Delivery cost Defined.
Definition
Delivery cost is the charge KDP deducts from each ebook sale under the 70% royalty option, based on the size of the book's file. On Amazon.com it is $0.15 per megabyte, with file sizes rounded up to the next kilobyte and a minimum of $0.01 a copy. Sales under the 35% option carry no delivery cost.
Sources checked 20 October 2026. Figures: KDP's Amazon.com ebook royalty, list-price and delivery figures, as of 11 October 2026.
How it works
KDP multiplies the number of megabytes it determines your file contains by the marketplace's rate, rounding the cost to the cent, and takes it off the list price before applying the 70% rate. Text is light; images are what make a file heavy, so a novel and an illustrated guide at the same price can pay very different royalties. The rate differs from one marketplace to another.
An example
A text-only ebook of 0.5 MB, listed at $4.99, is charged $0.08 for delivery and pays $3.44 per Amazon.com sale. The same book with 20 MB of photos is charged $3.00, leaving $1.39 at 70%, less than the $1.75 it would pay under 35%.
Common mistakes
Uploading full-resolution photos when screen-sized images would look the same on a Kindle. Judging the cost from the manuscript on your computer: KDP charges by the megabytes it determines the book's file contains, so check the delivery cost it gives for your book before settling on a price. And forgetting that the delivery cost is charged on every sale, so a heavy file costs you on every copy.
