Book royalty calculator for KDP, IngramSpark and direct sales
This book royalty calculator shows what you keep on one copy of a paperback, hardcover or ebook sold through Amazon KDP, KDP expanded distribution, IngramSpark or your own site. A 280-page, $14.99 paperback keeps $4.63 on Amazon, $2.39 through IngramSpark at a 55 percent discount and $5.90 from your own site, after an assumed card fee.
The tool works out print cost from page count and ink, applies each channel's rate, flags a price that loses money, and divides a spend by your best royalty to find copies to break even. It doesn't know your printer, your taxes, your returns or your sales. For the cost side, use the budget and break-even calculator. Rules below are as of October 2026.
These are KDP’s US regular-trim print costs as published in October 2026, and they change. Choosing an interior loads that ink’s rates. Every field is editable, so put your printer’s real numbers in before you price a book on this.
How to use the book royalty calculator
The price box resets to a typical price for that format. Replace it with yours.
Every field can be edited.
Red figures lose money. Compare channels, not just the biggest number.
How this book royalty calculator works out each number
Print cost
Black and white under 110 pages is a flat $2.30. Otherwise it's a fixed $1.00 plus $0.012 a page. Standard color is $1.00 plus $0.0255 a page, and premium color is $1.00 plus $0.065 a page, or a flat $3.60 up to 40 pages. Hardcover is $5.65 plus the per-page rate. Choosing an interior loads these rates, and you can overwrite them.
Print royalty rows
Amazon KDP is 50 percent of list at $9.98 and under, or 60 percent from $9.99, minus print cost. Expanded distribution is 40 percent minus print cost. IngramSpark is list times (1 minus your discount), minus print cost. IngramSpark charges its own print fees, so that row is an estimate. Direct is list times 0.971, minus 30 cents, print cost and your shipping. The card fee, 2.9 percent plus 30 cents, is our assumption.
Ebook rows
Kindle 70 percent is 70 percent of list minus $0.15 for each megabyte, applied only inside the price band. Kindle 35 percent is 35 percent of list. Apple, Kobo and Google show 70 percent, which is an assumption to check with each store. Direct is the same card-fee formula as above.
Break-even
Spend divided by the largest positive royalty, rounded up. That assumes every copy sells in the best channel, often your own site.
The rules behind the numbers, as of October 2026
Ebooks on KDP
The royalty is 35 percent of list, or 70 percent of list minus delivery cost. Delivery costs $0.15 a megabyte on Amazon.com. Since July 7, 2026, the 70 percent band on Amazon.com is $2.99 to $12.99, up from $2.99 to $9.99, according to KDP's list price requirements for ebooks. The 70 percent option also needs a list price at least 20 percent below any physical edition.
Paperbacks and hardcovers on KDP
Royalty is the rate times list price, minus printing cost. KDP's own paperback example is 0.60 x $15 minus $5.00, or $4.00. On Amazon.com the rate is 50 percent at $9.98 and under and 60 percent from $9.99. Expanded distribution pays 40 percent. For regular trim black ink, KDP's printing cost table gives a flat $2.30 from 24 to 110 pages, then $1.00 plus $0.012 a page. A hardcover over 110 pages is $5.65 plus $0.012 a page.
IngramSpark
The publisher is paid the wholesale price (list less your discount) minus print cost. Your discount and returnability settings change what stores will stock. The tool's row is an estimate, so use IngramSpark's own calculator for the real figure.
Audiobooks
This calculator doesn't cover audio. ACX lists 40 percent legacy or 50 percent new for exclusive distribution, and 25 percent legacy or 30 percent new for non-exclusive, with the revised terms effective May 26, 2026 for newly claimed books and new users. Check ACX before relying on any figure, and use our audiobook runtime and cost tool to plan.
Worked examples with real numbers
280 pages, black and white, $14.99, 55 percent discount, $4.00 shipping. Print cost is 1.00 + 0.012 x 280 = $4.36.
| Channel | You keep |
|---|---|
| Amazon KDP | $4.63 |
| Expanded distribution | $1.64 |
| IngramSpark (estimate) | $2.39 |
| Direct sale | $5.90 |
Break-even on a $4,000 spend is 4,000 / 5.8953 = 678.5, so 679 copies in the tool. If every copy sold through Amazon, it's 4,000 / 4.634 = 863.2, so 864 copies. That gap is the lesson.
A 2 MB file. Kindle 70 percent keeps $4.59 (0.70 x 6.99 minus 0.15 x 2). Kindle 35 percent keeps $2.45. Apple, Kobo and Google show $4.89. Direct keeps $6.49.
The tool's warning fires when Amazon's share of list is below print cost. The Amazon royalty reaches zero here:
| Pages | Print cost | Lowest list price |
|---|---|---|
| 200 | $3.40 | $6.80 |
| 280 | $4.36 | $8.72 |
| 400 | $5.80 | $9.99 |
| 600 | $8.20 | $13.67 |
The 400-page row shows a cliff. At $9.98 the book loses $0.81 a copy, and at $9.99, when the rate jumps to 60 percent, it earns $0.19. A cent can change a royalty by a dollar: a 200-page book keeps $1.59 at $9.98 and $2.59 at $9.99.
A 300-page paperback at $25.00 has a print cost of $4.60. Amazon keeps $10.40, expanded distribution $5.40 and IngramSpark at 55 percent $6.65. A traditional contract at 5 to 7.5 percent of list on a $25 trade paperback pays $1.25 to $1.88 (rates from our guide to how book royalties work). To earn $100,000 on the default book at $4.634 a copy through Amazon takes 21,580 copies; at the direct $5.90 it takes 16,963. None of it predicts what will sell.
What the numbers mean and how to use the result
The biggest royalty is rarely the channel that sells the most. Direct pays the most a copy and reaches the fewest readers. Amazon is the reach channel. IngramSpark's discount buys shelf space in shops that order it, and a 55 percent discount keeps 45 percent of list before print cost.
Price and page count are your levers. One more dollar on the list price raises the Amazon royalty by 60 cents, and cutting 100 pages saves $1.20 of print cost.
Break-even is a floor, not a forecast. This tool shows what you keep a copy, the budget tool shows when the book pays back, and the royalty guide covers list versus net, advances and statements.
This tool shows what you keep a copy, the budget tool shows when the book pays back, and the royalty guide covers list versus net, advances and statements.
Common mistakes
Pricing from the biggest number
Price for the channel you'll sell in.
Forgetting that pages cost money
A long book at a low price can earn almost nothing.
Using an old ebook band
Older guides still say $9.99. The Amazon.com band is $2.99 to $12.99 since July 7, 2026.
Ignoring delivery cost
A 25 MB file costs $3.75 a copy under the 70 percent option. At $9.99 you keep $3.24, less than the 35 percent option's $3.50.
Choosing color without checking
A 280-page premium color book at $14.99 prints at $19.20 and loses $10.21 on Amazon. Standard color prints at $8.14 and keeps $0.85.
Treating royalty as profit
Spend, returns, tax and advertising come out afterward.
Tips by situation
Self-publishing on Amazon
Price at $9.99 or above for the 60 percent rate, and check your minimum list price. Our guide to how to self-publish on Amazon covers the setup.
Selling through bookshops
Bookshops expect a trade discount, the cost of being on the shelf. Try 40, 50 and 55 percent in the box. At $14.99 and 280 pages, the IngramSpark row gives $4.63, $3.14 and $2.39.
Fiction versus nonfiction
Fiction readers expect ebook prices inside the band. A nonfiction author who speaks or consults can sell direct at events, where the direct row matters.
Signing with a traditional publisher
The publisher sets the price and pays a royalty on list or net. This tool doesn't model a contract, so read self-publishing versus traditional publishing.
Related guides on the Author Resources hub
When a book needs more than a calculator
Pricing is the last step. The earlier ones, editing, cover, layout and files, set what the book costs. When our editorial board acquires a book we pay for production; otherwise you buy services at published rates.
Every rate is on our pricing page.
Questions we get asked
What is a book royalty calculator?
It works out what you keep on one copy: list price times the channel's rate, minus print cost for print books. This one covers KDP, expanded distribution, IngramSpark and direct sales, for paperback, hardcover and ebook.
Is KDP royalty 35% or 70%?
Both exist for ebooks. The 70 percent option, less delivery cost, applies inside the price band ($2.99 to $12.99 on Amazon.com since July 7, 2026). Outside it, you get 35 percent. Print books pay 60 percent, or 50 percent under $9.99, less print cost.
How much does an author make on a $25 book?
On a 300-page paperback, $10.40 through Amazon KDP and $5.40 through expanded distribution. IngramSpark at a 55 percent discount keeps $6.65. A traditional contract at 5 to 7.5 percent pays $1.25 to $1.88.
How many books do I need to sell to make $100,000?
Divide by what you keep a copy: 21,580 copies at $4.634 through Amazon on the 280-page example, or 16,963 at $5.90 direct. The calculator does the same sum for any goal in the spend box. It's arithmetic, not a sales promise.
How much money can I make from a book?
Copies sold times what you keep, minus what the book cost to make. The calculator fixes the second number, and nobody can fix the first. We won't quote an average.
Is Amazon KDP still profitable in 2026?
Per copy, the sum is on this page, and the wider ebook band helps. Profit depends on production spend and copies sold, so work out your own break-even.
Is there a free royalty calculator for Excel or PDF?
This one's free, and nothing is saved. The formulas are listed above, so you can copy them into a spreadsheet.
Does it work for audiobooks?
No. ACX rates are summarized above as of October 2026. Use the audiobook tool for runtime and cost.
Keep going with the next tool
Try the budget and break-even calculator, the page count estimator, the ISBN checker or the audiobook runtime and cost tool.
Tools will only take you so far
Send what you have. Even a half-written manuscript is enough for a reader to tell you what it needs.