Ebook royalty
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KDP Royalty & Ads Break-even Calculator 2026
Ebook, paperback and Kindle Unlimited royalties under the current KDP rules, plus what one reader is worth across your series and the most you can pay for an Amazon Ads click.
Rules checked on KDP Help on . The 70% ebook band is now $2.99–$12.99 (since July 7, 2026).
Per sale
Paperback royalty
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KU income per full read
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Advanced: what one reader is worth
One new Book 1 reader
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Reader lifetime value (series)
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Advanced: Amazon Ads break-even
Break-even ACOS, ebook sale only
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Break-even ACOS, paperback sale only
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Break-even ACOS on Book 1, counting KU & series
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Max CPC, Book 1 only
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Max CPC, counting the whole series
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Per book in the series
If you advertise a later book, its readers only go on to the books after it. "Max CPC" means you break even at this bid. Bid lower to make a profit.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Book | Book 1 readers who get here | Earned per reader of this book | Max CPC, this book only | Max CPC, with later books | Break-even ACOS, with later books |
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How we calculate
Every number comes from the published KDP formulas and your inputs. The calculation runs in your browser, and the numbers you type are never sent anywhere. Figures are for Amazon.com in US dollars, where buyers pay no VAT. We checked every rule against the KDP Help pages on 18 October 2026. Anything we couldn't confirm on an official page is labelled Assumption.
Formulas
- Ebook, 70% option: 0.70 × (list price − delivery cost). Delivery cost = file size in MB × $0.15, with the size rounded up to the nearest KB and a $0.01 minimum. Only list prices from $2.99 to $12.99 qualify.
- Ebook, 35% option: 0.35 × list price, with no delivery cost.
- Paperback: royalty rate × list price − printing cost. The rate is 60% at $9.99 and up and 50% at $9.98 and below. Expanded Distribution pays 40% × list price − printing cost.
- Printing cost: fixed cost + page count × per-page cost, from the KDP table below. Short books pay a flat fee only.
- KU per full read: KENP pages (at most 3,000) × KENP rate.
- One new reader of a book: (share who buy × [ebook share × ebook royalty + paperback share × paperback royalty]) + (KU share × KU income per full read).
- Reader lifetime value: Book 1 reader value + the sum, for each later book, of the share of Book 1 readers who reach it × the value of a reader of that book. The share who reach Book k = (1 → 2 read-through) × (later read-through)k−2.
- Break-even ACOS: what a reader earns you ÷ what Amazon Ads counts as sales for that reader (purchases at list price; KU borrows count as $0).
- Max CPC: click-to-reader conversion rate × what a reader earns you. At this bid you make $0. Bid lower to profit.
Paperback printing cost, Amazon.com (USD)
| Ink and paper | Pages | Regular trim | Large trim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black, white or cream | 24–110 | $2.30 flat | $2.84 flat |
| 112–828 | $1.00 + $0.012/page | $1.00 + $0.017/page | |
| Black, groundwood | 24–112 | $2.23 flat | $2.75 flat |
| 114–828 | $1.00 + $0.0114/page | $1.00 + $0.0162/page | |
| Standard color | 72–600 | $1.00 + $0.0255/page | $1.00 + $0.0402/page |
| Premium color | 24–40 | $3.60 flat | $4.20 flat |
| 42–828 | $1.00 + $0.065/page | $1.00 + $0.08/page |
Need other marketplaces or a hardcover? Use the KDP printing cost calculator. For the cover file size, use the KDP cover calculator.
Large trim means more than 6.12" wide or more than 9" tall. The KDP Paperback Royalty page says trim size doesn't affect printing cost, but the Printing Cost page has separate large-trim prices. We use the Printing Cost tables.
Rules, status and sources
| Rule | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The 70% ebook price band on Amazon.com is $2.99–$12.99, effective July 7, 2026 (it was $2.99–$9.99 since 2007) | Verified | eBook List Price Requirements, checked 18 Oct 2026 |
| 70% = 70% × (list price − VAT − delivery cost); 35% = 35% × (list price − VAT) | Verified | Digital Book Pricing Page (last updated 21 Apr 2026), checked 18 Oct 2026 |
| Delivery cost of $0.15/MB on Amazon.com, file size rounded up to the KB, $0.01 minimum, rounded to the cent | Verified | Digital Book Pricing Page |
| 35% minimum list price: $0.99 under 3 MB, $1.99 for 3–10 MB, $2.99 for 10 MB and up; $200 maximum | Verified | eBook List Price Requirements |
| Paperback: 50% at $9.98 and below, 60% at $9.99 and up, minus printing; Expanded Distribution 40%; $250 maximum | Verified | Paperback Royalty, checked 18 Oct 2026 |
| Printing cost table, large-trim definition, minimum list price = printing cost ÷ royalty rate | Verified | Paperback Printing Cost, checked 18 Oct 2026 |
| KU pays each author a share of the monthly KDP Select Global Fund based on pages read, capped at 3,000 KENP per title per customer, first read only | Verified | Royalties in Kindle Unlimited, checked 18 Oct 2026 |
| Default KENP rate of $0.00482 per page (April 2026, the latest tracked month). Amazon publishes the fund size, not a per-page rate. KDP showed total KDP Select author earnings of $69.3M for September 2026. | Assumption | profitable.app KENP tracker (community data, not Amazon) |
| A KU borrower reads the whole book. Partial reads earn proportionally less. | Assumption | Our simplification |
| Amazon Ads ACOS counts purchases only, not KU page reads. Ad-attributed KENP is reported separately. | Assumption | Third-party guides. We couldn't confirm it on an official KDP page. |
| Later books keep the same KU share and paperback share as Book 1 | Assumption | Our simplification |
| Default 10% click-to-reader conversion | Assumption | A rule of thumb, not a measured benchmark. Use your own number. |
Not modeled yet: other marketplaces and currencies, VAT/GST, hardcovers, price matching, Kindle Countdown Deals, audiobooks and taxes withheld from your payments.
FAQ
How much does KDP pay per ebook sale in 2026?
On Amazon.com, ebooks priced from $2.99 to $12.99 can earn the 70% royalty: 70% of the list price minus a delivery cost of $0.15 per MB. Since July 7, 2026 the top of that band is $12.99 (it was $9.99). Ebooks priced outside the band, or set to the 35% option, earn 35% of the list price with no delivery cost.
What changed with the KDP $12.99 royalty limit?
Effective July 7, 2026, KDP raised the maximum list price for the 70% ebook royalty option on Amazon.com from $9.99 to $12.99, with equivalent changes in other marketplaces. The $2.99 minimum, the 35% option and delivery costs did not change. A $11.99 ebook with a 2 MB file now earns $8.18 per sale instead of $4.20.
How are KDP paperback royalties calculated?
Paperback royalty = royalty rate × list price − printing cost. On Amazon.com the rate is 60% for list prices of $9.99 and up and 50% at $9.98 and below. Printing cost depends on page count, ink, paper and trim size. A 300-page black-ink 6×9 paperback costs $4.60 to print, so at $14.99 you earn $4.39 per copy. Expanded Distribution pays 40% of list price minus printing.
How much does Kindle Unlimited pay per page (KENP rate)?
Amazon does not publish a fixed per-page rate. Each month it splits the KDP Select Global Fund by each author's share of pages read. Community trackers put the rate at roughly $0.0045–$0.0048 per KENP; the latest tracked month we found was April 2026 at $0.00482. You are paid for at most 3,000 KENP per title per customer, and only the first time a page is read.
What is break-even ACOS for a book?
ACOS (advertising cost of sales) is ad spend divided by ad-attributed sales. You break even when the ad cost of a sale equals the royalty from it, so break-even ACOS = royalty ÷ list price. For a $4.99 ebook earning $3.28, break-even ACOS is about 66%. If you count Kindle Unlimited reads and the rest of your series, the break-even ACOS on Book 1 can be much higher.
How do I calculate the maximum CPC for Amazon Ads on my book?
Maximum CPC = conversion rate × what one new reader earns you. If 10% of clicks become readers and each reader earns you $2.69, you break even at $0.27 per click. Bid below that number to make a profit.
Why can a series run Amazon Ads above 100% ACOS and still profit?
ACOS only counts purchases of the advertised book. It leaves out Kindle Unlimited page reads and later books in the series that the reader goes on to buy or borrow. If enough readers continue, the lifetime value of a Book 1 reader can exceed the Book 1 sale price, so an ACOS above 100% can still be profitable.
Does this calculator use AI or store my data?
No. Every number comes from the published KDP formulas and your inputs, calculated in your browser. The numbers you type are never sent to a server, and author data is never used to train anything. We use a Google Ads tag to measure our ads, and its cookies are only set if you accept them. Read the AI policy and Privacy & cookies.