KDP Royalties Explained: 35% vs 70% for Kindle Ebooks

How do KDP royalties work for Kindle ebooks?

You choose the royalty option book by book, on the same screen where you set the price. Amazon's KDP digital book pricing page gives the formulas.

On the 35% option you receive 35% of the list price minus any VAT. On the 70% option you receive 70% of the list price minus any VAT and minus delivery costs.

For US sales there is no VAT to take out, so you can ignore it. In the UK and Europe, Amazon removes VAT first and then applies your royalty rate.

The delivery cost is the part people forget, and it applies only to the 70% option. On Amazon.com it is $0.15 per megabyte of your converted file, rounded up to the nearest kilobyte, with a $0.01 minimum. A plain-text ebook has a small file, so the fee is small.

What changed with the KDP price cap in 2026?

For years the ceiling for the 70% option was $9.99, a limit KDP says had been in place since 2007. On July 7, 2026, Amazon raised it to $12.99 on Amazon.com and made matching changes in its other stores, as set out on the KDP list price requirements page. The $2.99 minimum did not change, and neither did the 35% option.

The change does not apply itself. If a book is set to 35% at a price between $9.99 and $12.99, you have to open your KDP Bookshelf and switch the royalty option yourself. Until you do, those sales keep paying 35%.

Which royalty option should you choose, 35% or 70%?

For most text ebooks priced between $2.99 and $12.99, the 70% option pays roughly 1.8 to 2 times as much per copy. The figures below are for a US sale of a 2 MB ebook, where delivery comes to 2 x $0.15 = $0.30.

• $2.99: 70% pays $1.88 a copy, 35% pays $1.05
• $4.99: 70% pays $3.28, 35% pays $1.75
• $9.99: 70% pays $6.78, 35% pays $3.50
• $12.99: 70% pays $8.88, 35% pays $4.55
• $13.99: only 35% is available, so you earn $4.90

When the 35% option makes sense

Raising the price one dollar past the cap, from $12.99 to $13.99, cuts what you earn per copy by about 45%. If you are tempted to price higher, test $12.99 first.

The 35% option is still the right choice in a few situations:

• You want to sell below $2.99, for example $0.99 for a short guide or a launch week
• Your book is a technical or professional title that can carry a price above $12.99
• The book is mainly public domain material, which only qualifies for 35%
• The file is large enough that delivery costs eat most of the higher rate

When does the delivery cost make 35% the better deal?

Working from the two formulas gives a simple rule: 70% beats 35% only while your list price is more than twice the delivery cost. Below that line, 35% pays more.

A text-only book never comes close to that line. A photo-heavy book can. Take a 25 MB ebook priced at $4.99. Delivery is 25 x $0.15 = $3.75, so the 70% option pays 70% of ($4.99 minus $3.75), which is $0.87 a copy. The 35% option pays $1.75, twice as much.

If your book is image heavy, compress the images before conversion and then compare both options on the pricing step. The pricing tab works as a royalty calculator and shows the estimated royalty for each option at any price you enter. Our guide on how to format an ebook for Amazon KDP covers keeping image files lean.

What else does a book need to qualify for 70%?

Price is only the first requirement. The KDP digital pricing page lists three more:

• The ebook must be priced at least 20% below the Amazon list price of any print edition. If the paperback is $14.99, the ebook can be $11.99 at most.
• The 70% rate applies only to buyers in Amazon's listed 70% territories, which include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and most of Western Europe. Sales elsewhere pay 35%.
• Sales in Brazil, Japan, Mexico and India earn 70% only when the book is enrolled in KDP Select.

Price matching

Amazon can match your ebook to a lower price it finds at another retailer. If that match brings the price below $2.99, those sales pay 35%. Keeping the same price in every store avoids the problem.

How do KDP paperback royalties work?

Print follows a separate formula, described on the KDP paperback royalty page. On Amazon.com, list prices of $9.99 and up earn 60%, and prices of $9.98 and below earn 50%. Amazon then subtracts the printing cost, which depends on page count, ink type and the store the order came from.

Expanded Distribution, the route into other bookstores and libraries, pays 40% minus printing.

Amazon's own example: a $15 paperback, 333 pages, black ink, sold in the US earns (60% x $15) minus $5.00 printing, which is $4.00. Through Expanded Distribution the same book earns (40% x $15) minus $5.00, which is $1.00.

The print edition also sets the reference price for the 20% rule above, so price the paperback first.

How does Kindle Unlimited pay authors?

Kindle Unlimited income only applies if the ebook is enrolled in KDP Select. Enrollment lasts 90 days at a time, and during that term the ebook must be exclusive to Amazon, as explained in how to enroll in KDP Select. Your print and audio editions can still sell anywhere.

Payouts come from the monthly KDP Select Global Fund. Your share depends on pages read for the first time, counted in Kindle Edition Normalized Pages (KENP). The fund is set monthly, so a page's value changes, as described in royalties in Kindle Unlimited. Each reader can earn you credit for up to 3,000 pages per title.

Whether Select is worth it depends on where your readers shop. Our KDP publishing checklist for first-time authors covers that decision along with categories and keywords.

When does Amazon pay KDP royalties?

Amazon pays monthly, roughly 60 days after the end of the month in which the sale was reported, according to KDP's payment schedule. January sales are paid at the end of March. Expanded Distribution print sales take about 90 days.

Direct deposit has no minimum, so you receive whatever you earned. Check and wire payments on Amazon.com wait until you reach at least $100.

Set up direct deposit and finish the tax interview before launch week so your first payment is not held up.

How can you earn more per copy?

Most of the levers are covered above:

• Stay in the $2.99 to $12.99 band unless you have a clear reason to leave it
• Keep the converted file small
• Price the paperback first and set the ebook at least 20% below it
• Keep your price the same in every store

Royalties depend on the book selling

A correct royalty setting will not help a book that nobody buys. The writing and the launch matter more. If you are starting from zero, see our guide on how to write an ebook and our book marketing plan guide.

If you would rather hand off production, our Amazon KDP ebook writing service covers the manuscript, EPUB and print files, category and keyword research, and guided setup on a KDP account you own, on the packages that include it.

Ghostwriters, other stores and hybrid publishers

Some ghostwriters ask for a share of royalties, so read the payment terms before you sign. With us you pay a fixed package price, the work is under NDA, and all rights and royalties stay with you on your own KDP account. Our guide on who owns a ghostwritten book covers the rights side.

Other ebook stores pay differently. According to the Authors Guild statement on the KDP royalty ceiling, Apple Books and Barnes & Noble Press pay 70% at every price, Kobo pays 70% on ebooks priced at $2.99 or more, and none of them charge a per-megabyte delivery fee.

On KDP the whole royalty goes to you. A hybrid publisher collects it first and then pays you a share. Our comparison of self-publishing vs hybrid publishing works through the per-copy difference.

FAQ

Is the KDP royalty 70% of the list price?

Close, but a little less. It is 70% of what remains after VAT and the delivery cost come out of the list price. For a US sale of a small text ebook, that works out to just under 70% of the price.

Does a ghostwriter take a share of my KDP royalties?

It depends on the contract, since some ghostwriters do ask for a cut, so read the payment terms before you sign. With our studio you pay a fixed package price, the work is covered by an NDA, and you keep all rights and royalties with the book on your own KDP account.

Can I change my royalty option after publishing?

Yes, at any time, from your KDP Bookshelf. Changing only the price or royalty option does not send the book back through content review.

Do other ebook stores pay the same as Amazon?

No. The Authors Guild reports that Apple Books and Barnes & Noble Press pay 70% at every price, and Kobo pays 70% on ebooks priced at $2.99 or more. None of them charge a per-megabyte delivery fee.

How is self-publishing different from a hybrid publisher on royalties?

On KDP the whole royalty is yours. A hybrid publisher collects the royalty first and then pays you an agreed share, so you earn less per copy in exchange for their services.

Want help getting your book onto KDP?

If you want an ebook writer in the USA to write or prepare your book, send your topic, length and deadline through our contact page. Fixed packages and what each includes are on the pricing page.

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