KDP price and profit calculator: compare print editions at one price

A paperback and hardcover of the same manuscript can have different printing costs even at the same list price. This calculator compares two or three print setups side by side at one Amazon.com price. Change the binding, trim size (the finished book's width and height), interior and paper, or page count for each option to see its printing cost, KDP minimum price, and estimated royalty per sale.

For a print option priced at or above its KDP minimum, KDP royalty per sale = (applicable royalty rate × list price) − printing cost. The rate depends on the price, while printing cost depends on the edition's specifications. That royalty is before your other expenses. If you enter costs and a planned copy count, the tool also estimates profit after those entered costs for each alternative. Each option represents a possible edition of the same manuscript.

Amazon.com · USD · standard Amazon sales

Print options

Option 1
Binding Required
Trim size Required
Interior and paper Required
Option 2
Binding Required
Trim size Required
Interior and paper Required

Compare print editions at one price

Enter the price you want to test for all options. Use each edition's actual or planned binding, trim size, interior and paper, and printed page count. Add a third option when you have another feasible setup to compare. Keeping the price the same makes differences in printing cost and royalty easier to see.

Give each option its own page count. A different trim size can change the manuscript's layout and pagination. The calculator rounds an odd entered count up to the next even page count for its estimate, but it cannot work out the count for a new layout. KDP determines the final count from your submitted manuscript; its paperback submission guidance explains the even-page rule. Check the finished count before relying on a comparison.

Read the KDP minimum and royalty rows

An option at or above its KDP minimum shows an estimated royalty per sale. The minimum is the cost-covering price under the modeled KDP rules, not a suggested selling price. An option below its minimum still shows its printing cost and minimum price, but its royalty and profit are unavailable at the price you entered. For example, a 300-page 6 × 9 inch black-ink hardcover has a modeled $15.42 minimum, so the tool leaves its royalty unavailable at $14.99.

If every option is below its minimum, raise the shared price or change a print setup and compare again. If a field has an error, correct that field before comparing; a blank cost is not treated as zero when Include my costs is on.

How the print comparison is calculated

KDP's paperback and hardcover printing-cost rules use a fixed cost plus a cost per page for the selected print specifications. The calculator applies these Amazon.com rules to each option, rounds the cost to cents, and uses that cost to estimate the minimum list price.

Cost-covering price

printing cost ÷ applicable royalty rate = minimum price before rounding The rate must apply at the resulting list price. The calculator checks the 50% band through $9.98 and the 60% band from $9.99 separately, then rounds the modeled minimum up to a cent.

Same price, two paperback trims

Suppose both books have 300 pages, black ink, and white paper. At 6 × 9 inches, a regular-trim paperback costs $1.00 + 300 × $0.012 = $4.60 to print. At 7 × 10 inches, a large-trim paperback costs $1.00 + 300 × $0.017 = $6.10. Both use the 60% rate at a $14.99 list price. After cent rounding, their estimated KDP royalties are $4.39 and $2.89 per sale. The extra $1.50 in printing cost reduces royalty by $1.50 when price and page count stay the same.

A price change from $9.98 to $9.99 can change royalty by more than one cent because the rate changes there. See KDP's paperback royalty and hardcover royalty rules.

What estimated profit includes

Turn on Include my costs when you can enter a planned copy count and both cost fields for every option. Use the same planned count for each alternative, but enter its own other cost per sale and one-time cost. Printing cost is already deducted from KDP royalty, so do not enter it again. Enter 0 when a cost does not apply; leaving it blank blocks the comparison while cost mode is on.

The tool calculates planned copies × (KDP royalty per sale − other cost per sale) − one-time cost for each eligible option. For example, with a $7.39 royalty, 100 planned copies, $1.00 other cost per sale, and $100.00 in one-time costs, the estimated profit is $539.00. A result can also be negative.

Check the chosen setup in KDP

This estimate covers paperback and hardcover sales on Amazon.com in USD through standard Amazon distribution. It uses local KDP rules reviewed September 28, 2026, rather than a live KDP response. Kindle eBooks, Expanded Distribution, other marketplaces, price matching, promotions, and demand are outside the comparison. In particular, Expanded Distribution can change a paperback's minimum price.

Before setting a price, check the finished edition's page count in KDP, then check its printing cost, minimum price, and royalty with KDP's Printing Costs and Royalty Calculator and pricing screen. For one print setup at another price, or for a Kindle eBook, use the KDP royalty calculator.