70% tier eligible: $2.99 – $9.99
Delivery fee is $0.15/MB on the 70% tier.
Your Royalty
Your maximum profitable ACOS on Amazon Ads.
- Your royalty3.28
- Amazon's share1.41
- Delivery cost0.30
How Kindle eBook royalties work
Amazon KDP offers two royalty options when you publish a Kindle eBook. The 35% tier pays you 35% of the list price, has no delivery fee, and works at any price. The 70% tier pays you 70% of the list price minus a per-megabyte delivery fee, but only if your list price falls inside an eligible range (typically $2.99–$9.99 USD on Amazon.com, with equivalent native-currency ranges on other marketplaces).
The 70% tier is almost always the better choice when you're eligible — even with delivery fees, a $4.99 book earns about $3.28 on the 70% tier vs $1.75 on the 35% tier. The exception is books priced above $9.99 (the 70% tier doesn't apply) and very large files (20+ MB), where the delivery fee can eat into the math.
Common eBook pricing mistakes
- 1Pricing just above $9.99. A book at $10.99 earns 35% × $10.99 = $3.85; a book at $9.99 earns 70% × ($9.99 − delivery) ≈ $6.93. You make almost double for charging less.
- 2Ignoring file size on image-heavy books. A 30 MB cookbook costs $4.50 in delivery fees per sale on the 70% tier. Compress images aggressively or accept the 35% tier.
- 3Setting one global price. Marketplaces have different 70% bands. £8.50 is outside the UK 70% range (max £7.81) even though $9.99 USD is inside the US range. Customise pricing per marketplace to stay in the 70% tier.
- 4Forgetting Amazon Ads break-even. If your royalty is $3.28 per sale, your max profitable ACOS is roughly 65% (3.28 / 4.99). Bid your campaign target CPC accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between 35% and 70% royalty on Kindle?
KDP gives you two royalty options when you publish an eBook. The 35% tier pays you 35% of the list price with no delivery fees. The 70% tier pays you 70% of the list price minus a per-megabyte delivery fee — but only if your book is priced between $2.99 and $9.99 (USD), and you opt into KDP Select or sell on supported marketplaces. For most authors pricing between $2.99 and $9.99, the 70% tier is the right choice.
What's a delivery fee on Kindle?
On the 70% royalty tier, Amazon charges you $0.15 per megabyte of your file (US — other marketplaces vary slightly). A 2 MB novel costs you $0.30 in delivery fees per sale. Image-heavy books, cookbooks, or kids' books with many illustrations can easily hit 20+ MB, which is $3+ in delivery fees per sale. There's no delivery fee on the 35% tier.
Should I price my book at $2.99 or $9.99?
Both are inside the 70% tier band, but they target very different reader behaviour. $2.99 maximises volume and impulse buys; $9.99 maximises revenue per sale. Test the price slider above to see your royalty at every price point in between — most fiction sweet-spots between $3.99–$5.99, and most non-fiction between $7.99–$9.99.
What happens if my book is over $9.99?
You drop down to the 35% tier automatically — even if you opted into 70%. So a $14.99 book earns you $5.25 (35% of $14.99), not $10.49. That's why most KDP authors stay just under $9.99: pricing at $9.99 earns you $6.93+ on the 70% tier vs $5.25 at $14.99 on the 35% tier.
Why does my royalty change by marketplace?
Each marketplace has its own currency, its own 70% tier price band, and its own delivery fee per MB. Amazon.com's 70% band is $2.99–$9.99 USD; Amazon.de's is roughly €2.69–€9.69; Amazon.co.uk's is £1.99–£7.81. Pick the marketplace your readers buy from to get accurate numbers.
Does KDP Select change my royalty?
KDP Select doesn't change the basic 35%/70% math, but it makes you eligible for the 70% tier in additional marketplaces (Brazil, India, Japan, Mexico) and lets you earn KENP page-read royalties from Kindle Unlimited subscribers. Use the KENP calculator on Scrivy to estimate that side of the income.
Do these numbers include Amazon Ads or other costs?
No — this calculator shows the gross royalty you earn per sale. Subtract any ad spend, marketing costs, editing/cover costs, and taxes to get your actual profit. The 'Break-Even ACOS' figure shown is what your Amazon Ads ACOS must stay below for ad-driven sales to be profitable.
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