---
title: "List Price on KDP: Ebook and Paperback Rules"
description: "What a book's list price is on KDP, the price bands each ebook royalty option allows, and how list price sets a paperback's royalty rate."
url: "https://www.superebook.ai/glossary/list-price"
updated: "2026-10-20"
---

# List price

**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 October 20, 2026. Figures: KDP's Amazon.com ebook royalty, list-price and delivery figures, as of October 11, 2026; KDP's paperback royalty rates, trim classes and spine figures, as of October 2026; KDP's Amazon.com paperback printing costs, as of October 19, 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.

## Questions

**What is the lowest price I can set for a Kindle ebook?** On Amazon.com, $0.99 for a file under 3 MB, under the 35% option. Larger files have higher minimums, and the 70% option starts at $2.99.

**Why does my paperback show a minimum list price?** Because the royalty can't be negative. KDP works out the lowest price at which the royalty rate times the price still covers the printing cost.

## Sources

- [KDP: eBook List Price Requirements](https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200634560): Amazon.com list price bands for the 35% and 70% options, the minimums by file size and the maximum.
- [KDP: Paperback Royalty](https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201834330): The 50% and 60% paperback rates by list price on Amazon.com, less printing costs.
- [KDP: eBook Royalties](https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200644210): VAT removed from the list price before the royalty rate applies.

## Related terms

- [70% royalty option](https://www.superebook.ai/glossary/70-percent-royalty-option.md)
- [35% royalty option](https://www.superebook.ai/glossary/35-percent-royalty-option.md)
- [Printing cost](https://www.superebook.ai/glossary/printing-cost.md)
- [Delivery cost](https://www.superebook.ai/glossary/delivery-cost.md)

## Read next

- [Kindle royalty calculator](https://www.superebook.ai/tools/kindle-royalty-calculator.md)
- [Ebook pricing: how to reason about the price](https://www.superebook.ai/guides/ebook-pricing-strategy.md)
- [Self-publishing cost calculator](https://www.superebook.ai/tools/self-publishing-cost-calculator.md)
- [All glossary terms](https://www.superebook.ai/glossary.md)