How do KDP ebook royalties work in 2026?

What changed in July 2026?

On July 7, 2026, Amazon widened the 70% Kindle ebook royalty price band on Amazon.com. Its upper end moved from $9.99 to $12.99; the $2.99 lower end stayed in place. That is a price eligibility band, not a promise that every book in it earns 70% of the cover price. The KDP list price requirements still apply, along with territorial rules, delivery charges, and the other conditions of the 70% option. If you have a $10.99 ebook that previously sat above the ceiling, the change gives you a pricing decision worth revisiting. Amazon does not automatically move a title from a 35% option to 70% simply because its price now fits.

A useful way to think about the change is that it removes one cliff, then moves another. Before July, a US Kindle ebook at $10.00 sat outside the 70% band. Now it sits inside. A book at $13.00 still sits outside. That one-cent step between $12.99 and $13.00 can therefore make a much bigger difference to royalty per sale than the price increase suggests. The exact payout depends on file size and tax treatment, so use KDP's own estimate before committing to the price.

The wider band can matter especially for professional guides, workbooks, and books that solve an expensive problem. A $12.99 ebook may be easier to justify if it contains a tested process, usable templates, or detailed examples. A short introductory guide may convert better at a lower price. Pricing is an offer decision as well as a royalty calculation: the amount you keep per sale is only one half; the number of readers who buy is the other.

This guide uses US-dollar examples for Amazon.com unless a section explicitly says otherwise. Rates, taxes, and rules differ by marketplace. Worked examples are arithmetic, not sales forecasts. We do not know what your book will sell. If you are still creating the file, our how-to guide generator can help you draft and preview a short ebook before you decide how to list it.

What is the difference between the 35% and 70% options?

KDP offers two main royalty options for Kindle ebooks. Under the 35% option, the royalty is based on the list price after applicable taxes, with no delivery-cost deduction under that option. Under the 70% option, the royalty is based on the price after applicable taxes and a delivery charge. The 70% option requires the ebook to satisfy conditions about price, territory, availability, and the relationship between digital and print prices. Amazon sets out the current details in its ebook royalty help. Read that page when you publish; a clean percentage comparison can hide a rule that changes your actual result.

The point is not to choose 70% at every price. Suppose your ebook is a large, image-heavy reference book. A delivery fee charged per megabyte can reduce the amount on which 70% is calculated. A simpler text-first file can often retain more per sale. Suppose, instead, you want to price above $12.99 because the book includes original research and downloadable materials. The 35% option may still return more dollars per purchase at that price, though it could also reduce demand. Compare dollars per sale at several plausible prices; then test the listing with real shoppers.

Treat this table as a decision map, not a substitute for the KDP pricing screen. The KDP screen knows the marketplace you selected and the file you uploaded. Also check whether an ebook must be priced at least 20% below its print edition to qualify for 70% in the relevant territory; that rule can affect a short paperback and a premium digital edition. If a store presents a different calculation from a guide, use the store's live calculation and revisit the source.

How do you calculate the 70% ebook royalty?

Start with the list price. Remove VAT or other applicable tax where KDP's formula requires it. Subtract the delivery cost for the file in that marketplace. Apply 70% to the remainder. In simplified US examples with no tax adjustment, this looks like 0.70 × (list price − delivery cost). The delivery charge is tied to file size, so a cover plus many full-resolution photographs can cost more to deliver than a mostly textual guide. This is why a list price alone is insufficient to predict payout.

Take a hypothetical 1 MB ebook with a $0.15 delivery charge, priced at $4.99. The simplified calculation is 0.70 × ($4.99 − $0.15), or $3.388, roughly $3.39 before any other adjustments. At $12.99 the same example is 0.70 × ($12.99 − $0.15), or $8.988, roughly $8.99. These are illustrative calculations, not KDP quotes. File conversion can change size and Amazon may calculate marketplace charges differently. Upload the actual file and compare KDP's estimate.

The 35% comparison at $13.00 is striking. In a simplified tax-free US example, 0.35 × $13.00 gives $4.55. If your book qualified for the 70% option at $12.99 with that $0.15 delivery charge, the illustrative payout was about $8.99. Charging one cent more could therefore return roughly $4.44 less per copy. That gap is why a pricing table should be checked at the band boundary. It is also why an old blog post that still says the maximum is $9.99 can lead an author to price poorly after July 2026.

The table deliberately holds the assumed file size constant so you can isolate the price effect. It does not suggest that $12.99 is the optimal selling price. A $4.99 book that sells twice as many copies can outperform a $9.99 book on total revenue; a higher price might signal depth to the right buyer and convert just as well. Use your own audience and comparable titles to decide which hypotheses to test. For a broader launch process, read our ebook launch checklist.

Why does file size change the answer?

The 70% option applies a delivery cost that varies with the size of the ebook file. In the standard Amazon.com example, a charge of $0.15 per megabyte is commonly used, with details and minimums governed by KDP's current royalty policy. A 1 MB text guide and a 20 MB image-rich cookbook will not have identical economics at the same list price. If the file is large enough, the amount left after delivery can shrink enough that the 35% option deserves a closer look. Recheck the live KDP estimate after each export because image compression, embedded fonts, and conversion can alter size.

File size is a production decision, not a reason to ruin the reader's experience. Keep diagrams legible, use photographs where they teach something, and avoid inserting giant images merely to make pages feel substantial. Export the real EPUB, preview it in Kindle Previewer or KDP's preview, and inspect at phone and tablet sizes. A beautifully compressed image is useful only if the labels remain readable. An unreadable table is cheaper to deliver but worse to sell.

A sensible workflow is to compare two versions of the same file: one with original images, one with appropriately resized and compressed images. Check both visually. Then upload the one that preserves clarity and compare KDP's estimated royalty. If the difference is a few cents, choose the better reading experience. If it is materially larger, inspect which assets create the size, not just the final number. EarnDraft exports EPUB, PDF, and DOCX; the KDP tools roundup explains where each fits in the publishing workflow.

Large fixed-layout books, children's picture books, and heavily illustrated workbooks have different practical constraints from a plain text ebook. Do not assume an EPUB exported for a text guide is a ready-to-print coloring book or that every illustration will reflow well on a phone. Kindle ebook economics and print-on-demand economics should be modeled separately. The reader may pay for the format in which the book actually works best.

Which territories qualify for 70%?

Amazon.com is one marketplace. KDP sells in multiple territories, with local list prices, taxes, and eligibility rules. An author can see one royalty for a US sale and another for a sale elsewhere. Do not copy a US calculation into a worldwide forecast. The price band change on July 7 included equivalent changes in other marketplaces, but the displayed amounts and tax treatment can differ. KDP's official price requirements list the marketplaces and current bands.

When you set up a title, use the territory section of the KDP pricing page as a review checklist. First, identify where you have rights to sell. Second, review the suggested conversions, then edit any local prices that need a better psychological endpoint. Third, inspect the royalty estimate for each important marketplace. Fourth, compare the print edition's price if your ebook needs the 70% option. Finally, make sure your sales page describes the format buyers will actually receive. A US price ending in .99 does not automatically become a sensible local price after conversion.

This may feel excessive for a first, short ebook. Start with the countries where you have an audience. You can refine prices later when you have actual sales and reader feedback. What matters at launch is that the price is valid, the metadata is accurate, and the book file is readable. A spreadsheet full of theoretical international demand is not a substitute for a useful book and a clear listing.

If you sell your PDF through Etsy or Gumroad as well, the economics are different from a Kindle sale. Those platforms apply their own listing, transaction, payment, tax, and marketplace fees. Use our Etsy and Gumroad guide to compare distribution choices; do not mix the fee formulas in one unlabelled number.

When can 35% still be the better choice?

A larger percentage is not automatically a larger business. The 35% option may be relevant when you want a list price below $2.99 or above $12.99 on Amazon.com, when your ebook does not meet the 70% conditions, or when delivery cost on a very large file changes the comparison. Public-domain works have separate restrictions. Sales to readers outside the eligible territories can receive 35% even if the title is otherwise set to 70%; KDP's royalty explanation explicitly distinguishes the buyer's location from the seller's.

Consider a compact $1.99 introductory ebook that exists to reach readers who are not yet ready for a full workbook. It cannot enter the US 70% band because it is below $2.99, but its lower price could make sense in an acquisition funnel. Now consider a specialist manual priced at $19.99. Its 35% US royalty in a simplified no-tax example is about $7.00 per sale. A $12.99 version qualifying for 70% could yield more per sale, but shortening or discounting the manual to fit that price may harm the offer. Your choice is not merely which royalty percentage prints in the dashboard; it is what package readers value and how many of them choose it.

Another reason to model 35% is that some titles are not eligible for the 70% option. Amazon states that public-domain works, or works consisting primarily of public-domain material, cannot use 70% in the ordinary way. An author who adds substantial original work should read the current policy rather than assuming a small introduction turns a collection into a new work. The same caution applies to distribution rights and borrowed images: a royalty option never grants rights you do not hold.

A practical comparison sheet has columns for list price, eligible option, actual file size, store estimate per sale, expected buyer, and reason for that price. Fill in a few candidate prices; do not set one price and retroactively invent a justification. If your book is primarily a lead magnet, charging nothing on your own site may serve a completely different objective than earning a Kindle royalty. EarnDraft Pro can publish a hosted book or lead page with retail links; it does not sell books directly through EarnDraft checkout.

Does Kindle Unlimited use the same calculation?

No. Kindle Unlimited is a subscription-reading program. Authors enter it by enrolling the Kindle ebook in KDP Select, a free 90-day program. Eligible reads earn from a monthly global fund using pages read under Amazon's measurement rules, not a simple 70% × list price formula. A $12.99 Kindle list price does not mean every Kindle Unlimited completion pays 70% of $12.99. Read the current KDP Select overview and its earnings explanation before you estimate subscription revenue.

The bigger choice is exclusivity. During a KDP Select enrollment period, the digital ebook must be exclusive to the Kindle Store under the program's terms, with limited exceptions such as public libraries. This can conflict with a plan to sell the same digital book on Etsy, Gumroad, Apple Books, or your own website. Your paperback can generally remain elsewhere, but the digital file needs careful review. Do not put the same PDF behind a public download link and assume a different file extension avoids the rule. The program is about the digital content, not only the filename.

A short nonfiction guide may be useful as an email signup incentive, a course companion, or a $19 PDF on a creator storefront. In that case, the flexibility to deliver it in several places may be worth more than subscription reads. A genre-fiction author with a series and a Kindle-first audience may make the opposite choice. The audience and format drive the answer. If you are building a free audience asset, start with lead magnet ideas and decide the distribution strategy before you enroll anything in an exclusive program.

How do paperback royalties compare?

Paperback royalties are a separate calculation. They depend on list price, marketplace, print format, page count, ink, and printing cost. KDP's current printing-cost guidance is the place to calculate the actual amount for a particular book. Do not reuse the Kindle 70% band or the ebook delivery charge when planning a print edition. They are different products with different cost structures and often different buyers.

A 100-page text workbook and a 100-page full-color workbook can have very different printing costs. Trim size, paper selection, and whether pages require bleed also affect production. A print book can be useful for exercises readers complete by hand, but the price must leave a margin after printing. A digital workbook sold as a PDF has no per-copy print cost, although the marketplace will still charge its fees. If your audience expects a writable print format, compare the two editions on usefulness as well as margin.

Start by specifying the physical object: trim size, page count, interior ink, paper, and cover. Check KDP's preview for cut-off prompts, narrow margins, and illegible tables. Upload a proof where the cost of a printing error would be high. Then use KDP's live pricing page to see the resulting minimum list price and estimated royalty. Recalculate after editing the file; a dozen extra pages can alter printing cost and spine requirements. A spreadsheet made before the final layout is a planning tool, not the final quote.

EarnDraft can generate a print-ready PDF for supported book formats, but you must review the file against the selected trim, bleed, and cover specifications before submitting it to KDP. The title, ISBN, cover wrap, and store submission remain your responsibility. Our KDP tools guide separates what the creation tool does from what the store and your final review do.

What price should you start with?

Start with the reader's job and the alternatives they can see. A $2.99 introductory pamphlet, a $7.99 practical guide, and a $12.99 specialist workbook make different promises. None is universally correct. Search for books serving the same outcome, in the same format and market, with comparable depth. Read the first pages and reviews. Note which books include worksheets, examples, downloadable extras, or an author with a distinct method. Use those observations to choose a reasonable test price, not to copy a competitor's number without understanding its offer.

Next, calculate the per-sale payout for several candidate prices. One simple decision test compares gross royalty at two prices with the number of sales needed to match. Suppose one eligible price yields an illustrative $3.39 per copy and another yields $6.89. The lower-priced edition needs a little over twice as many sales to make the same royalty total. That does not predict which one will convert. It tells you what lift the lower price would need. If you have a list or paid traffic, you can observe that lift. If you have no distribution, the first problem is likely reaching relevant buyers, not squeezing another percentage point from price.

A useful price test changes one variable at a time. Keep the cover, description, and audience source stable while you compare list prices over a sensible period. Record impressions, page visits, conversions, refunds, and revenue per visitor if you can see them. KDP does not expose every stage of the funnel, so do not treat a handful of daily sales as a precise experiment. If you change cover, category, ad budget, and price together, you will not know what caused the result.

Do not add earnings claims to the listing because a formula looks exciting. A book priced at $12.99 earns nothing if nobody buys it. Our profitable ebook niches guide is about choosing a clear reader problem and testing demand; it is not a guarantee that a niche will pay.

How should a coach price a lead-magnet-to-book ladder?

A coach may have three versions of one idea: a free five-page checklist, a focused paid ebook, and a higher-touch course or service. The paid ebook needs to do more than repackage the free checklist. It should include a complete process, examples from the coach's actual practice, and exercises a reader can use independently. This is where the price becomes credible. The free item earns permission to follow up; the paid item earns money because it solves a larger problem.

Imagine a time-management coach who gives away a one-page weekly planning worksheet. The paid book could explain how to identify overload, choose a realistic weekly limit, plan recurring work, and review the result after two weeks. It could include fillable prompts and sample calendars. A vague “productivity secrets” ebook would be harder to price because the buyer cannot tell what changes after reading. The product is not the number of pages; it is the usable transformation those pages support.

For a creator who already has an email list, a hosted page with a preview chapter can test the book's promise before a marketplace listing is live. Readers can see the sample, join the list, and later follow the retail link. That page is an owned distribution asset; it does not replace Amazon's book page or process payments for the book. You can start with EarnDraft's book creator, edit the draft heavily enough to add your own method, then decide whether the best first edition is a Kindle ebook, PDF, or both under the applicable store terms.

If you plan to sell on multiple channels, decide on exclusive programs before promising buyers delivery through each channel. KDP Select can block simultaneous digital distribution during enrollment. Write down the intended path: free sample, paid version, stores, email sequence, and any exclusivity windows. Then price the paid version for its value to the intended reader, and use the royalty calculations to confirm the economics work.

What does a responsible launch test look like?

A launch test begins with a complete, readable book and a listing that tells the truth. Put the strongest outcome in the title or subtitle where the store permits it, but avoid claims you cannot prove. Give the description a concrete opening: who the book is for, what task it helps them finish, and what is inside. Upload a cover legible at thumbnail size. Check the table of contents and sample pages in KDP's preview. Ask at least one person who resembles the target reader to use the material, not merely to say whether it looks nice.

Before launch, record a baseline: chosen prices, royalty estimates, file size, marketplaces, cover version, description, categories, and intended promotional channels. A log need not be elaborate. It protects you from the very common memory error of remembering an experiment as more successful than it was. A simple dated note with screenshots of the KDP price estimate is enough. If the file changes, record the new estimate, because the delivery fee may move.

During the first weeks, track what you can actually observe. For a hosted EarnDraft book page, look at visits and retail-link clicks where available. For a store listing, look at the reports the store provides. Compare against the traffic sources you used. If people visit the sample but do not follow the store link, the preview or offer may need work. If people click through but do not buy, inspect the listing, reviews, price, and competing titles. If nobody visits, a price change is unlikely to solve discovery.

At the end of a test, decide the next single change. Improve the cover if it fails at small size. Rewrite the description if it describes the book instead of the result. Add examples if early readers find the material too general. Change price when the offer is clear but buyers signal that the value and cost are mismatched. Keep the book useful while you learn. Our launch checklist covers the practical submission and promotion steps.

What does AI disclosure change about royalties?

KDP's AI-content disclosure requirement and its royalty calculation are separate matters. Amazon requires publishers to inform it of AI-generated text, images, or translations when publishing or republishing through KDP. The current content guidelines explain the distinction between AI-generated and AI-assisted content. Answer the submission questions truthfully; do not assume an AI-created cover or chapter can be hidden by editing the final file. Disclosure does not turn a 35% price into a 70% price, or the other way around.

EarnDraft generates an outline, chapters, and cover from your instructions. Review and correct every part before publication: names, facts, exercises, citations, and examples. The tool can produce a draft quickly, but it cannot verify a medical claim, interview your clients, or supply firsthand experience you have not given it. If the book advises on health, finance, or law, use appropriate subject-matter review. A clear AI disclosure is one publishing obligation; usefulness and accuracy are separate obligations to your reader.

When you export, EarnDraft includes an AI-disclosure page and listing language to review. Those are prompts to help you answer the store's questions, not a substitute for reading the current policy or making the final selection yourself. A reader-facing note can also explain how the book was made and what a human checked, especially when trust is central to the subject. For the full submission decision tree, use our KDP AI disclosure guide.

The royalty-focused takeaway is simple: do not treat disclosure as a pricing hack or a reason to cut editorial quality. A book that meets the price band but disappoints its readers is not a durable business. A good price begins with a book that keeps the promise on the cover.

What should you check before clicking publish?

Use this final pass after the manuscript and cover are uploaded. The order matters: file changes can affect delivery size, and cover or metadata changes can affect buyer response. Work from the actual upload, not a draft in your writing app.

1. Confirm the buyer and format. Say who this edition serves and whether it is Kindle ebook, paperback, or an off-Amazon PDF. One title can have several editions with different economics.
2. Preview the file. Inspect the opening, table of contents, diagrams, tables, chapter breaks, and ending on more than one device size. Repair any page that needs zooming to understand.
3. Check rights and disclosure. Verify text and image rights, answer KDP's AI questions, and ensure the cover and description match the book you uploaded.
4. Set the intended marketplaces. Review the price in each important currency, rather than accepting conversions without looking.
5. Read the estimated royalty. Compare at least three price points, including a lower reference point and, if relevant, the $12.99 band edge. Use KDP's estimate with the final file size.
6. Review exclusivity. If you choose KDP Select, write down what digital editions cannot be distributed elsewhere during the term.
7. Capture a dated baseline. Save your launch price, estimate, description, cover, and channels so later changes have an honest comparison.
8. Set a review date. Give the listing time to collect meaningful evidence. At that date, change one variable based on the specific bottleneck.

A spreadsheet can make this easier, but the checklist works on paper. Record what you know, label assumptions, and update facts when a platform changes its policy. The July 2026 price-band change is a good reminder that publishing rules are living inputs. Revisiting an old title can be as valuable as launching a new one.

Quick answers to common royalty questions

Is the 70% rate available at $10.99 now? On Amazon.com, $10.99 is inside the price band from July 7, 2026. Your ebook must still meet the other requirements. Check the live KDP pricing screen for the title and marketplace. A pre-existing 35% selection does not necessarily change on its own.

Does 70% mean I keep 70 cents of every dollar the customer pays? No. Applicable VAT and the delivery cost under the 70% option affect the calculation. Amazon also distinguishes eligible and ineligible buyer territories. Compare actual estimated royalties rather than multiplying the displayed retail price by .70.

Is $12.99 always the best price? No. It is the top of the current US 70% band, not a recommendation. Test price against conversion, reader expectations, and comparable books. A lower price can earn more total revenue if it attracts enough additional buyers; a higher 35%-option price can be appropriate for a different offer.

Will my paperback earn 70% too? No. Print editions use print royalty rates and subtract printing costs. Page count, trim, ink, paper, and marketplace matter. Calculate the print edition separately with KDP's current print tools.

Can I sell the Kindle ebook on Gumroad while it is in KDP Select? KDP Select requires digital exclusivity for the enrollment period, subject to its current terms. Check the exact treatment of your format and samples before promising the same digital content on another storefront. Outside Select, broader distribution may be possible under the applicable agreements.

Does the 2026 change affect audiobooks? No. Amazon's price-band announcement concerns Kindle ebooks. Audiobook pricing and royalties are separate. EarnDraft does not currently create audiobooks, so we have not blended those economics into the ebook examples.

How often should I revisit this page? Recheck whenever KDP changes its pricing policy, when you alter the book file, or when you start selling in a new marketplace. This guide was checked against KDP's published rules on September 26, 2026. For an actual upload, KDP's live estimate and terms are the final operational source.