KDP royalty calculator
What a paperback actually earns on Amazon.com once printing is paid for. Printing cost depends on page count, ink and trim size — large trim (wider than 6.12" or taller than 9") costs more per page, and this uses KDP's large-trim rates.
Opens the generator with this exact book already set up. Nothing to re-type.
The rates
Printing cost = fixed cost + (page count × per-page cost), except for short black-ink books, which are a flat rate. Large trim means more than 6.12" wide or more than 9" tall — so 6×9 is regular trim, but 7×10, 8×10 and 8.5×11 are not.
| Ink & trim | Up to 110 pages | Above that |
|---|---|---|
| Black, regular trim | $2.30 flat | $1.00 + $0.012/page |
| Black, large trim | $2.84 flat | $1.00 + $0.017/page |
| Premium colour, regular | $3.60 flat to 40pp | $1.00 + $0.065/page |
| Premium colour, large | $4.20 flat to 40pp | $1.00 + $0.08/page |
| Standard colour, regular | — | $1.00 + $0.0255/page (72–600pp) |
| Standard colour, large | — | $1.00 + $0.0402/page (72–600pp) |
| Black on groundwood, regular | $2.23 flat to 112pp | $1.00 + $0.0114/page |
| Black on groundwood, large | $2.75 flat to 112pp | $1.00 + $0.0162/page |
Groundwood is KDP's newer, rougher paper for black-ink books: about 5% cheaper a page, and its flat rate runs two pages further, to 112. On a 200-page 6×9 that is $3.28 to print instead of $3.40. KDP says it isn't for heavy ink coverage, because the ink shows through; a word search grid is light line work, but a page of solid black maze walls or shaded blocks is worth a proof copy first. It also prints at a different thickness, so the spine changes: see the spine calculator.
Expanded Distribution, the box on KDP's pricing page that offers a book to bookstores and libraries, pays 40% of list minus the same printing cost. KDP's own example is a $15, 333-page 6×9: $4.00 a copy on Amazon.com, $1.00 through Expanded Distribution. For a puzzle book it isn't on offer. KDP's Expanded Distribution page lists "content not currently accepted" by its distributors, and puzzle books, word search, sudoku, crossword, maze and activity books are all named. Price a puzzle book on the Amazon.com royalty alone.
Will the cover print?
Page count decides the spine too, and a spine that is even a little wrong gets the wrap rejected. The spine calculator gives the exact cover size for the same book — and flags the 0.06" that several popular calculators add and Amazon's documentation does not.
Why puzzle books price the way they do
A puzzle book is black ink, so printing is cheap: a 120-page 6×9 costs $2.44 to print. The trap is page count. Every extra puzzle adds a page and a bit over a penny, and solutions pages add more — so a 200-puzzle book is not twice the margin of a 100-puzzle one, it is twice the print cost with the same list price.
The other trap is large trim. Going from 6×9 to 8.5×11 for bigger grids raises the per-page cost from $0.012 to $0.017 — about 40% more per page. Worth it for a large-print book people will pay more for; expensive by accident otherwise.
Making a puzzle book?
Puzzle Press generates the whole paperback — word search, sudoku, maze, criss-cross or crossword puzzles with solutions — plus the matching cover, and shows the printing cost and royalty for the book as you build it. Free to use — pay only to remove the PREVIEW cover mark.
Make a book freeSee a finished book (PDF) · and its cover — made with it, nothing mocked up.
No sign-up. $19 once removes the PREVIEW cover mark; 30-day refund, no questions.
Making a handwriting workbook instead? Trace Press, from the same maker, lays out an A–Z letter tracing book and its cover to the same KDP rules. Its guide to making a tracing book for KDP works out the printing cost and royalty for one.