The 70% vs 35% trade-off
Amazon offers two Kindle royalty options. The 70% plan pays you seventy cents on the dollar minus a small per-MB delivery fee, but only on prices between $2.99 and $9.99 in the US. The 35% plan pays a flat thirty-five cents per dollar with no delivery fee and no price ceiling. For most authors with normal-sized files (under 5 MB) and prices in the sweet spot, 70% wins by a huge margin — sometimes doubling earnings per book. Outside that band, 35% becomes the obvious choice.
How to minimize the delivery fee
The delivery fee is $0.15 per megabyte in the US store, charged only on the 70% plan. A 10 MB illustrated children's book loses $1.50 per sale to delivery — wiping out a huge slice of profit. Compress images to under 100 KB each, avoid embedded fonts where possible and use Kindle Create rather than fixed-layout PDFs. Aim for a final .mobi or .kpf file under 1 MB to keep the fee negligible.
Pricing strategies that maximize Kindle royalty
$2.99, $4.99 and $6.99 are proven sweet spots that balance perceived value with the 70% plan. Pricing at $0.99 or $1.99 forces you onto 35% and pays under $0.35 per sale — almost never worth the effort unless you are using it as a loss leader for a series. Test $9.99 for niche non-fiction and $4.99 for fiction; track conversion in KDP Reports for 14 days before deciding.
International Kindle royalties
When you enroll in the 70% plan, it applies to most major marketplaces (US, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Japan, Brazil, India, Mexico, Canada and Australia). However, sales in countries outside the list pay 35%. Use marketplace-specific pricing so a $4.99 US book is priced equivalently — not converted at the daily FX rate, which usually leaves you below local sweet spots.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the 70% royalty showing as zero?
Your list price is outside the $2.99–$9.99 band required for the 70% plan. Adjust the price into that range.
How much is the Kindle delivery fee?
$0.15 per megabyte in the US, lower in some markets. It only applies to books on the 70% plan.
Can I switch royalty plans later?
Yes. You can change your royalty plan at any time inside the KDP dashboard, and the new rate applies to future sales.
Are Kindle Unlimited reads included?
No. KU pages-read royalties come from the KENP global fund and are not part of the 35%/70% calculation.