is the KDP 70% royalty rate actually 70%?
Yes — with the delivery cost deducted. For a typical-sized eBook (under 1MB), the delivery cost is minimal ($0.06–$0.15) and your effective royalty is very close to 70% of the list price.