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Why a $0.99 Kindle book earns $0.35 and $2.99 can earn $2.03
A Kindle ebook priced at $0.99 in the US earns about $0.35 per sale because it sits in Amazon’s 35% royalty band. Raise that same book to $2.99 and it can enter the 70% band, where a small delivery fee still leaves roughly $2.03 on a 0.4 MB file.
That jump is driven by a price threshold. Before setting a launch price, calculate the royalty for the marketplace where you expect most sales and check the final EPUB file size.
1. Start with the Amazon store that matters most
Royalty rates, permitted prices, and delivery charges vary by marketplace. The figures below use the US Kindle Store, where the $0.99 and $2.99 examples are commonly quoted. Open KDP’s Digital Pricing page for the current rules in each territory before relying on a calculation.
Use the customer-facing list price before building an earnings forecast. Where tax is included in a displayed price, KDP calculates royalties from the amount specified in its pricing rules, so review the marketplace-specific estimate in your dashboard.
| US ebook list price | Royalty rate | Delivery fee | Pricing decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.99 to $2.98 | 35% | No 70% delivery charge | Low entry price, lower share |
| $2.99 to $9.99 | 70% | $0.15 per MB | Main range for a compact ebook |
| $10.00 and above | 35% | No 70% delivery charge | Check the reduced share first |
The 70% range has additional eligibility conditions. Treat the table as a US planning check, then confirm the rate KDP displays for your book.
2. Put your candidate price into the correct royalty formula
At 35%, the calculation is simple: list price × 0.35. A $0.99 ebook therefore earns $0.3465, displayed as $0.35 after rounding.
At 70%, calculate list price × 0.70, then subtract the delivery fee. For a $2.99 ebook: $2.99 × 0.70 = $2.093. If the delivered file is 0.4 MB, the US delivery fee is $0.06. The result is $2.033, or about $2.03.
Run several versions of your assumptions with the Kindle royalty calculator before you commit to a list price. Use the file size shown by your final export rather than an early manuscript file.
3. Compare the threshold with your actual file size
The difference between $0.99 and $2.99 is much larger than the extra $2.00 on the price tag. Crossing into the 70% band changes the percentage used in the calculation. Delivery costs then matter most for image-heavy ebooks.
| US list price | File size | Calculation | Estimated royalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.99 | Any size in the 35% band | $0.99 × 35% | $0.35 |
| $2.99 | 0.4 MB | ($2.99 × 70%) − $0.06 | $2.03 |
| $2.99 | 3 MB | ($2.99 × 70%) − $0.45 | $1.64 |
| $9.99 | 5 MB | ($9.99 × 70%) − $0.75 | $6.24 |
A 3 MB ebook can still qualify for 70%, yet its delivery deduction is $0.45 in this US example. This is why the final file, rather than the word count alone, belongs in your price calculation.
4. Reduce delivery costs before you upload
For US 70% sales, KDP charges $0.15 per megabyte of delivered file size. Image files, scanned pages, decorative backgrounds, and uncompressed illustrations can push that number up quickly. A novel with a clean reflowable interior is often far smaller than a fixed-layout visual book.
Choose a layout suited to the reading experience first, then compress images and remove unused assets. The guide Which ebook format to write helps you decide when a reflowable ebook makes sense.
For a text-led manuscript, create-ebook can generate an EPUB alongside PDF and DOCX files. Download the EPUB, inspect its size, and use that finished export in your royalty estimate.
Do not degrade a cookbook or art book simply to save a few cents in delivery charges. Calculate the fee against the value that full-size images provide to the reader.
5. Check that your book qualifies for the 70% option
A price inside the apparent range does not guarantee the 70% rate in every case. The selected marketplace, the book’s eligibility status, and KDP’s current pricing requirements all affect the options shown on the Pricing page.
Public-domain titles have separate rules. Price changes and Amazon price matching can also alter the effective price used for a sale, so review the royalty estimate after saving your pricing settings.
Use KDP’s previewed royalty as the final operational check. If it differs from your spreadsheet, investigate the territory, list price, and file size before publishing.
6. Keep Kindle Unlimited income separate from sale royalties
A Kindle ebook sold at its list price earns a sale royalty under the 35% or 70% structure. Pages read through Kindle Unlimited use a different calculation based on Kindle Edition Normalized Pages Read and the monthly KDP Select fund.
Read What KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited mean before enrolling. The per-page amount changes, so use KDP reports and the current fund announcement for planning rather than treating it as a fixed rate.
Enrollment also requires digital exclusivity for the ebook during the Select term. Factor that distribution choice into your plan separately from the retail price.
7. Set the price, then verify the live setup
Start with one price that fits the book’s length, reader expectations, and the royalty band you intend to use. For a short text ebook in the US, $2.99 is worth calculating carefully because it is the entry point to the 70% band.
After uploading, check the KDP Pricing page for each marketplace you selected. Confirm the displayed list price, estimated royalty, and uploaded file size. Keep a dated note of those figures, especially if you later replace the EPUB with an edition containing more images.
Give store changes time to update, then inspect the live product page and your first royalty report. The report is the record of what was actually paid for each transaction.
Before you click publish
The useful question is not simply “What percentage does KDP pay?” It is “Which royalty band applies to this sale, and what will this exact file cost to deliver?” Calculate those two points for your main store and your price will be based on the numbers that matter.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a $0.99 Kindle ebook pay only $0.35?
In the US Kindle Store, $0.99 falls in the 35% royalty band. Multiplying $0.99 by 35% gives $0.3465, which is shown as about $0.35 after rounding.
Why can a $2.99 ebook earn $2.03 instead of $2.09?
A US ebook at $2.99 may qualify for 70%, which produces $2.093 before delivery costs. A 0.4 MB delivered file incurs a $0.06 delivery fee, leaving about $2.03.
How much is Amazon KDP’s delivery fee per megabyte?
For eligible 70% ebook sales in the US, the delivery fee is $0.15 per MB. Rates and conditions vary by marketplace, so confirm the current figure on KDP’s Digital Pricing page.
Does a larger ebook lose the 70% royalty rate?
A larger file does not automatically lose the 70% rate when it meets the relevant eligibility rules. Its delivery deduction rises with file size, which reduces the amount you receive from each eligible sale.
Does Kindle Unlimited use the 35% or 70% royalty rate?
No. Kindle Unlimited earnings are based on normalized pages read and the KDP Select fund, rather than the ebook’s retail sale royalty. The effective per-page amount can change from month to month.