Paperback royalties on KDP: how print cost shapes your price
How KDP paperback royalties work: the 50% and 60% rates, how page count, ink, and trim set printing cost, worked examples, and pricing for margin.
On this page
Paperback royalties on Amazon KDP work differently from ebook royalties. Instead of simply a percentage of the list price, you earn a percentage of the list price with the cost of printing each copy subtracted from it. That makes printing cost one of the biggest factors in your price, and it’s set by decisions you make long before you publish: page count, ink, and trim size.
The figures below are for Amazon.com and were current when this was written. KDP shows your exact printing cost and royalty during setup, so confirm them there before you set a price.
The formula
KDP’s paperback royalty is:
(royalty rate × list price) − printing cost = royalty
The royalty rate depends on the list price. Since June 2025, paperbacks sold on Amazon’s marketplaces earn:
- 60% when the list price is at or above a threshold, which is $9.99 on Amazon.com
- 50% when the list price is below it
Other marketplaces have their own thresholds, such as £7.99 in the UK, €9.99 in the euro stores, and $13.99 in Canada and Australia.
If you enable Expanded Distribution, which makes the book available to other retailers and libraries, those sales earn 40% of the list price, less the printing cost.
What sets the printing cost
KDP’s printing cost is a fixed charge per book plus a charge per page, and it varies with ink and trim size. On Amazon.com:
| Ink | Pages | Regular trim | Large trim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 24 to 110 | $2.30 flat | $2.84 flat |
| Black | over 110 | $1.00 + $0.012 per page | $1.00 + $0.017 per page |
| Standard color | 72 to 600 | $1.00 + $0.0255 per page | $1.00 + $0.0402 per page |
| Premium color | 24 to 40 | $3.60 flat | $4.20 flat |
| Premium color | 42 and over | $1.00 + $0.065 per page | $1.00 + $0.08 per page |
KDP counts any trim wider than 6.12 inches or taller than 9 inches as large. A 6 x 9 inch novel is regular; an 8.5 x 11 inch workbook is large.
Worked examples
A 300-page novel
A 6 x 9 inch novel with 300 pages in black ink costs $1.00 + (300 × $0.012) = $4.60 to print.
| List price | Rate | Royalty per sale |
|---|---|---|
| $9.98 | 50% | $0.39 |
| $9.99 | 60% | $1.39 |
| $12.99 | 60% | $3.19 |
| $14.99 | 60% | $4.39 |
One cent at the threshold changes the royalty by a dollar. If comparable books in your genre sell at $9.99 or above, pricing just under the line costs you far more than it saves the reader.
A short book
A 150-page, 5 x 8 inch book in black ink costs $1.00 + (150 × $0.012) = $2.80 to print. At $8.99, with the 50% rate, the royalty is about $1.70. At $9.99, with the 60% rate, it’s about $3.19.
A color picture book
A 32-page, 8.5 x 8.5 inch picture book in premium color costs a flat $4.20 to print, because a square trim that wide counts as large. At $12.99, the royalty is about $3.59; at $9.99, it’s about $1.79.
Expanded Distribution
The 300-page novel at $14.99 earns about $1.40 per copy through Expanded Distribution (40% × $14.99 − $4.60), compared with $4.39 on Amazon. Decide whether the wider reach is worth the smaller margin, and check that your price clears the minimum for that channel.
The minimum list price
KDP won’t let you set a price where the royalty would be negative. The minimum is the printing cost divided by the royalty rate. For the 300-page novel, that’s $4.60 ÷ 0.50 = $9.20, because prices below $9.99 earn 50%.
That means books with high printing costs can’t be priced low at all. Before you commit to a long book in color, check that the minimum price is one readers in your genre will pay.
Ways to improve the margin
- Choose the trim with cost in mind. A slightly larger regular trim can reduce the page count without moving into the large-trim tier.
- Check the interior layout. Generous margins and readable type matter, but excess spacing, stray blank pages, and oversized chapter openings add pages without adding value.
- Use black ink unless color is essential. A few color diagrams can often be redrawn in grayscale.
- Price at or above the threshold when your genre supports it.
Don’t shrink the type or the margins below what’s comfortable to read. A cramped book saves cents per copy and costs you reviews.
Setting a price readers accept
The royalty math tells you what a price earns, not whether readers will pay it. Before you settle:
- List comparable paperbacks. Note the list prices of five to ten recent, similar books in your genre and at a similar length.
- Find the range. Most genres have a band that readers treat as normal for a paperback of a given length.
- Place your book in the range. A longer book, a series starter, or a debut may sit at different points within it.
- Check your royalty at that price. If it’s too thin, look at trim, layout, and ink before you push the price above what readers expect.
Hardcovers follow similar rules
KDP’s hardcovers use the same structure: a royalty rate of 50% or 60% depending on the list price, minus a printing cost. Hardcovers cost more to print, so the minimum price is higher, and KDP’s hardcover option has its own page-count range and trim sizes. Check the hardcover printing cost in KDP’s setup rather than estimating it from the paperback.
Paperback prices in other marketplaces
KDP lets you set the paperback’s price for each Amazon marketplace, or base the others on your US price. Converted prices often land on awkward numbers, and the thresholds differ by marketplace, so check each one. A price that clears the 60% threshold in the US may fall just below it in the UK or Canada after conversion. Printing costs also differ by marketplace, and KDP lists them separately for each one, so the same book can earn a different royalty per copy in each store.
How print and ebook prices interact
KDP’s 70% ebook royalty requires the ebook to be priced at least 20% below the list price of the print edition on Amazon, so set the paperback price first and the ebook price after. For the ebook side, see pricing an ebook on KDP. If you haven’t chosen a trim size yet, trim sizes and interior formatting basics covers the options.
Common paperback pricing mistakes
- Carrying ebook pricing habits over to print, where the printing cost changes the math
- Pricing a few cents below the 60% threshold out of habit
- Forgetting that a revised interior with more pages raises both the printing cost and the minimum price
- Setting one US price and letting other marketplaces convert to awkward amounts
Each one is easy to catch if you check the royalty preview after every change.
Author copies
When you order author copies, you pay the printing cost plus shipping and any applicable taxes. Author copies don’t earn royalties or count toward your sales rank, but they’re often the cheapest way to get books for events, giveaways, and local shops.
Paperback pricing checklist
- Trim size and page count final, so the printing cost is accurate
- Printing cost checked in KDP’s setup
- Royalty calculated at your price, and at the $9.99 threshold for comparison
- Comparable books’ paperback prices reviewed
- Prices checked in each marketplace against its own threshold
- Expanded Distribution decided on purpose
- Ebook priced at least 20% below the paperback
The free KDP Royalty Calculator in AIBookWriter handles paperbacks as well as ebooks. Enter the marketplace, list price, page count, and ink type to see the printing cost and the royalty, and try a few prices before you decide.