KDP hardcover royalties: 60% or 50% minus printing cost
Checked against Amazon’s pages on 2026-11-09. Not affiliated with Amazon.
What royalty does Amazon KDP pay on hardcover books?
KDP pays 60% of a hardcover's list price minus printing cost when the Amazon.com list price is $9.99 or more, and 50% minus printing cost at $9.98 or less. Hardcovers cannot use Expanded Distribution and are not offered on Amazon.co.jp. A 300-page black ink regular trim hardcover costs $9.25 to print on Amazon.com, which is subtracted from every royalty.
| Royalty rate, Amazon.com list price $9.99+ | 60% minus printing cost |
|---|---|
| Royalty rate, Amazon.com list price $9.98 or less | 50% minus printing cost |
| Printing cost (US, 110-550 pages, black ink) | $5.65 + $0.012 per page (regular trim) |
| Expanded Distribution | Not available for hardcovers |
| Maximum list price (Amazon.com) | $250 |
| Amazon.co.jp | Hardcover not supported |
Free calculator: KDP royalty and printing cost calculator
Terms on this page: Paperback and hardcover royalty
How the royalty works
The formula is the same as for paperbacks: (royalty rate × list price) − printing cost = royalty. The rate is 60% or 50% depending on the list price in each marketplace: 9.99 USD or EUR, 7.99 GBP and 13.99 CAD or AUD are the points where 60% starts. You earn a royalty when a new copy is manufactured for an Amazon order.
Printing cost is the big difference
Hardcovers carry a much higher fixed cost than paperbacks. On Amazon.com, black ink hardcovers with 75 to 108 pages cost a flat $6.80 (regular trim) or $7.49 (large trim). From 110 to 550 pages the cost is $5.65 plus $0.012 per page (regular) or $0.017 per page (large). Premium color is $5.65 plus $0.065 per page (regular) or $0.080 (large).
Worked example (Amazon.com)
A 300-page black ink regular trim hardcover: $5.65 + (300 × $0.012) = $9.25 printing cost.
- At a $19.99 list price: (0.60 × $19.99) − $9.25 = $2.74 per sale.
- The minimum list price at the 60% rate is printing cost ÷ 0.60, about $15.42 for this book.
Where hardcovers sell
KDP hardcovers can be published to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, the euro marketplaces (.de, .es, .fr, .it, .nl, .ie, .com.be), Amazon.pl and Amazon.se. They are case laminate only: no dust jackets or cloth binding.
Common mistakes
- Pricing a hardcover like a paperback. At 110 pages and up, the Amazon.com fixed cost is $5.65 for a hardcover versus $1.00 for a paperback, which pushes the minimum price up.
- Expecting bookstore and library reach: Expanded Distribution is paperback-only.
Amazon changes these rules; the linked KDP help pages are the authority.
Questions
- Can I sell my KDP hardcover on Amazon.ca or Amazon.com.au?
- They are not primary hardcover marketplaces. KDP says the book must be made available on Amazon.com to reach those stores.
- Does my paperback's ISBN work for the hardcover?
- No. A hardcover edition needs its own unique ISBN, either a new KDP ISBN or a new one you own.
- Are the hardcover thresholds identical to paperback?
- Mostly. The USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD and PLN thresholds match, but on Amazon.se 60% starts at 99 SEK for hardcovers versus 110 SEK for paperbacks.
Related tools
- Amazon KDP: Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is Amazon's free self-publishing platform for Kindle ebooks and print paperbacks and hardcovers.
Sources
- https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G77F3WPD3KQLJTFS
- https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GHT976ZKSKUXBB6H
- https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/GAVW3FZZAKA2KY3B
More on royalties & payments
- KDP ebook royalties: the 35% and 70% options
- KDP paperback royalties: 60% or 50% minus printing cost
- When and how KDP pays royalties: schedule, thresholds, methods
Spotted a change on Amazon’s side? Send a correction. Plain-text version.