Ebook Royalty Calculator (KDP)
Work out your Amazon KDP ebook royalty per copy and total earnings — including the 70% tier’s delivery-cost deduction.
How it works
70% tier: royalty = 0.70 × price − ($0.15 × file MB) · 35% tier: royalty = 0.35 × price · Total = per-copy × copies
Amazon KDP offers two royalty tiers. The 70% tier pays far more but only applies when the list price is $2.99–$9.99, and it subtracts a delivery cost of about $0.15 per megabyte — trivial for a text-only book, but meaningful for image-heavy files. The 35% tier works at any price with no delivery deduction, which is why very cheap or very expensive ebooks default to it. For most books priced in the sweet spot, 70% wins easily even after the delivery fee.
Worked example
A 2 MB ebook lists at $4.99 on the 70% tier. Delivery cost is 2 × $0.15 = $0.30, so the royalty per copy is 0.70 × $4.99 − $0.30 = $3.49 − $0.30 = $3.19. Selling 500 copies earns $1,595. On the 35% tier the same book would pay only 0.35 × $4.99 = $1.75 per copy.
Frequently asked questions
When must I use the 35% royalty tier?
The 70% tier is only available for list prices between $2.99 and $9.99 (and in eligible territories). Price below $2.99 or above $9.99 and Amazon drops you to 35% — one reason so many ebooks cluster around $4.99–$9.99.
What is the delivery cost?
On the 70% tier, Amazon deducts roughly $0.15 per megabyte of file size from each sale to cover download bandwidth. A 2 MB book loses $0.30 per copy; a 20 MB illustrated book loses $3.00, which can make the 35% tier competitive.
Does this apply to paperbacks too?
No — this models Kindle ebook royalties. KDP paperbacks use a different formula based on a fixed percentage minus printing costs that scale with page count, so the math is not the same.
Related calculators
Educational estimate — real earnings vary widely by niche, geography, platform terms and season.