KDP Royalties Explained: How Much You Actually Make Per Sale

One of the first questions every new KDP author asks: "How much will I actually make per sale?" The answer isn't as straightforward as you'd hope. Amazon's royalty structure varies by format, price, marketplace, and distribution choices.

Here's everything you need to know about KDP royalties, with real numbers and examples.

Kindle eBook Royalties

Amazon offers two royalty options for Kindle books:

35% Royalty Rate - Available at any price between $0.99 and $200.00 - No delivery fee deducted - Available in all Amazon marketplaces

70% Royalty Rate - Available for books priced between $2.99 and $9.99 - A delivery fee is deducted based on file size (about $0.15 per MB) - Available in select marketplaces (US, UK, DE, FR, ES, IT, NL, JP, BR, MX, CA, IN, AU) - Book must be at least 20% cheaper than the print version

The math in practice:

A Kindle book priced at $4.99 with a 2MB file: - At 70%: ($4.99 x 0.70) - ($0.15 x 2) = $3.19 per sale - At 35%: $4.99 x 0.35 = $1.75 per sale

The 70% option is almost always better for books between $2.99 and $9.99. Below $2.99, you're stuck with 35%.

Why $0.99 Books Rarely Make Sense

At $0.99, you earn $0.35 per sale. To make $1,000 per month, you'd need about 2,857 sales. At $4.99, you earn $3.19 per sale and only need 314 sales. That's 9x fewer sales for the same revenue.

The only time $0.99 pricing makes strategic sense is during a launch promotion to boost rankings, or for the first book in a series designed as a loss leader.

Paperback Royalties

Paperback royalties work differently. Instead of choosing a percentage, Amazon uses a fixed formula:

Royalty = List Price - (Printing Cost + Distribution Fee)

The printing cost depends on: - Page count (more pages = higher cost) - Ink type (black & white vs. premium color) - Trim size (6x9 is standard and cheapest) - Marketplace (US is cheapest, expanded distribution costs more)

Printing Cost Breakdown (US, Black & White, 6x9)

The base cost is about $2.15 for a book up to 108 pages, plus $0.012 per additional page.

Examples: - 150 pages: $2.15 + (42 x $0.012) = $2.65 - 250 pages: $2.15 + (142 x $0.012) = $3.85 - 350 pages: $2.15 + (242 x $0.012) = $5.05

The distribution fee is 40% of the list price for Amazon sales, or 60% for expanded distribution (bookstores, libraries).

Real Paperback Royalty Examples

200-page black & white book priced at $14.99 (Amazon sales): - Printing cost: $2.15 + (92 x $0.012) = $3.25 - Distribution: $14.99 x 0.40 = $6.00 - Your royalty: $14.99 - $3.25 - $6.00 = $5.74 per sale

200-page book priced at $14.99 (expanded distribution): - Printing cost: $3.25 - Distribution: $14.99 x 0.60 = $8.99 - Your royalty: $14.99 - $3.25 - $8.99 = $2.75 per sale

That's a big drop for expanded distribution. For most indie authors, the expanded distribution sales volume doesn't justify the lower margin.

Hardcover Royalties

KDP launched hardcover printing, which uses the same formula as paperback but with higher printing costs:

• •Base cost around $6.80 for case laminate
• •Higher per-page cost
• •Trim size options are more limited

Hardcovers let you price at a premium ($24.99-$29.99 is common), and readers perceive more value. The royalty per sale can be similar to paperback despite the higher printing cost, because the list price is higher.

200-page hardcover priced at $24.99: - Printing cost: approximately $8.50 - Distribution: $24.99 x 0.40 = $10.00 - Your royalty: $24.99 - $8.50 - $10.00 = $6.49 per sale

Pricing Strategy: Where the Money Is

Based on the royalty structures, here's what works:

Kindle: Price between $4.99 and $6.99 for nonfiction. This range maximizes the 70% royalty while keeping the price attractive. $9.99 is the ceiling for the 70% rate.

Paperback: Price between $12.99 and $17.99 for most nonfiction. Below $9.99, your margins get thin. Above $19.99, price sensitivity kicks in for indie authors without brand recognition.

Hardcover: Price between $22.99 and $29.99. Position as the premium option.

Bundle all three formats. Readers who discover your Kindle book might want the paperback. Offering all formats captures more of the market and the Kindle price must be lower than print, which makes it feel like a deal.

KDP Select and Kindle Unlimited

Enrolling in KDP Select (which makes your book exclusive to Amazon) gives you access to Kindle Unlimited (KU). In KU, readers don't buy your book. They borrow it, and you get paid per page read.

The page read rate fluctuates monthly but has historically been around $0.004 to $0.005 per page read (KENP, Kindle Edition Normalized Pages).

Example: A 300 KENP book read completely earns about $1.20 to $1.50.

When KU makes sense: - Fiction (especially series, where readers devour multiple books) - Short nonfiction that readers consume quickly - Genres where KU readers dominate (romance, thriller, sci-fi)

When KU doesn't make sense: - High-priced nonfiction ($14.99+ Kindle price) where per-sale royalties far exceed KU payouts - Books you want to sell on other platforms (Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes & Noble) - Reference books that readers keep but don't read cover to cover

Common Royalty Mistakes

1. Pricing too low. New authors undervalue their work. A $2.99 nonfiction book signals "not very good" and earns minimal royalties. Price for value.

2. Ignoring printing costs. Setting a $9.99 paperback price on a 300-page book leaves you with almost nothing after printing and distribution.

3. Forgetting about expanded distribution economics. The 60% cut makes most books unprofitable in expanded distribution. Run the numbers before opting in.

4. Not considering all formats together. Your Kindle price, paperback price, and hardcover price should form a logical ladder that encourages readers to choose the format with the best margin for you.

How Much Can You Actually Earn?

Let's put it all together with a realistic example.

A nonfiction book selling 5 copies per day across formats: - 3 Kindle sales at $5.99 = $12.57/day in royalties - 2 paperback sales at $14.99 = $11.48/day in royalties - Daily total: $24.05 - Monthly: about $720

Scale that to 3 books each selling 5 copies per day, and you're at $2,160/month. That's the power of the KDP model: each book is a compounding asset.

The key variable is niche selection. A book in a great niche sells. A book in a bad niche doesn't. Everything else (cover, title, description) matters, but niche is the foundation.