Price your self-published ebook between $2.99 and $12.99 and you earn the 70% royalty rate. Price it outside that band and Amazon drops you to 35% — meaning a $1.99 ebook pays you about $0.70 while a $4.99 ebook pays about $3.15.
That upper number changed recently, and most pricing advice online is still out of date.
In this guide, you will learn:
- The exact royalty bands and delivery fees that decide your take-home per sale
- Genre-by-genre price benchmarks for fiction and nonfiction ebooks
- How to price the same ebook across Amazon, Apple, Kobo, and Google Play
- A repeatable 30-day price test that tells you your real optimal price
Start with the royalty math, because everything else is built on top of it.
What Is the Best Price for a Self-Published Ebook?
The best price for a self-published ebook is $2.99 to $5.99 for fiction and $6.99 to $12.99 for nonfiction. These ranges sit inside Amazon’s 70% royalty band while matching what readers expect to pay. Most first-time authors underprice, trading real revenue for a handful of extra downloads.
Price is not a reward for effort. It is a signal about who your book is for and what problem it solves.
A 90,000-word epic fantasy priced at $0.99 tells browsing readers it is probably unedited. A 22,000-word business guide priced at $9.99 tells a consultant it is worth an hour of their time.
How KDP Ebook Royalties Actually Work
Amazon offers two royalty options, and you choose one per title. The difference is worth thousands of dollars over a book’s life.
35% royalty option — Available at any list price from $0.99 to $200, in every territory, with no delivery fee deducted.
70% royalty option — Available only inside a set price band, only in eligible territories, and with a per-megabyte delivery fee subtracted before the percentage is applied.
According to Amazon’s official eBook List Price Requirements page, the 70% band on Amazon.com ran from $2.99 to $9.99 from 2007 until July 7, 2026, when the ceiling rose to $12.99. The $2.99 minimum did not change, and the 35% option was left alone.
This matters more than it sounds. For nineteen years, $9.99 was a hard wall for indie nonfiction authors. Charging $10.99 meant dropping to 35% and earning less than at $9.99. That wall moved.
If your ebook is currently priced above $9.99 on the 35% option, you can now switch it to 70% and roughly double your royalty overnight without touching the price.
The delivery fee nobody budgets for
The 70% option is not really 70%. Amazon deducts a delivery cost first:
Royalty = (List Price − VAT − Delivery Cost) × 0.70
Per Amazon’s royalty documentation, delivery costs are $0.15 per MB on Amazon.com, £0.10/MB on Amazon.co.uk, and €0.12/MB on Amazon.de, with a $0.01 minimum.
For a plain-text novel of 2 MB, that is $0.30 per sale. Annoying but survivable.
For an illustrated cookbook or a children’s ebook at 18 MB, that is $2.70 per sale. On a $6.99 book, your effective royalty rate collapses from 70% to about 43%.
| Book type | Typical file size | Delivery fee (US) | Royalty on $6.99 | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text-only novel | 1 MB | $0.15 | $4.79 | 68.5% |
| Novel with a few images | 3 MB | $0.45 | $4.58 | 65.5% |
| Illustrated nonfiction | 10 MB | $1.50 | $3.84 | 55.0% |
| Photo-heavy cookbook | 20 MB | $3.00 | $2.79 | 39.9% |
If your file is over 5 MB, compress your images before you touch your price. Cutting a 12 MB file to 4 MB adds $1.20 to every single sale. Our guide to formatting an ebook for Kindle covers how to do that without visibly degrading quality.
The 70% vs 35% Break-Even Math
Dropping below $2.99 costs you more than you think. Here is what you actually earn per sale on a 2 MB file:
| List price | Royalty option | Your royalty | Sales needed to earn $1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.99 | 35% | $0.35 | 2,857 |
| $1.99 | 35% | $0.70 | 1,429 |
| $2.99 | 70% | $1.79 | 559 |
| $3.99 | 70% | $2.49 | 402 |
| $4.99 | 70% | $3.19 | 314 |
| $6.99 | 70% | $4.59 | 218 |
| $9.99 | 70% | $6.69 | 150 |
| $12.99 | 70% | $8.79 | 114 |
To match the income of one $4.99 sale, you need nine $0.99 sales. Very few books sell nine times better at $0.99 than at $4.99.
The exception is a deliberate, temporary tactic — a series starter or a launch week promotion. That is a marketing spend, not a pricing strategy.
Ebook Price Benchmarks by Genre
Readers carry genre-specific price expectations. Violate them and your conversion rate drops regardless of how good the book is.
Fiction ebook pricing
| Genre | Standalone price | Series book 1 | Later series books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romance / contemporary | $2.99–$4.99 | $0.99 or free | $3.99–$4.99 |
| Thriller / mystery | $3.99–$5.99 | $0.99–$2.99 | $4.99–$5.99 |
| Epic fantasy / sci-fi | $4.99–$6.99 | $0.99–$3.99 | $4.99–$6.99 |
| Literary fiction | $4.99–$7.99 | n/a | n/a |
| Young adult | $2.99–$4.99 | $0.99 | $3.99–$4.99 |
| Novella (under 40k words) | $0.99–$2.99 | free | $2.99 |
Written Word Media’s ongoing pricing analysis found that $3.99 has overtaken $4.99 as the strongest price point for total author earnings on promoted fiction — readers now treat anything at or below $3.99 as a deal, and anything at $4.99 or above as full price.
That gives you a clean two-tier structure: list at $4.99–$5.99, promote at $2.99–$3.99.
Nonfiction ebook pricing
| Category | Price range | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Memoir | $4.99–$7.99 | Reads like fiction, priced like fiction |
| Self-help / personal development | $6.99–$9.99 | Outcome-driven purchase |
| Business / marketing | $9.99–$12.99 | Buyer expenses it |
| Technical / professional | $12.99+ (35% tier) | Audience is small and motivated |
| Cookbook / craft | $6.99–$9.99 | Watch the delivery fee |
| Short guide (under 20k words) | $2.99–$4.99 | Length sets the ceiling |
Nonfiction buyers are purchasing an outcome, not entertainment. A reader who wants to fix their sleep, close more deals, or restore a motorcycle is comparing your $9.99 ebook against a $200 course — not against a $2.99 romance.
That is why the new $12.99 ceiling is such a meaningful change for business and professional nonfiction. For a deeper breakdown of that category, see our dedicated guide on how to price a nonfiction ebook.
How to Research What Your Competitors Charge
Guessing is optional. Amazon shows you what comparable books earn.
- Search your primary keyword on Amazon and switch to the Kindle Store department.
- List the top 20 results that are genuinely comparable in length, genre, and author profile.
- Record each price and each Best Sellers Rank.
- Ignore traditionally published titles — their publishers price against print editions and often sit at $12.99–$14.99 for reasons that do not apply to you.
- Take the median price of the indie titles ranking under 50,000 BSR. That is your anchor.
Set your launch price within one dollar of that median. If every comparable indie thriller is at $4.99 and you list at $9.99, you are asking readers to take a risk on an unknown author at a premium price.
Our walkthrough of how to increase book sales on Amazon explains how BSR translates to actual daily unit sales, which makes this comparison far more useful.
How Should You Price an Ebook on Kobo, Apple, and Google Play?
Price your ebook identically across every retailer, matched to the local currency rather than converted exactly. Amazon requires your list price to be within 20% of the lowest price the book is offered anywhere else online, so undercutting elsewhere can strip your 70% royalty on Amazon.
The other retailers are simpler than Amazon in one important respect: no delivery fees.
| Retailer | Royalty rate | Price band | Delivery fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon KDP | 70% | $2.99–$12.99 | $0.15/MB |
| Amazon KDP | 35% | $0.99–$200 | None |
| Apple Books | 70% | Any price | None |
| Kobo Writing Life | 70% | $2.99–$12.99 | None |
| Google Play Books | 70% | Any price | None |
| Barnes & Noble Press | 70% | Any price | None |
For an illustrated 15 MB book at $9.99, Amazon pays you about $4.42 while Apple pays $6.99. That gap alone is a real argument for going wide, which our comparison of Kindle Unlimited vs wide distribution works through in detail.
Set round local prices rather than currency conversions: $4.99 US, £3.99 UK, €4.99 EU, CAD $6.99, AUD $7.99. A price of £3.87 looks like an automated conversion, because it is one.
Launch Pricing Strategy for a New Ebook
A launch price is a temporary discount with a defined end date, not your real price.
Days 1–7: launch price. Set $0.99–$2.99 for fiction, or $2.99–$4.99 for nonfiction. Tell your list it ends on a specific date. Early velocity feeds Amazon’s ranking algorithm and generates the reviews that make full price viable later.
Days 8–30: step up. Move to your target price. Watch daily units for a week. A modest drop is normal and expected.
Day 30 onward: hold and test. You now have a baseline to test against.
The Alliance of Independent Authors makes the same point about promotional pricing generally: a discount only works when readers understand it is a discount.
The one thing not to do is launch at $0.99 and leave it there for a year. That is not a strategy, it is a decision you forgot to revisit. Our book launch checklist sequences the price changes alongside the rest of the launch.
How to Test Your Ebook Price in 30 Days
Most authors set a price once and never revisit it. A structured test takes ten minutes a week and routinely finds 20–40% more revenue.
- Establish a baseline. Hold your current price for 14 days. Record daily units and daily royalty from your KDP reports.
- Change one thing. Move the price one step — $3.99 to $4.99, for instance. Change nothing else. No ads, no promotions, no cover updates.
- Wait 14 days. Amazon needs roughly a week to re-equilibrate ranking after a price change.
- Compare royalty, not units. Units will almost always fall when price rises. The only question is whether total royalty rose.
- Keep the winner and repeat. Step again in the same direction until royalty stops improving, then step back once.
Testing during a holiday period, an ad campaign, or a BookBub feature gives you noise instead of data. Run the test in a quiet month.
Should You Ever Price Your Ebook Free?
Free works in exactly two situations: as book one of a completed series of three or more, and as a list-building lead magnet on your own site. Outside those cases, permanent free pricing generates downloads from readers who never open the file and reviews from people outside your audience.
To set an ebook free on Amazon you either enroll in KDP Select and use your five free promotion days, or list it free on Kobo and Apple and wait for Amazon to price-match. Our breakdown of KDP Select pros and cons covers which route fits which author.
If your goal is a temporary discount rather than free, a Kindle Countdown Deal preserves the 70% royalty during the promotion, which a standard price drop below $2.99 does not.
Common Ebook Pricing Mistakes to Avoid
- Pricing on word count. A 100,000-word novel is not automatically worth more than a 30,000-word guide that saves a reader ten hours.
- Ignoring the delivery fee. Authors of illustrated books routinely lose 25% of their royalty to file size and never notice.
- Leaving the launch price up. Set a calendar reminder for day eight. Most abandoned $0.99 prices are simple forgetfulness.
- Undercutting yourself across retailers. A cheaper price on Kobo can knock you off the 70% option on Amazon entirely.
- Copying traditional publisher prices. Their $13.99 ebook exists to protect a $28 hardcover. You have no hardcover to protect.
- Changing price weekly. Amazon needs time to settle. Constant changes produce data you cannot read.
Write an Ebook Worth Charging For
Every pricing decision on this page assumes the book delivers. A $9.99 price on a thin, padded ebook produces refunds and one-star reviews faster than a $2.99 price ever would.
Our Pick — Chapter
Chapter helps you structure, draft, and finish a book that holds up at a premium price. You bring the expertise and the story; Chapter handles the structural work that usually stalls authors at chapter four.
Best for: Authors who want a complete, well-organized manuscript rather than a pile of AI-generated filler Pricing: $97 one time, 2 books included (fiction or nonfiction), 30-day money-back guarantee Why we built it: 10,000+ authors have written books with Chapter have been created on the platform — including one that earned an author $13,200 and another that produced $60,000 in 48 hours.
Chapter does not set your price. It helps you build the kind of book that justifies one.
How Much Money Can You Make From a Self-Published Ebook?
A self-published ebook priced at $4.99 earns roughly $3.19 per sale on the 70% option. Selling 100 copies a month produces about $319 monthly, or $3,828 a year. Most indie ebooks sell far fewer; a small minority sell many multiples of that. Price sets your ceiling, and marketing determines how close you get to it.
Our data breakdown on how much self-published authors make puts real distributions around those averages.
Should You Raise the Price of an Ebook That Is Already Selling?
Yes, if it has held steady sales for at least 60 days and carries 15 or more reviews. Reviews and sales history reduce the perceived risk of an unknown author, which is exactly what a low price was compensating for. Raise one step, hold for 14 days, and compare total royalty rather than units sold.
Books that have found their audience frequently sustain a $1–$2 increase with no meaningful drop in units. That is the highest-return ten minutes of work available to a self-published author.
If you also sell print, revisit paperback pricing at the same time — the two prices anchor each other, and a $14.99 paperback makes a $6.99 ebook look like a bargain.
FAQ
What is the best price for a self-published ebook?
The best price for a self-published ebook is $2.99 to $5.99 for fiction and $6.99 to $12.99 for nonfiction. Both ranges qualify for Amazon’s 70% royalty rate. Pricing below $2.99 drops you to 35%, requiring roughly nine times the sales volume to earn the same money.
Why did Amazon change the 70% royalty limit to $12.99?
Amazon raised the 70% royalty ceiling from $9.99 to $12.99 on July 7, 2026, the first change to that limit since 2007. The $2.99 minimum and the 35% option were unchanged. Authors already priced above $9.99 on the 35% option can now switch to 70%.
Is $0.99 too cheap for an ebook?
A $0.99 ebook is too cheap as a permanent price because it falls in the 35% royalty tier, paying about $0.35 per sale. It works as a short launch promotion or as book one of a completed series, where the goal is acquiring readers who then buy later books at full price.
How does file size affect ebook royalties?
On the 70% royalty option, Amazon deducts a delivery fee of $0.15 per megabyte in the US before calculating your royalty. A 2 MB novel loses $0.30 per sale, while a 20 MB illustrated book loses $3.00, cutting the effective royalty rate to roughly 40%. Compress images before publishing.
Should my ebook be the same price on every retailer?
Yes. Keep your ebook price consistent across Amazon, Apple, Kobo, and Google Play. Amazon requires your list price to be within 20% of the lowest price offered anywhere online, and undercutting elsewhere can remove your eligibility for the 70% royalty rate on Amazon entirely.
How often should I change my ebook price?
Change your ebook price no more than once every 30 days outside of scheduled promotions. Amazon’s ranking algorithm needs roughly 14 days to stabilise after a price change. Testing more frequently produces noise rather than usable data about which price maximises your total royalty.
Pricing is one of the few levers you can pull in ten minutes that changes your income permanently. Run the royalty math, check your file size, match your genre benchmark, and test once a quarter. For the full picture across every format, start with our guide to pricing a self-published book and the mechanics in book royalties explained.
