KDP Royalty Calculator
Estimate royalties using the UK or US price list. Rates rechecked on Amazon’s own pages on 28 October 2026.
Choose the marketplace where the sale happens. UK and US print costs and royalty thresholds are separate price lists, not currency conversions. This calculator covers Kindle sales to eligible UK/US customers and 6 × 9 inch paperbacks on white paper sold through Amazon. For cream or groundwood paper, other trim sizes, hardcover or Expanded Distribution, use Amazon’s printing calculator. Final KDP pricing and eligibility take precedence over this estimate.
How this number is worked out
Paperback: Amazon takes its royalty rate times your list price, then subtracts the printing cost. On Amazon.co.uk the rate is 60% at £7.99 or more and 50% at £7.98 or less; printing a black-ink paperback of 110 to 828 pages costs from £0.85 per book plus £0.010 per page. So a 300-page paperback at £9.99 earns about 0.6 × £9.99 − £3.85 = £2.14.
Kindle: at the 70% option, Amazon takes 70% of the price without VAT, after a delivery cost of £0.10 per MB on Amazon.co.uk. The 70% option needs a list price from £1.77 to £12.99 (US $2.99 to $12.99); outside it you get 35%.
Every figure is from Amazon’s own pages, read 28 October 2026: paperback royalty, printing cost, eBook list prices and eBook royalties.
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Check my file freeHow Amazon works out your royalty
Paperbacks use one formula: (royalty rate × list price) − printing cost = royalty. Two things decide the outcome, and most authors only think about one of them.
The royalty rate is tiered: UK paperbacks move from 50% to 60% at £7.99; US paperbacks at $9.99. The price must cover printing and cannot exceed £250/$250. A price below KDP’s minimum is rejected, rather than generating loss-making sales. Paperback royalty rules.
Printing cost depends on marketplace, ink, paper and trim. This tool uses regular-trim rates and 6 × 9 inch white-paper page limits. Odd page counts round up to an even number before checking the limits; fractional counts are rejected. Printing cost tables · Paperback page and trim specifications.
Kindle eBooks: 70% × (VAT-exclusive price − delivery cost). At £4.99 and 2 MB, delivery is £0.20 and estimated royalty is £3.35. The 35% option has no delivery deduction. Enter the converted Kindle file size shown by KDP, not the original manuscript size. Delivery uses £0.10/$0.15 per MB, rounded up to a kilobyte, then to pennies, with a £0.01/$0.01 minimum. This estimate treats a megabyte as 1,024 kilobytes; KDP’s conversion and final charge control. Amazon’s formula and delivery rules.
Eligibility and limits
The 70% estimate assumes an eligible customer territory and book, including a price at least 20% below any physical edition. Public-domain titles do not qualify. Price matching, promotions, refunds and tax withholding are outside this estimate.
For 35%, minimum prices depend on file size: below 3 MB, £0.77/$0.99; 3 to under 10 MB, £1.25/$1.99; 10 MB or more, £1.49/$2.99. Maximums are £150/$200. Outside the selected band’s limits, the calculator shows a warning instead of an earnings figure. eBook list-price requirements.
What changed on 7 July 2026
Amazon widened the 70% royalty band. The maximum list price rose from $9.99 to $12.99 on Amazon.com, with equivalent changes across the other marketplaces — £12.99 on Amazon.co.uk. The minimum is unchanged at £1.77 / $2.99.
This matters most for non-fiction. A £10.99 or £11.99 business or reference title previously fell outside the 70% band and earned 35%. It can now earn 70%. If you priced a book above £9.99 before July 2026 and have not revisited it since, you may be leaving roughly a third of your list price on the table on every sale — run the numbers above.
Frequently asked questions
How much do you earn per book on Amazon KDP?
Use the calculator’s estimate for your selected format and marketplace. Paperback royalties subtract printing after applying the rate; eligible 70% Kindle royalties subtract delivery before applying the rate. A valid price alone does not establish every eligibility condition.
What is the KDP printing cost for a paperback?
For the UK regular-trim white-paper options used here: black ink costs £1.93 through 110 pages, then £0.85 + £0.010 per page. Standard colour costs £0.85 + £0.020 per page. Premium colour costs £2.59 through 40 pages, then £0.85 + £0.0435 per page. Large trims cost more; use the official calculator linked above for those.
Why did my royalty drop when I lowered my price?
You almost certainly crossed Amazon’s paperback royalty threshold. At £7.99 and above you earn 60%; at £7.98 and below you earn 50%. Dropping from £7.99 to £7.95 cuts your rate by ten percentage points and costs you more than the 4p you took off the price. The calculator above shows the difference.
Is the 70% or 35% Kindle royalty option better?
Compare both eligible options using your converted file size. Delivery can make 35% the better choice for image-heavy books. There is no universal file-size cutoff: it also depends on price.
Does the £12.99 maximum apply to Amazon.co.uk?
Yes. Amazon widened the 70% band on 7 July 2026, raising the maximum from $9.99 to $12.99 on Amazon.com with equivalent changes in other marketplaces — £12.99 on Amazon.co.uk. The £1.77 minimum did not change.
Does the calculator include VAT?
Enter a VAT-exclusive price. Amazon’s digital pricing page states UK eBook VAT is 0%; do not automatically subtract 20% from a UK eBook price. Customer-country tax rules can differ. The calculator does not calculate tax.
Related tools and guides
- Best fonts for books — compare how typography changes page count and printing cost
- KDP Cover Calculator — the full paperback cover size, spine and template
- KDP Spine Width Calculator — spine width from page count and paper
- Standard book sizes in the UK — which trim size suits your book
- KDP Margin Calculator — the exact gutter and outside margins your page count requires
- Word Count to Page Count — estimate your page count before you have a formatted file
- Trim Size Visualiser — compare KDP trim sizes by genre
- Self-Publishing Costs UK — the full cost picture, not just per-sale royalties
- KDP 70% Royalty Change 2026 — what the £12.99 band change means and who should reprice
