Kindle Delivery Cost Calculator

KDP charges a delivery fee on every 70% sale, based on file size. See what it costs per copy, how it changes your royalty, and how large the file can get before 35% becomes the better option.

The formula

delivery cost = file size (MB) × store rate, at least 0.01
70% royalty = 0.70 × (price − VAT − delivery cost)
35% beats 70% when delivery cost > (price − VAT) ÷ 2

The last line comes from setting the two royalties equal: 0.70 × (net − delivery) = 0.35 × net gives delivery = net ÷ 2. Divide half the net price by the store's rate per MB and you get the largest file at which 70% still pays more.

Delivery cost per sale by store

Store	Rate per MB	1 MB	5 MB	10 MB	25 MB
Amazon.com	$0.15	$0.15	$0.75	$1.50	$3.75
Amazon.co.uk	£0.10	£0.10	£0.50	£1.00	£2.50
Amazon.de, .fr, .es, .it, .nl	€0.12	€0.12	€0.60	€1.20	€3.00
Amazon.ca	C$0.15	C$0.15	C$0.75	C$1.50	C$3.75
Amazon.com.au	A$0.15	A$0.15	A$0.75	A$1.50	A$3.75
Amazon.in	₹7.00	₹7.00	₹35.00	₹70.00	₹175.00
Amazon.co.jp	¥1	¥1	¥5	¥0	¥0
Amazon.com.br	R$0.30	R$0.30	R$1.50	R$3.00	R$7.50
Amazon.com.mx	MX$1.00	MX$1.00	MX$5.00	MX$10.00	MX$25.00

Worked example: a novel

A text-only novel converts to 0.8 MB. On Amazon.com at $3.99 the delivery cost is 0.8 × $0.15 = $0.12, so the 70% royalty is 0.70 × ($3.99 − $0.12) = $2.71 against $1.40 at 35%. For text, delivery is a rounding error.

Worked example: an illustrated cookbook

A cookbook full of photos converts to 24 MB and sells for $7.99 on Amazon.com. Delivery is 24 × $0.15 = $3.60 per sale, which leaves $3.07 at 70%, while 35% would pay $2.80. At this price, 70% stops winning above 26.6 MB. Shrinking the photos so the file comes down to 9 MB raises the 70% royalty to $4.65, an extra $1.58 on every copy.

Worked example: the Japanese 10 MB rule

In Japan the rate is ¥1 per MB, but files of 10 MB or more pay nothing. A ¥800 picture book in KDP Select (with 10% consumption tax entered) earns ¥502 at 9.5 MB and ¥509 at 10 MB. It is a small difference, and Japan is the only store where a bigger file can pay more. Delivery there is so cheap that 70% wins at any file size.

When to accept 35%

For most books the answer is never: if the price is inside the 70% band, a text book loses a few cents at most to delivery. The 35% option makes sense for very large fixed-layout books, comics and photo books priced near the bottom of the band, and for prices outside the band, where it is the only option. Before choosing it, try reducing the file: an image-heavy book that drops from 30 MB to 10 MB cuts delivery by $3.00 a copy on Amazon.com, which is $2.10 more royalty. Use the price checker to see the 70% band in each store, and the DPI calculator to size images for print instead.

Frequently asked questions

Is the delivery cost charged on the 35% option?

No. KDP's Digital Book Pricing page says delivery costs are not deducted on the 35% option. They apply only to sales that earn 70%.

Which file size does KDP use?

The size of the file after KDP converts it, which is shown on the Kindle eBook Pricing page of your title setup. It is usually different from the file you uploaded. KDP rounds it up to the nearest kilobyte.

Is there a minimum delivery cost?

Yes: one cent (or one unit: ₹1, ¥1, MX$1) per sale, however small the file. In Japan, files of 10 MB or more pay no delivery cost at all.

How do I make my ebook file smaller?

Images are almost always the cause. Resize them to the width they will actually display at (around 1,600 pixels is plenty for a full-screen image), save photos as JPEG at a moderate quality, remove images that are duplicated in the file, and don't embed fonts you don't need. Re-upload and check the new size in KDP before publishing.

Sources

Rates last checked against KDP's help pages on 2026-10-16.