Author Royalty Calculator

On Amazon KDP, an author earns between 35% and 70% of the list price, depending on the price band. Titles priced between $2.99 and $9.99 qualify for the 70% royalty tier; outside that band the rate drops to 35%. On every sale Amazon also deducts a per-MB delivery fee ($0.15 for a typical 1 MB EPUB). So a $4.99 ebook nets approximately $3.34 per sale.

There is no single "standard" royalty. Self-published authors typically see 35% to 70% on marketplaces (Amazon KDP, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play), and 70% to 90% in a shop of their own, minus a per-transaction fee. The right tier depends on price, channel mix, and whether the author owns the reader relationship.

Amazon KDP keeps 30% of the list price on titles inside the $2.99–$9.99 band (paying the author 70%), and 65% on titles outside that band (paying the author 35%). Amazon also keeps the per-MB delivery fee on every 70%-tier sale.

It depends on your audience size. Below ~1,000 engaged readers, Amazon’s discovery engine still makes a real difference and selling only direct is hard to justify. Above that, the per-sale maths, faster payments, multi-currency payouts and owning the relationship with your readers all favour selling direct. Most indie authors do both: they stay on Amazon to be found, and send the readers they reach themselves to their own shop.

Apple Books pays a flat 70% royalty on every sale regardless of list price. There is no delivery fee. So a $4.99 ebook nets the author approximately $3.49 per sale. Volume is significantly lower than Amazon for most indie titles, but the rate is the same at every price.

Audiobook royalties on ACX (Amazon's audiobook arm) are 25% for exclusive distribution or 40% for non-exclusive, locked in for seven years. Direct-to-consumer audiobook sales on a platform like publica.la retain 80% minus the per-transaction fee. Selling audiobooks direct usually pays off faster than selling ebooks direct, because list prices are higher.

The Authors early-access programme has zero setup cost and zero monthly maintenance fee. The only deductions are a 20% commission and a $0.25 transaction fee per sale. There is no minimum sales volume.

On Amazon KDP, royalties are paid in USD approximately 60 days after the end of the sales month. On Apple Books, Kobo and Google Play, payment timing is similar. On publica.la the author is paid monthly in their local currency through MercadoPago, PayU, Stripe or the local equivalent.

No. The figures shown are what the author earns before any income tax, VAT or local levies. Tax treatment varies by country and tax residence, so we leave it out. The marketplace and publica.la figures are both before tax, so the comparison stays like for like.

Yes. The calculator works for any digital title. Note that box sets and audiobooks frequently sit above $9.99, which automatically drops Amazon KDP to its 35% tier and makes selling direct far better value on these formats. Short stories priced under $2.99 are in the same 35% tier on Amazon.