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Kindle royalty calculator
Amazon does not pay you the list price of your ebook. It pays a royalty, and the royalty depends on the price band you choose and the size of your file. This calculator applies KDP’s published rules so you can see your real income per copy before you set a price.
How KDP ebook royalties work
KDP offers two royalty options for ebooks. The 70% option is available when your list price sits between $2.99 and $9.99 on Amazon.com (each marketplace has its own band), and Amazon deducts a delivery cost of $0.15 per megabyte from every sale. The 35% option accepts prices from $0.99 to $200, deducts no delivery cost, and is the only option outside the 70% band.
Two consequences follow. A $12.99 book earns $4.55 per copy at 35%, less than the $6.84 a $9.99 book earns at 70%. And a heavy file hurts: a 10 MB illustrated ebook loses $1.50 per copy to delivery at 70%, so image-heavy books sometimes earn more at 35%.
A worked example
A 12,000-word how-to guide, 1.2 MB, priced at $4.99 with the 70% option: $4.99 × 0.70 = $3.49, minus $0.18 delivery, leaves $3.31 per copy. At 30 copies a month that is $99 a month and about $1,190 a year from one title. The same book at $2.99 keeps $1.91 per copy; you would need 52 sales a month to match.
When to choose each option
- 70% for almost every text-only ebook priced $2.99 to $9.99. It is the default for a reason.
- 35% when you want a $0.99 launch price to collect reviews, when the book is over $9.99, or when the file is very large (photo books, workbooks with scanned pages).
- Enrolling in KDP Select adds Kindle Unlimited page reads on top of sales, in exchange for ebook exclusivity on Amazon for 90 days.
What this calculator does not include
Kindle Unlimited page reads (paid per KENP page, roughly $0.004 to $0.005 per page and changing every month), taxes withheld depending on your country and tax form, and currency conversion for sales on other Amazon marketplaces. Treat the result as your income before tax from direct ebook sales on Amazon.com.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 70% royalty really 70%?
It is 70% of the list price minus the delivery cost, which is $0.15 per MB on Amazon.com. For a typical text ebook under 2 MB, the delivery cost is a few cents and the effective rate is 64% to 69%.
Can I price my ebook at $9.99 and keep 70%?
Yes, $9.99 is the top of the 70% band on Amazon.com. At $10.00 or more the royalty drops to 35%.
Do I need to sell exclusively on Amazon to get 70%?
No. The 70% option does not require exclusivity. KDP Select, which does require it, is a separate program that adds Kindle Unlimited earnings.
How does the delivery fee work on other marketplaces?
Each marketplace has its own per-MB rate and its own 70% price band, in its currency. Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de and Amazon.com.br all differ from Amazon.com. Check the KDP pricing page for the current tables.
How do I lower the delivery fee?
Compress images, avoid embedding fonts you do not need, and keep the file under 2 MB. Text-only ebooks made with create-ebook are typically under 1 MB.