Rates checked November 2026 against Amazon KDP's published US print-cost and royalty tables. Amazon revises print costs and royalty terms from time to time — confirm in your KDP dashboard before a launch.
How print royalties work
The formula fits in one line: royalty = royalty rate × list price − print cost. The rate is 60% when your list price is $9.99 or higher and 50% below it — a step, not a slope, so a book at $9.98 earns at 50% while the same book at $9.99 earns at 60%. Print cost is the variable Amazon controls: it depends on the format, the interior, the trim size class and, above flat-rate thresholds, the page count. Note that 8.5×11 counts as a large trim on KDP, which is why so many workbooks and coloring books carry the large-trim print cost.
| US print cost | Flat rate | Beyond the flat range |
|---|---|---|
| Paperback, B&W, regular trim | $2.30 (24–110 pp) | $1.00 + $0.012/page |
| Paperback, B&W, large trim | $2.84 (24–110 pp) | $1.00 + $0.017/page |
| Paperback, standard color | — | $1.00 + $0.0255/page |
| Paperback, premium color, regular | $3.60 (24–40 pp) | $1.00 + $0.065/page |
| Paperback, premium color, large | $4.20 (24–40 pp) | $1.00 + $0.08/page |
| Hardcover, B&W, regular (75 pp min) | $6.80 (75–108 pp) | $5.65 + $0.012/page |
| Hardcover, B&W, large (75 pp min) | $7.49 (75–108 pp) | $5.65 + $0.017/page |
| Hardcover, premium color | — | $5.65 + $0.065/page |
A worked example: a 62-page large-trim black-and-white paperback listed at $10.99. The print cost is the $2.84 flat rate; the royalty is 60% of $10.99 ($6.59) minus $2.84, which is $3.75 per copy. Stretch the same book to 120 pages and the print cost leaves the flat range — $1.00 + 120 × $0.017 = $3.04 — trimming the royalty by twenty cents. Page count is money: ten unnecessary pages in a long book cost real royalties on every copy, forever.
Minimum list price, and the 50% trap
The calculator's "minimum list price" is where the royalty reaches zero — below it, you would owe Amazon the difference in effect, and KDP will not let you publish there anyway. The subtlety is the rate step at $9.99. A book whose print cost is $4.50 needs $9.00 at the 50% rate to break even, so it never reaches the step. A book costing $5.50 to print needs $11.00 at 50% — but at $9.99 the rate jumps to 60% and the royalty is already positive ($0.49), so its true break-even is $9.99 exactly. If your break-even lands anywhere near the line, price at $9.99 or above: crossing the step is worth ten points of royalty on every sale, not just the ones near the threshold.
Expanded Distribution
Paperbacks can opt into Expanded Distribution, which makes the book orderable by bookstores, libraries and other retailers. Those copies pay 40% of list minus print cost instead of 60% — on the example above, about $1.56 a copy. The channel reaches buyers Amazon's storefront never will, but the thinner rate means a price that works on Amazon can lose money in distribution if the print cost is high; check both numbers before opting in. (Hardcovers are not eligible, so the calculator hides that line for them.)
Kindle: the band, the delivery cost, and page reads
Kindle royalties offer two options. The 70% option requires a list price between $2.99 and $12.99, and from it Amazon subtracts a delivery cost of $0.15 per megabyte of your file — picture-heavy books should watch their file size, because a 10 MB file gives back $1.50 before the 70% is applied. The 35% option has no price band and no delivery deduction, which is why it can win for very cheap or very expensive books — and why it always wins outside the band. Finally, books enrolled in KDP Select earn from Kindle Unlimited page reads: pages read × the month's per-page rate (the calculator defaults to $0.0045; the real rate floats with the KDP Select fund). For long books with committed readers, KENP income regularly rivals sales income — estimate it with your true page count, not your hopes.
Frequently asked questions
How is a KDP paperback royalty calculated?
Rate × list price − print cost. The rate is 60% at list prices of $9.99+ and 50% below. A 62-page large-trim B&W book at $10.99: $6.59 − $2.84 print cost = $3.75 per copy.
What does Expanded Distribution pay?
40% of list minus print cost, on paperbacks sold through distribution channels — less per copy than Amazon's 60%, from bookstores and libraries that otherwise could not order the book.
When does a Kindle book earn 70% instead of 35%?
When the price is $2.99–$12.99. The 70% is calculated after a delivery cost of $0.15 per MB; the 35% option has no band and no delivery deduction.
How much do Kindle Unlimited page reads pay?
Pages read × the monthly KENP rate, recently around $0.004–$0.005 per page. A fully read 300-page book at $0.0045 earns about $1.35.
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