How much do you actually earn per book sold on Amazon KDP? The answer depends on format, price, page count and marketplace. This free calculator gives you the exact royalty per sale across all six formats KDP pays on — ebook, paperback in B&W, standard color and premium color, and hardcover in B&W and color — and the reference tables below show the numbers for the most common price points, so you can plan your catalog before writing a single word.
Standard KDP printing rates (regular trim), checked August 2026. Paperback B&W: $1.00 + $0.012/page · €0.75 + €0.012/page (110–828 pages). Paperback standard color: $1.00 + $0.0255/page · €0.75 + €0.024/page (72–600). Paperback premium color: $1.00 + $0.065/page · €0.75 + €0.0525/page (42–828). Hardcover B&W: $5.65 + $0.012/page · €4.65 + €0.012/page (110–550). Hardcover premium color: $5.65 + $0.065/page · €4.65 + €0.057/page (75–550). Shorter books are billed at a flat rate, and large trim sizes cost slightly more per page. Amazon may update these figures — always confirm the current ones in your KDP dashboard before setting prices.
Assuming a typical 2 MB file ($0.30 delivery fee on the 70% plan):
| List price | 70% plan (per sale) | 35% plan (per sale) | Best choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2.99 | $1.79 | $1.05 | 70% |
| $4.99 | $3.19 | $1.75 | 70% |
| $6.99 | $4.59 | $2.45 | 70% |
| $9.99 | $6.69 | $3.50 | 70% |
| $12.99 | — (not eligible) | $4.55 | 35% (only option) |
| $14.99 | — (not eligible) | $5.25 | 35% (only option) |
Key fact: the 70% royalty plan requires a list price between $2.99 and $9.99. A $9.99 ebook earns you $6.69 per sale — more than a $14.99 ebook on the 35% plan ($5.25). Pricing higher does not always mean earning more.
Formula: royalty = 60% × list price − printing cost. Printing = $1.00 + $0.012 per page:
| List price | 150 pages (printing $2.80) | 250 pages (printing $4.00) | 350 pages (printing $5.20) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $9.99 | $3.19 | $1.99 | $0.79 |
| $12.99 | $4.99 | $3.79 | $2.59 |
| $14.99 | $6.19 | $4.99 | $3.79 |
Key fact: page count eats paperback royalties. A 350-page book at $9.99 earns only $0.79 per sale; the same book at $14.99 earns $3.79. Long books need higher prices — or a leaner layout.
Hardcover uses the same formula (60% minus printing) but starts from a far higher fixed cost: $5.65 + $0.012 per page. That is why the $9.99 price points that work in paperback lose money here:
| List price | 150 pages (printing $7.45) | 250 pages (printing $8.65) | 350 pages (printing $9.85) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $19.99 | $4.54 | $3.34 | $2.14 |
| $24.99 | $7.54 | $6.34 | $5.14 |
| $29.99 | $10.54 | $9.34 | $8.14 |
Key fact: the break-even price for a 250-page hardcover is $14.42 — below that you lose money on every sale. A hardcover is not a pricier paperback: it is a different price bracket. It also only accepts 75 to 550 pages, so a 600-page manuscript cannot be published in this format.
Individual results vary enormously, but with the conservative industry assumption of $20–60/month average royalty per reasonably-positioned niche book:
| Books published | Estimated monthly royalties |
|---|---|
| 5 books | $100 – $300 |
| 15 books | $300 – $900 |
| 30 books | $600 – $1,800 |
| 50 books | $1,000 – $3,000 |
The bottleneck is production time. YourNovel.app writes complete, KDP-ready books with AI that remembers your entire manuscript — a 200-page book in hours, not months. That's how a catalog gets built.
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