Free tools
Ebook cost calculator
“Self-publishing is free” is true only if your time is free. This calculator adds the usual cash costs (editing, cover, formatting) to the hours you spend writing, and tells you how many copies pay it back at a typical Kindle price.
What a self-published ebook usually costs
Typical freelance rates in 2026: proofreading around $0.012 per word, copy editing around $0.025 per word, a premade cover $50 to $100, a custom cover $250 to $500, and formatting $80 to $150 for a reflowable ebook. On a 15,000-word guide that is roughly $400 to $900 before you count a single hour of writing.
Writing time is the biggest line and the one people forget. A first-time author produces 300 to 500 finished words per hour once research and rewriting are counted, so 15,000 words is 30 to 50 hours.
Where the money is well spent
Editing and the cover. Readers forgive a plain interior; they do not forgive typos in the sample or a cover that looks amateur on a store page thumbnail. Formatting is the easiest cost to remove: a clean Word file or a generated EPUB is enough for KDP.
Break-even
At $4.99 with the 70% royalty you keep about $3.31 per copy. A $700 production cost therefore needs 212 sales to break even. That is a realistic year for a niche non-fiction title with some promotion, and out of reach for most books with none. Keep the cost down on the first book and spend on marketing the second.
How create-ebook changes the numbers
create-ebook writes the draft from your approved plan, designs the cover and produces PDF, EPUB and DOCX for 29 € per book. Your hours go to reading, correcting and adding what only you know, typically 3 to 6 hours for a 15,000-word guide instead of 40. Editing stays your job or your editor’s.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an ISBN for a Kindle ebook?
No. Amazon assigns an ASIN for free. An ISBN is optional and costs money in some countries (about $125 for one in the US through Bowker, free in Canada and France).
Is a $75 premade cover good enough?
For most non-fiction and genre fiction, yes, if it matches the conventions of your category. Custom covers matter more for series and for crowded categories like romance.
Can I skip editing?
You can, and reviews will tell you. At minimum, run a proofreading pass, or trade edits with another author.
How long does it take to earn back the cost?
Divide the total cost by your royalty per copy and by your realistic monthly sales. Most first titles sell 5 to 30 copies a month without advertising.
Are the numbers different in the UK or Canada?
Rates are similar in USD terms. KDP royalty bands differ per marketplace; the logic is the same.