Know what each paperback sale leaves you.

Estimate print cost and royalty, find a break-even list price, and see how many copies it takes to recover your publishing budget. Your numbers stay in this browser.

Your paperback

Interior page count

Amazon.com paperback range: 24–828 pages. Ink options have their own minimums.

Trim size

Large means wider than 6.12 in or taller than 9 in.

Interior ink

White or cream paper.

Planned list price

Amazon.com, tax-exclusive list price. The royalty tier changes at $9.99.

One-time publishing budget to recover

Optional: editing, cover, formatting, ads or other costs you enter.

Target royalty per copy

The planner estimates a list price that reaches this royalty before tax.

Scope: US Amazon marketplace, standard distribution, paperback. This is an estimate; use KDP’s current pricing calculator before publishing.

Your estimate

Estimated print cost—Based on current inputs

Estimated royalty / copy——

Break-even list price—Estimated minimum to cover printing

Target royalty price—List price estimate

Price ladder

List price	Tier	Print cost	Royalty / copy

Found this useful?

This independent planner is free. If it saved you time, you can optionally support its upkeep with USDC on Base. No account, payment processor, or wallet connection is involved.

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Method and limitations

Estimated royalty = (royalty rate × tax-exclusive list price) − print cost. For Amazon.com standard paperback distribution, the rate is 50% at list prices up to $9.98 and 60% from $9.99. The planner estimates print cost from the official fixed-cost + page-cost schedule and rounds to cents.

It does not calculate Expanded Distribution, hardcovers, ebooks, VAT, taxes, discounts, exchange rates, or individual exceptions. KDP may update its rates. For an authoritative final figure, use the Rights & Pricing section in your own KDP setup; no KDP login is needed to use this planner.

Official references: Paperback royalty · Paperback printing cost · KDP printing cost and royalty calculator.