How to Price a Self-Published Book: Ebook and Paperback

You've uploaded the files and KDP wants a list price. It feels like a guess, but the rules behind that box are public, and a single cent can change what you earn.

Price a 300-page paperback at $9.98 and Amazon.com pays you 39 cents a copy. At $9.99 you get $1.39. Ebooks have a cliff too: one cent over the top of KDP's 70% band and your royalty rate halves.

Figures below are for Amazon.com unless stated. If you haven't added up what the book cost to make, start with the real cost of self-publishing a book, since that tells you how many sales you need.

KDP royalty options for ebooks: 35% or 70%

Every KDP ebook earns one of two royalty rates:

• 35% of the list price. On Amazon.com you can price from $0.99 (for files under 3 MB) up to $200.
• 70% of the list price minus a delivery cost of $0.15 per megabyte of your file. KDP says delivery averages about $0.06 a sale.

The 70% rate only applies inside a price band. Since 7 July 2026, that band on Amazon.com is $2.99 to $12.99. Before that it stopped at $9.99. Price outside the band and you earn 35%.

Already priced between $10 and $12.99 on 35%? Nothing changes by itself. KDP keeps your current price and royalty option until you switch the book to 70% on its pricing page, so it's worth checking your older titles today.

Your ebook must also be priced at least 20% below any print edition on Amazon, and books that are mainly public domain can only use 35%. Sales to readers outside KDP's 70% territories still pay 35%, and in Brazil, Japan, Mexico and India, 70% also needs KDP Select.

Here's what one Amazon.com sale pays, assuming a 2 MB file ($0.30 delivery) and no VAT:

List price	Royalty rate	You earn per sale
$0.99	35%	$0.35
$2.99	70%	$1.88
$4.99	70%	$3.28
$9.99	70%	$6.78
$12.99	70%	$8.88
$14.99	35% (above the band)	$5.25

Look at the last row: the same book earns less at $14.99 than at $12.99. KDP's pricing tab shows your royalty as you type, and KDP's eBook list price requirements page lists the limits for every store.

Ebook pricing: why indie books often start low in the 70% band

Many indie novels sit at $2.99 to $4.99, even with the band now reaching $12.99. $2.99 is the cheapest price that earns 70%, and a low price makes an unfamiliar author an easy risk. Every extra reader can also leave a review and buy your next book.

At $4.99 you earn $3.28 and at $2.99 you earn $1.88, so the lower price needs about 1.75 times the sales to match. The top of the band suits long nonfiction, specialist guides and box sets, which can now sit at $9.99 to $12.99 and keep 70%.

Series pricing: a cheaper or free first book

In a series, book one brings readers in and the later books earn. A common pattern is book one at $0.99 or $2.99, then the rest at $4.99 or more.

KDP won't let you set a $0 list price, but there are two ways to make an ebook free:

1. A KDP Select Free Book Promotion. You get up to 5 free days in each 90-day enrolment period. Free copies earn nothing, and unused days don't roll over.
2. Price matching. If the ebook is free at another retailer, Amazon may match it, and you earn nothing while it's free. That's Amazon's call, not a setting, and it rules out KDP Select, which needs your ebook to be exclusive to Amazon.

In KDP Select you can instead run a Kindle Countdown Deal on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk once the book has been enrolled for 30 days. You keep 70% even below $2.99, but each 90-day term allows a Countdown Deal or a free promotion, not both.

KDP printing cost: how paperback costs are worked out

KDP prints each paperback when it's ordered and takes the cost out of your royalty: fixed cost + (page count × per-page cost) = printing cost. The current Amazon.com figures:

Paperback (Amazon.com)	Pages	Regular trim	Large trim
Black ink	24 to 110	$2.30 flat	$2.84 flat
Black ink	110 to 828	$1.00 + $0.012/page	$1.00 + $0.017/page
Standard colour	72 to 600	$1.00 + $0.0255/page	$1.00 + $0.0402/page
Premium colour	24 to 40	$3.60 flat	$4.20 flat
Premium colour	42 to 828	$1.00 + $0.065/page	$1.00 + $0.08/page

Large trim means wider than 6.12 inches or taller than 9 inches, so 6 x 9 counts as regular (more in KDP paperback trim size, margins and bleed). A 300-page black-and-white 6 x 9 paperback costs $1.00 + (300 × $0.012) = $4.60. A 100-page premium colour book at a large trim costs $9.00.

Page count is your biggest lever, so check how many pages your book will be. KDP's printing cost page covers every marketplace, and the printing cost and royalty calculator does the sums.

Paperback price on KDP: royalty and the $9.99 line

According to KDP's paperback royalty page, paperbacks on Amazon's own stores earn 50% or 60% of the list price, minus printing. On Amazon.com, $9.98 or less earns 50% and $9.99 or more earns 60%. KDP's minimum list price is your printing cost divided by the royalty rate, so for the 300-page book it's $4.60 ÷ 50% = $9.20.

List price	Royalty rate	You earn per sale
$9.20 (minimum)	50%	$0.00
$9.98	50%	$0.39
$9.99	60%	$1.39
$12.99	60%	$3.19
$14.99	60%	$4.39

Expanded Distribution, which offers your paperback to bookshops and libraries, pays 40% minus printing: $1.40 a copy at $14.99, and your minimum price changes once you enrol. If bookshop reach matters, see KDP vs IngramSpark: which one should you choose.

Hardcovers follow the same 50% or 60% rule and $9.99 line but cost more to print. KDP's own example puts a 300-page black-and-white hardcover at $9.25, so at $19.99 you'd keep $2.74. Selling all three formats is one of the simplest ways to turn one book into multiple income streams.

Pricing your book in other Amazon marketplaces

KDP can convert your US price for the other stores, or you can type each price yourself. A straight conversion rarely lands on a tidy number, and £3.71 looks priced for somebody else. Type familiar local prices like £3.99 or €4.99 by hand for your main markets.

• Each store has its own 70% band, such as £1.77 to £12.99 on Amazon.co.uk and €2.69 to €12.99 in the euro stores. For print, the 60% rate starts at £7.99 in the UK and €9.99 in the euro stores.
• Tax differs by format. Ebook prices in the UK and EU stores include VAT. Print prices are entered without tax, and Amazon adds VAT where it applies.
• Manual prices stay put. Changing your US price won't update a store you priced by hand.

Selling beyond Amazon too? See the 3 best platforms to publish your book.

How much to charge for a book: check comparable titles

The rules show you the cliffs. Your genre shows what readers expect to pay.

1. Open the Amazon bestseller list for your exact subgenre in the Kindle Store, not the broad category.
2. Pick 10 to 15 recent books like yours, ideally from independent authors. The publisher line in the product details usually tells you.
3. Note each one's ebook price, paperback price and page count, and whether it's in Kindle Unlimited. For series, note book one separately.
4. Price yours in the middle of that group, a little higher if yours is notably longer.

When to change your price

Ebook price changes can take up to 24 hours to show and print changes 3 to 5 days (KDP's pricing FAQ, linked above). Good moments to revisit it:

• At launch. Some authors start lower to build early sales and reviews, then raise the price. If you lower a pre-order price, everyone who already pre-ordered pays the lower price.
• For a promotion. Discount when you can tell people, through a newsletter or a promo site. A Countdown Deal freezes your list price for 30 days before and 14 days after.
• After reviews build. Raise the price in small steps and watch sales for a few weeks each time.
• When the next book lands. A short price drop on book one gives new readers a cheap way in.

If your ebook is in KDP Select, it's also in Kindle Unlimited, which pays from a monthly fund by pages read rather than by list price; KDP Select vs going wide helps you decide whether that suits your book.

Frequently asked questions

What is the KDP 70% royalty price range?

On Amazon.com, it's $2.99 to $12.99. KDP raised the top of the band from $9.99 on 7 July 2026. Outside that range you earn 35%, and each marketplace has its own band.

How much does KDP charge to print a paperback?

For a black-and-white paperback of 110 to 828 pages at a regular trim on Amazon.com, it's $1.00 plus $0.012 per page. A 300-page book costs $4.60, and colour costs more.

Can I make my ebook free on Amazon?

Not by setting a $0 price. You can run a KDP Select Free Book Promotion for up to 5 days in each 90-day term, or make the ebook free at another retailer and Amazon may match it. The second route means leaving KDP Select.

Should my ebook be cheaper than my paperback?

Yes, if you want 70%. KDP requires your ebook's list price to be at least 20% below any print edition's list price on Amazon. With a $12.99 paperback, the ebook can be $10.39 at most.

Work from the two lines that matter most (the $2.99 to $12.99 ebook band and $9.99 for print), price alongside books like yours, and adjust as readers respond. A price is a setting you can change, not a verdict on your book.