Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) is where most indie authors start. It's free, fast, and reaches millions of readers. But the royalty structure is more complicated than "you get 70%." Before you price your book, you need to understand exactly what Amazon keeps — and when.
This guide breaks down every KDP royalty scenario so you know exactly what to expect.
KDP offers two royalty tiers for ebooks:
That 70% sounds great. But there's a catch most authors miss.
When you enroll in the 70% tier, Amazon deducts a delivery fee of $0.15 per megabyte of your ebook file size. For a typical 300-page novel (around 2–4 MB), that's $0.30–$0.60 off every sale.
Here's what that looks like on a $4.99 ebook:
For image-heavy books (cookbooks, children's books, illustrated guides), file sizes can reach 10–20MB, turning the "70% tier" into something closer to 35%.
KDP print royalties are calculated differently — and are lower.
The formula is:
Royalty = (List Price − Printing Cost) × 60%Printing costs vary by page count, trim size, and paper type. A standard 300-page, 6×9 paperback with black ink costs roughly $3.65 to print.
On a $14.99 paperback:
For expanded distribution (non-Amazon channels like Barnes & Noble, independent bookstores), the royalty drops to 40% of the net instead of 60%, and minimum list prices rise significantly.
KDP added hardcover printing in 2022. The royalty structure mirrors paperback:
Hardcovers work best when your audience expects them (nonfiction, gift books, illustrated works). For fiction, most readers won't pay a $22 hardcover price for an unknown author.
If you enroll your ebook in KDP Select (exclusive to Amazon for 90-day terms), it's included in Kindle Unlimited — Amazon's subscription reading program.
Instead of a per-sale royalty, you're paid per page read:
For a 300-page novel read start-to-finish, that's approximately $1.20–$1.50 per complete read. Compare that to the $3.19 you'd earn from a $4.99 sale.
KDP Select can work well for authors with high read-through rates and series books. For standalone novels or books that sell well at full price, the exclusivity often costs more than it gains.
KDP dominates ebook sales — about 70–75% of the US ebook market — but it's not the highest-paying platform per sale.
| Platform | Ebook Royalty | Print Royalty | Exclusivity? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon KDP (70% tier) | ~64% after delivery fee | ~45% of cover | Optional (KDP Select) |
| IngramSpark | 40–45% | 40–50% | No |
| Draft2Digital | 60% (of retailer net) | N/A | No |
| Author's Loft | Up to 85% | Up to 70% | No |
The tradeoff is reach vs royalty rate. Amazon's volume is massive. Author's Loft pays more per copy but you're responsible for bringing the readers. That's why the right answer often depends on where you are in your author career.
KDP makes the most sense when:
KDP starts to hurt you when:
Authors with an existing platform often find that a combination approach — KDP for discoverability, direct sales for margin — outperforms either alone.
Amazon KDP's royalties are fair — not great, but fair — when you understand the full picture. The 70% headline rate is real, but delivery fees, international rate variances, and the KDP Select exclusivity cost all chip away at your actual take-home.
If you're just starting out, KDP is the right first platform. As you build an audience and understand your readers, diversifying your revenue mix — including direct sales channels that pay 70–85% — becomes worth the effort.
Use our royalty calculator to model your exact earnings across KDP, IngramSpark, and Author's Loft based on your book's price and format.
Run the numbers on your book across KDP, IngramSpark, and Author's Loft — free.
Open the Royalty Calculator →