List price Defined.
Definition
List price is the price you set for a book on KDP. For an ebook it decides which royalty option is open to you: on Amazon.com the 70% option needs a price of $2.99 to $12.99. For a paperback it must cover the printing cost, and from $9.99 the royalty rate rises from 50% to 60%.
Sources checked 20 October 2026. Figures: KDP's Amazon.com ebook royalty, list-price and delivery figures, as of 11 October 2026; KDP's paperback royalty rates, trim classes and spine figures, as of October 2026; KDP's Amazon.com paperback printing costs, as of 19 October 2026.
How it works
Ebook prices on Amazon.com range from $0.99 to $200.00 under the 35% option, with the minimum rising with file size: $0.99 under 3 MB, $1.99 from 3 MB and $2.99 from 10 MB. Paperbacks pay 50% of list price at $9.98 and below on Amazon.com, and 60% from $9.99 up, minus printing cost. In some marketplaces the price you enter includes VAT, which KDP takes out before applying the rate. You can change a list price after publishing, from the book's pricing page.
An example
A 200-page regular-trim paperback costs $3.40 to print. Listed at $9.98, it pays $1.59 a copy at 50%; listed one cent higher at $9.99, it pays $2.59 at 60%. The cent off the price costs the author $1.00 a copy.
Common mistakes
Pricing a paperback a few cents under $9.99, where the rate drops to 50%. Pricing an ebook above $12.99, which moves every Amazon.com sale to the 35% option. And copying one list price to every marketplace without checking that it falls inside each store's band after currency and VAT.
