Self-Publishing Royalties: Rates, Examples, and Calculators 2025
Self-Publishing Royalties with Examples and Calculators
**Last updated November 2025
This guide will show you exactly how much money you can make by self-publishing and selling your book through major platforms like Amazon KDP, Barnes & Noble Press, Draft2Digital, and IngramSpark. Whether you're publishing an ebook or a print edition, I've got you covered.
You'll get a clear breakdown of author royalties—also known as compensation—for each platform, so you can understand how your earnings are calculated.
I’ve also included direct links to royalty calculators—for Amazon KDP (Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing), Barnes & Noble (Barnes & Noble Press), Draft2Digital, and IngramSpark—so you can plug in your book’s details and see your potential earnings.
At the end, you’ll find real-world royalty examples and a side-by-side comparison of how each retailer stacks up.
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Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Self-Publishing Royalties
E-books: $0.99–$2.98=35% | $2.99–$9.99=70% (minus delivery costs) (KDP ebook royalty rate details)
The Amazon.com (US) delivery cost is $0.15/MB of your converted EPUB file. It is the (compressed by Amazon) version of your book that is used to calculate “delivery costs.” This is often under $0.25 but depends on the length of the book and the complexity of the layout.
For authors who enroll in KDP Select (Kindle Unlimited): books under $2.99 are eligible for 70% royalties (minus delivery costs) during special promotions.
Kindle Unlimited (KU) ebooks get monthly payouts based on pages read by KU subscribers (more info here from KDP); the payout to US authors from the KDP Select Global Fund varies each month and has ranged from about $0.40 to $0.50 per 100 pages read. You can calculate the payout from statistics available in the KDP author dashboard.
Print books: 60% of list price minus the printing cost (standard distribution) for books sold on Amazon; 40% of list price minus the printing cost (certain price cutoffs apply) (expanded distribution) more info here and more info here.
On Amazon.com (US), 50% royalties are earned for print books priced at $9.98 USD or below. Many Amazon marketplaces also have price cutoffs.
Royalty calculator here (You can also click on the image below to access the calculator)
ACX Audiobook Royalties: How Much Do You Get Paid? by Daniel Tortora
Barnes & Noble Self-Publishing Royalties
Ebooks: 70% of your list price.
Print books: Earn 55% of your list price (B&N keeps 45% of every sale) minus the printing cost.
Royalty calculator here (click on the image below to access the calculator)
Draft2Digital Self-Publishing Royalties
Ebooks: D2D takes 10% of the retail price (15% of net royalties)
Apple Books: 70% of most books’ list price
Google Play Books: 70%
Kobo: $0.01–$2.99=45% | $2.99+=70% more info here (You can make more if distributing exclusively through Kobo Writing Life.)
With library sales, royalty rates will be different. They are determined by the library price of the book and whether it has been purchased for one or many patrons.
Print books (paperback only): 45% of your list price minus the printing cost (retailer keeps 45% of every sale and D2D keeps 10%) minus the printing cost.
Royalty calculator here (click on the image below to access the calculator)
IngramSpark Self-Publishing Royalties
Ebooks: 60% of your list price
Print books: 45% of your list price (recommended), minus the printing cost and distribution fee
You have the option of keeping a higher percentage, but this will deter IngramSpark partners from buying your book. A 55% discount is recommended, although some authors experiment with a lower discount.
About the IngramSpark setup fee and market access fee:
IngramSpark no longer charges title setup fees to publish and distribute a book.
Since July 1, 2023, IngramSpark has charged a 1 percent “market access” fee—1 percent of your book’s list price—to be able to distribute your book for you.
For 60 days after launch, authors can make revisions and can re-upload their books for no fee. After day 61, the a $25 fee applies for revisions.
Royalty calculator here (click on the image below to access the calculator)
Self-Publishing Royalties Examples—Fall 2025
For an ebook priced at $6.99, the author royalty would be:
$4.80 on Amazon KDP (US) (assuming the condensed EPUB file size is 0.5 MB [$0.09 distribution fee])
$4.89 on Barnes & Noble Press
$4.40 on Draft2Digital (this does not include library or subscription-based sales)
$4.19 on IngramSpark (but you get the widest possible distribution)
For a 6″ × 9″ book, black ink, white pages, paperback, matte cover, 200 pages, with a list price of $16.99, the printing cost would be roughly $3.40 to $4.17, and, as of fall 2025, the author royalty would be:
$6.79 if sold directly on Amazon.com; $3.40 if sold via Amazon expanded distribution (US) (printing cost: $3.40)—get the explanation here
$5.74 on Barnes & Noble Press (printing cost: $3.60)
$3.54 on Draft2Digital (printing cost: $4.11)
$3.24 on Ingram Spark (with the 55% discount and the 1% market access fee) (printing cost: $4.17)
For a 6″ × 9″ book, black ink, white pages, hardcover—case laminate (no dust jacket), matte cover, 200 pages, with a list price of $24.99, the printing cost would be roughly $7.60 to $8.05, and, as of fall 2025, the author royalty would be:
$6.94 if sold directly on Amazon.com; $1.95 if sold via Amazon expanded distribution (US) (printing cost: $8.05)—get the explanation here
$6.14 on Barnes & Noble Press (printing cost: $7.60)
$2.93 on Ingram Spark (with the 55% discount and the 1% market access fee) (printing cost: $7.95)
More Tips for Authors About Self-Publishing Royalties:
Try the royalty calculators for the most accurate information. Each retailer calculates its author compensation differently and changes its rates over time.
Consider your unique situation. Ask yourself where it makes sense for your book to be sold.
Learn how to reduce print costs on Amazon. Takeaways from Kindlepreneur’s “How to Reduce Print Costs” guide on that subject include writing a shorter book, choosing a 6″ × 9″ (or smaller) paperback in black ink, and making sure your line spacing is no wider than usual and that your font is no larger than usual.
Barnes & Noble Press and IngramSpark offer a greater variety of hardcover print book options than Amazon KDP.
Amazon self-publishing royalties are high—for print books sold on Amazon.
If you want to purchase a large number of print books to sell on your own, shipping costs are tough to calculate. Only IngramSpark, in its Print and Ship Calculator, makes those figures transparent. The method of shipping, number of copies ordered, and author’s zip code will determine the shipping cost. Barnes & Noble Press does not ship books to non-US authors. Non-US authors may wish to use BookVault instead.
For more on audiobook royalties, read “ACX Audiobook Royalties: How Much Do You Get Paid?” and “Top Audiobook Platforms for Self-Publishing.”
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