KDP Royalty Rates Explained (Updated for 2026)

KDP's royalty rules look simple on the surface and get complicated quickly. Price bands, delivery costs, territories, print thresholds and subscription payouts all change what you actually earn. This guide explains each rule with examples, using KDP's own help pages as checked in September 2026.

The two ebook royalty options

For each ebook, you choose between two royalty options. KDP's help pages describe them this way:

From KDP's royalty and pricing help pages, checked September 2026.

The 2026 change to the price band

For years, the 70% option on Amazon.com required a list price between $2.99 and $9.99. According to KDP's help pages, the upper limit rose to $12.99 on July 7, 2026. That matters for longer books, box sets and non-fiction priced between $10 and $13, which now earn 70% instead of 35%.

Example calculations for Amazon.com with a 1 MB file.

If you priced ebooks at $9.99 only to stay inside the old band, you may now have room to price higher.

Delivery costs, explained

On the 70% option, Amazon deducts a delivery cost based on the size of your ebook file. On Amazon.com, it is $0.15 per megabyte. Amazon notes that average delivery costs are about $0.06 per unit, because most text ebooks are small.

For image-heavy books, delivery costs can grow so large that the 35% option pays more. On a $4.99 ebook, that happens above about 11.6 MB.

Tip: compress images before uploading to keep files small.

Royalties at common prices

Notice the jump between $1.99 and $2.99, and the drop above $12.99. Pricing just outside the band is the most common and costly KDP mistake. Try other prices in the royalty calculator.

Territories

The 70% rate applies to sales to customers in the territories KDP lists as eligible. Sales to customers elsewhere are paid at 35%, even if you chose the 70% option. For most authors, the large majority of sales fall in eligible territories, but it explains why some royalty statements show a mix of rates.

Price matching

KDP's terms note that if Amazon matches a lower price for your book found elsewhere, your royalty is based on that matched price. Keeping your ebook price consistent across stores avoids surprises.

Paperback royalties

For paperbacks on Amazon marketplaces, KDP offers two rates depending on list price. On Amazon.com:

KDP's own example: a $15 paperback with 333 black-and-white pages earns (0.60 × $15) minus $5.00 printing, or $4.00 a copy.

Printing costs depend on page count, ink and trim size, and KDP shows the exact figure in your bookshelf when you set up the book. Other marketplaces have their own thresholds in local currency.

Hardcover royalties

KDP hardcovers follow the same principle as paperbacks: a percentage of list price minus printing, with printing costs higher than for paperbacks. Check KDP's hardcover royalty page for the current rates and thresholds before pricing.

Kindle Unlimited income

If your ebook is enrolled in KDP Select, it can be read in Kindle Unlimited. You are paid from a monthly fund, the KDP Select Global Fund, according to the number of pages Kindle Unlimited readers read, measured with Amazon's standardized page count. The per-page rate varies each month.

Kindle Unlimited income comes on top of normal sales royalties, but requires the ebook to be exclusive to Amazon. See KDP Select vs going wide.

When KDP pays

KDP pays royalties monthly, approximately 60 days after the end of the month in which sales occurred, separately for each marketplace. Payment methods and minimum amounts depend on your country and bank details.

Other Amazon marketplaces

Amazon runs separate stores in many countries, from the UK and Germany to Japan and India, and each has its own price requirements in local currency and its own delivery costs. KDP lets you set prices per marketplace, or base them on your US price. Check each marketplace's band when setting prices manually, because a price that is inside the band in one currency can fall outside it in another.

Royalties during promotions

When you discount an ebook, your royalty is calculated on the discounted price. If the discount takes the price below $2.99, a normal price change would drop you to 35%. The exception is a Kindle Countdown Deal, available to KDP Select ebooks, during which KDP's promotional rules let you keep the 70% rate even below $2.99. Free promotion days, also for Select ebooks, earn no royalty but can bring new readers and reviews.

Reading a KDP royalty report

KDP's reports show orders, royalties and Kindle Unlimited pages read, by marketplace and by date. A few things to know when reading them:

• Royalties are shown per marketplace and currency. Conversion to your payment currency happens at payment.
• Orders and royalties can differ. Refunds and returns reduce royalties after the original sale.
• Kindle Unlimited is reported as pages read. The money for those pages is calculated once the month's fund is set.
• Print royalties already exclude printing costs. The figure shown is what you earn.

Taxes and withholding

KDP requires every author to complete a tax interview before royalties are paid. For US authors, royalties are reported for income tax. For authors outside the US, KDP may withhold US tax on US sales, and a tax treaty between your country and the US can reduce or remove that withholding when you complete the interview correctly. Rules differ by country, so check your own situation or ask a professional.

Common KDP royalty mistakes

• Pricing at $13.99 and earning 35% instead of 70%.
• Uploading large, uncompressed images that raise delivery costs.
• Pricing paperbacks just under $9.99, where the rate drops from 60% to 50%.
• Turning on Expanded Distribution by default without checking the 40% maths.
• Running cheaper prices elsewhere and triggering price matching.
• Skipping the tax interview details, and losing more to withholding than necessary.

Seven ways to earn more on KDP

1. Price inside the band. Stay between $2.99 and $12.99 on Amazon.com for the 70% option.
2. Revisit $9.99 prices. The band now reaches $12.99.
3. Keep files small. Compress images to cut delivery costs.
4. Price paperbacks at $9.99 or more to reach the 60% rate, if the market allows.
5. Weigh Expanded Distribution. At 40% minus printing, it may earn little.
6. Keep prices consistent across stores to avoid price matching.
7. Sell elsewhere too. Add stores where you keep more of each sale.

KDP royalties vs traditional publishing

It helps to see KDP's rates in context. Traditional publishers commonly pay authors around 25% of the publisher's net receipts on ebooks, and roughly 7.5% to 15% of list price on print books, usually against an advance paid before publication. Self-publishing pays a far larger share per copy, but you cover the costs of editing, cover design and marketing yourself, and there is no advance.

Traditional figures are common industry ranges; individual contracts vary widely.

KDP compared with other platforms

Sources

Checked September 2026: KDP ebook royalty options; KDP ebook list price requirements; KDP pricing and delivery costs; KDP paperback royalty; KDP Select.

In short

On Amazon.com, price ebooks between $2.99 and $12.99 for 70% minus delivery, keep files small, price paperbacks at $9.99 or more for 60% minus printing when the market allows, and remember Kindle Unlimited pays by pages read only for exclusive ebooks. Then add stores where you keep more, so Amazon's share of each sale matters a little less.