Amazon KDP Profit Calculator

This calculator shows what you actually take home per book sold on Amazon KDP — after VAT, printing costs and Amazon's cut. It also recommends the optimal list price and projects how much you could earn publishing several books a month.

What if you publish several books a month?

Estimates only. KDP rates and VAT rates can change: always confirm current values in your Amazon KDP account. Real sales depend on niche, cover, reviews and your marketing.

,v:0,el:2.99,eh:9.99,d:0.15,pf:2.30,pb:1.00,pp:0.012,cb:0.65,cp:0.0425,hb:5.65,hp:0.012}, es:{c:'€',v:0.04,el:2.99,eh:9.99,d:0.12,pf:2.05,pb:0.60,pp:0.012,cb:0.60,cp:0.0395,hb:5.20,hp:0.012}, de:{c:'€',v:0.07,el:2.99,eh:9.99,d:0.12,pf:2.05,pb:0.60,pp:0.012,cb:0.60,cp:0.0395,hb:5.20,hp:0.012}, fr:{c:'€',v:0.055,el:2.99,eh:9.99,d:0.12,pf:2.05,pb:0.60,pp:0.012,cb:0.60,cp:0.0395,hb:5.20,hp:0.012}, it:{c:'€',v:0.04,el:2.99,eh:9.99,d:0.12,pf:2.05,pb:0.60,pp:0.012,cb:0.60,cp:0.0395,hb:5.20,hp:0.012}, uk:{c:'£',v:0,el:1.99,eh:7.99,d:0.10,pf:1.93,pb:0.70,pp:0.010,cb:0.55,cp:0.0335,hb:4.60,hp:0.010} }; var P={free:{b:1,p:0,n:'free'},starter:{b:1,p:19,n:'Starter'},professional:{b:3,p:39,n:'Professional'},agency:{b:8,p:89,n:'Agency'}}; var fmt=g('format'),mk=M[g('market')]||M.us,pl=P[g('plan')]||P.professional; var price=parseFloat(g('price'))||0,pages=parseInt(g('pages'),10)||0,mb=parseFloat(g('mb'))||0,sales=parseFloat(g('sales'))||0; var isEb=(fmt==='ebook'); var rp=R.querySelector('[data-row="pages"]'),rm=R.querySelector('[data-row="mb"]'); if(rp)rp.style.display=isEb?'none':''; if(rm)rm.style.display=isEb?'':'none'; var net=price/(1+mk.v),iva=price-net,cost=0,rate=0,cl=''; if(isEb){rate=(net>=mk.el&&net<=mk.eh)?0.70:0.35;cost=(rate===0.70)?mk.d*mb:0;cl='Delivery cost';} else{rate=0.60;cl='Printing cost'; if(fmt==='pb')cost=(pages<=108)?mk.pf:(mk.pb+mk.pp*pages); else if(fmt==='pbc')cost=mk.cb+mk.cp*pages; else cost=mk.hb+mk.hp*pages;} var roy=net*rate-cost; var f=function(x){return mk.c+(Math.round(x*100)/100).toFixed(2);}; var pc=function(x){return (Math.round(x*1000)/10).toFixed(1)+'%';}; var rec=isEb?(mk.eh*(1+mk.v)):((cost/0.35)*(1+mk.v));rec=Math.ceil(rec)-0.01; var minp=isEb?(mk.el*(1+mk.v)):((cost/0.60)*(1+mk.v)); var mg=price>0?(roy/price):0; var box='background:#fff;border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:12px;padding:14px;'; var lb='font-size:12px;color:#6b7280;'; var vl='font-size:20px;font-weight:700;color:#111;'; var o=R.querySelector('[data-out="main"]'); if(o){o.innerHTML= '
'+ '
Price excl. VAT
'+f(net)+'
VAT '+pc(mk.v)+' = '+f(iva)+'
'+ '
Amazon royalty rate
'+pc(rate)+'
'+f(net*rate)+'
'+ '
'+cl+'
−'+f(cost)+'
'+ '
YOU EARN PER SALE
'+f(roy)+'
margin '+pc(mg)+'
'+ '
'+ '
Recommended price: '+f(rec)+''+(isEb?' — the top of the 70% band. Above it you drop to 35% and earn less even at a higher price.':' — leaves a healthy margin above printing cost.')+'
Below '+f(minp)+' you lose money on every sale.
';} var m1=pl.b*sales*roy,m12=pl.b*12*sales*roy,tot=pl.b*sales*roy*78,cy=pl.p*12,n12=tot-cy; var be=roy>0?Math.ceil(pl.p/roy):0; var po=R.querySelector('[data-out="proj"]'); if(po){po.innerHTML= '
'+ '
Books per month
'+pl.b+'
'+ '
Income in month 1
'+f(m1)+'
'+ '
Income in month 12
'+f(m12)+'
with '+(pl.b*12)+' books in catalog
'+ '
YEAR 1 PROFIT
'+f(n12)+'
after paying '+f(cy)+' in subscription
'+ '
'+ (pl.p>0?'

Break-even: just '+be+' sales a month across your whole catalog covers the '+pl.n+' plan.

':'');} } ynBiz(null);

How your KDP earnings are really calculated

Most people stop at the headline ("Amazon pays 70%") and then get a shock at the real payout. The number that matters comes from subtracting three things from the price the reader sees:

  1. VAT, which is stripped out BEFORE anything else is calculated.
  2. Amazon's share: you keep 70% or 35% on eBooks, and 60% on print.
  3. Printing cost (paperback and hardcover only), which grows with page count.

VAT: the detail almost no calculator accounts for

This is the most expensive and most silent mistake. Amazon does not calculate your royalty on the price the buyer sees, but on that price minus VAT. And VAT on books differs by country:

The practical consequence: the same price earns you different amounts in different marketplaces. A book at €12.99 pays more on Amazon.es (4% VAT) than on Amazon.de (7% VAT), because the base Amazon applies your 60% to is smaller in Germany. Switch marketplace in the calculator and you'll see it instantly.

Printing costs: why pages cost you money

For paperback and hardcover, Amazon prints on demand and deducts that cost from every sale. The usual formula is a fixed charge plus a per-page amount, so a 500-page novel eats far more margin than a 200-page one. That's why some long books, priced badly, return pennies per sale — or even a loss.

The calculator above warns you: if your price falls below the minimum, the earnings turn red.

What price to set (recommended list price)

For eBooks there's a counterintuitive trap: raising your price can make you earn less. Amazon only pays 70% when the VAT-exclusive price sits between 2.99 and 9.99; above that you drop to 35%. An eBook at 14.99 on 35% pays less than one at 9.99 on 70%. That's why the recommended price is usually the top of that band.

For print, the logic is different: start from the printing cost and go up until you leave a 25-35% margin. Prices that are too tight leave no profit; too high and sales stall.

Want the per-sale royalty breakdown instead? We have a dedicated KDP royalty calculator focused only on that.

From one book to a catalog: where the real business is

Here's the part that changes the perspective. A single book earns what it earns. But books don't expire: the one you published in January is still selling in December. So publishing consistently makes income compound.

At 3 books a month, after a year you don't have 3 books selling: you have 36. That's why the calculator shows month 1 and month 12 separately — the gap between them is exactly the catalog effect.

The bottleneck has always been time: writing a book takes months. With YourNovel.app you get a complete, coherent manuscript in hours, so the question stops being "when will I finish my book?" and becomes "how many do I publish this month?". Switch the plan in the calculator to see how many sales it takes for the subscription to pay for itself.

Frequently asked questions

How much do you earn per book sold on Amazon KDP?

On eBooks, 70% of the VAT-exclusive price (when between 2.99 and 9.99) minus delivery cost, or 35% outside that band. On print, 60% of the VAT-exclusive price minus printing.

Does Amazon calculate royalties before or after VAT?

After VAT is removed. It strips the country's VAT first, then applies your rate. That's why the same price pays differently in Spain (4%) and Germany (7%).

What price should I set for my book?

For eBooks, the top of the 70% band. For print, whatever leaves a 25-35% margin on the VAT-exclusive price after printing.

How many books must you sell to live off KDP?

More than a bestseller, what sustains the business is a catalog that sells steadily. Publishing regularly makes each title add to the ones before it.

Write the book, not just the spreadsheet

Now you know what you can earn. What's missing is the book. YourNovel.app writes complete, coherent manuscripts with AI that remembers your whole story, and exports them ready for Amazon KDP with 100% commercial rights. Start free, no credit card, first chapter included.

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