KDP royalties explained: paperback, hardcover and Kindle rates in 2026

Below, each rule is worked through with real books: the rate table for every marketplace currency, five example books from a picture book to a hardcover novel, the delivery fee that can make the lower Kindle option the better one, Kindle Unlimited page reads, and when the money arrives. The royalty calculator runs the same formulas on your own numbers.

What are KDP’s royalty rates?

What royalty does KDP pay on paperbacks and hardcovers?

KDP’s formula for print is royalty rate × list price − printing cost. The rate depends on the list price: 60% at or above a threshold in each marketplace currency, 50% below it. The 50% band started on June 10, 2025; before that, print books earned 60% at any price (this and the other royalty changes since 2023 are dated in the KDP rule changes timeline). Paperbacks and hardcovers use the same rates and, with one exception, the same thresholds: KDP’s hardcover help page gives 99 SEK on Amazon.se, while its paperback page and its calculator use 110 SEK, the figure in this table.

• The threshold is worth about $1.00 a copy. KDP’s own example: a 300-page black-and-white paperback costs $4.60 to print on Amazon.com, so it earns $1.39 at $9.99 (60%) and $0.39 at $9.98 (50%).
• The minimum list price is the printing cost divided by the rate that applies, so the royalty never drops below zero. For the same book it is $9.20, at 50%.
• VAT and discounts: print list prices exclude VAT, which Amazon adds in marketplaces that charge it. If Amazon discounts your book in a promotion, your royalty stays based on your list price.

The printing cost is the other half of the formula. It depends on the ink, the paper, the trim and the page count; see the printing cost calculator for any configuration.

How much does one copy earn?

Royalty per copy on Amazon.com for five books (printing costs from KDP’s Amazon.com tables):

The hardcover shows why the rate is only half the story: the same 300-page book costs more to print, so it needs a higher list price for the same royalty. The paperback vs hardcover guide compares the two, and the royalty calculator runs your own numbers.

What does Expanded Distribution pay?

Expanded Distribution offers a paperback to bookstores and libraries outside Amazon. It pays 40% of the list price minus the printing cost, whatever the price. The 300-page example at $14.99 earns $4.39 per copy sold on Amazon.com and $1.40 through Expanded Distribution. Hardcovers aren’t eligible, and neither are low-content books, journals, notebooks, planners, coloring books, public-domain content or books with high ink coverage. Distributors also decline content that is excessively reused, recycled or repeated, and KDP’s list of genres concerned includes puzzle books, workbooks and cookbooks; a declined book is removed from Expanded Distribution but stays on Amazon. Eligibility also depends on the trim and paper.

What royalty does a Kindle eBook earn?

Kindle eBooks have two royalty options, and you choose one per book. 35% pays 35% of the list price without VAT, with no delivery cost. 70% pays 70% of the list price without VAT minus a delivery cost, if the book qualifies:

• The list price is within the band: $2.99 to $12.99 on Amazon.com since July 7, 2026. The ceiling was $9.99 from 2007 until then. Books already published keep their price and option; a book on 35% priced inside the new band can be switched to 70%.
• The eBook is at least 20% cheaper than the list price of any print edition on Amazon.
• The book isn’t mostly public-domain content (public-domain books earn 35% only).
• For sales on Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.in, Amazon.com.br and Amazon.com.mx, the book must also be enrolled in KDP Select. The 70% rate only applies to sales to customers in KDP’s 70% territories; other sales earn 35%.

In marketplaces with VAT, the eBook list price includes it and KDP removes it before applying the rate. If Amazon lowers the price to match another store, the 70% royalty is paid on the lower sale price. The 70% band in each marketplace:

Royalty per sale on Amazon.com for a 2 MB novel:

When does the 35% Kindle royalty pay more than 70%?

The 70% option subtracts a delivery cost for every sale: $0.15 per MB on Amazon.com, on the converted file size rounded up to the kilobyte, with a minimum of $0.01. Other marketplaces have their own rate (on Amazon.co.jp, ¥1 per MB and none for files of 10 MB or more). For text, it hardly matters: a 2 MB novel at $4.99 pays $0.30 for delivery and earns $3.28 at 70% against $1.75 at 35%.

Images change that. On Amazon.com, 70% and 35% pay the same when the file reaches about 16.6 MB at $4.99, 33.3 MB at $9.99 and 43.3 MB at $12.99. Above that size, 35% pays more: a 40 MB fixed-layout picture book at $4.99 earns $1.75 at 35%, while at 70% the delivery cost alone ($6.00) is more than the list price. Compress images before converting, and compare both options in the royalty calculator. The fixed-layout Kindle guide covers picture-book eBooks.

How do Kindle Unlimited page reads pay?

eBooks enrolled in KDP Select are also read in Kindle Unlimited. Instead of a royalty per sale, KDP pays a share of the KDP Select Global Fund for each page read, counted in KENP, KDP’s normalized page count. The rate per page is the month’s fund divided by the pages read in that marketplace, so it changes every month; KDP announces the fund for a month near the 15th of the following month. A fixed per-page rate is not documented, so estimates of page-read earnings are only approximate.

When does KDP pay royalties?

• Royalties are paid every month, about 60 days after the end of the month in which the sale was reported: January sales are paid by the end of March. Expanded Distribution sales take about 90 days.
• Page-read royalties become available the following month, when the KDP Select Global Fund is announced.
• Royalties accrue separately for each Amazon marketplace. Direct deposit has no minimum; wire and check payments wait until the balance in that marketplace reaches its minimum ($100 on Amazon.com).

What changes for authors outside the US?

• Where print sells: Amazon.in, Amazon.com.br and Amazon.com.mx sell Kindle eBooks only; KDP doesn’t distribute paperbacks or hardcovers there (Paperback and Hardcover Distribution Rights). Your paperback still sells on KDP’s 14 print marketplaces, wherever you live.
• The 70% band in rupees: on Amazon.in, the 70% Kindle option covers list prices from 99 INR to 599 INR and requires KDP Select, like Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.com.br and Amazon.com.mx, each with its own band (table above).
• Payment currency: KDP pays by direct deposit in the currency it offers for your bank’s country (rupees for a bank account in India), and converts royalties earned in other currencies at Amazon’s exchange rate (KDP Payment Options).
• Tax interview: KDP needs your tax profile before you can publish. For an author outside the US it produces a US Form W-8, and US-marketplace royalties are withheld at 30% by default, less if your country has a tax treaty with the US and you claim it (Complete Tax Profile). In October 2026 KDP wrote to authors whose W-8 was signed before January 1, 2022: those forms expire on December 31, 2026, and without a new interview, US sales are withheld at 30% (KDP’s notice). This describes KDP’s form, not your tax situation: ask a tax adviser for that.

How do you use these rules to set a price?

• Print: check which side of the $9.99 line your price falls on. Between the minimum and $9.98, the book earns 50%.
• Page count: black-and-white books pay a flat printing fee up to a set page count, then a cost per page, and large trims cost more. Both come straight out of the royalty.
• Kindle: inside the $2.99–$12.99 band, 70% usually pays more for text; for large, image-heavy files, compare with 35%. Keep the eBook at least 20% below the print price.
• Low-content books, journals and coloring books are print only and can’t use Expanded Distribution, so the Amazon print royalty is their only one. Puzzle books are print only too; they can enroll in Expanded Distribution, but distributors may decline them.

Understanding KDP's royalty structures is crucial for transparent financial management, much like GateKeeperZero's approach to society management with clear GST-compliant billing.

None of this predicts sales: it only tells you what one sale pays. The royalty calculator and the printing cost calculator apply the same rules as this page, with no account.