Publishing · pricing
Kindle Direct Publishing pricing
Kindle Direct Publishing publishes 2 tiers. Below is each one, what it adds over the tier beneath it, and where the ladder stops being worth climbing for most people.
As of 1 September 2026, Kindle Direct Publishing pricing is free across 2 published tiers. Figures are the vendor's list prices as recorded on this page's last check; the vendor's site is the final word.
- Entry price
- Free
- Model
- Free to publish; Amazon earns a royalty share rather than a fee
- Tiers
- 2
- Free tier
- Yes
Kindle Direct Publishing plans, side by side
Every published tier in ascending order of price, with the number of features each one lists. An absence here means the record does not itemise it, not that the tier lacks it.
| Plan | Price | Features listed | Step up from the tier below |
|---|---|---|---|
| 70% royalty tier | Free | 4 | Entry tier |
| 35% royalty tier | Free | 3 | +$0/month, 3 more features |
What each tier adds
The set difference between each tier's feature list and the one beneath it. Where a tier lists nothing new, the vendor has either stopped repeating the inherited list or the tier raises limits rather than adding capability, the record does not distinguish the two, so this page does not either.
70% royalty tier
FreeThe entry tier. It covers applies to ebooks priced $2.99-$12.99 (expanded from $9.99 ceiling in july 2026), in-copyright works only, delivery fee of roughly $0.15/mb deducted per sale, territory restrictions apply.
35% royalty tier
FreeOver 70% royalty tier, this tier adds:
- Applies below $2.99, above $12.99, or for public domain content
- No delivery fee deducted
- Applies automatically outside eligible territories for the 70% tier
Where Kindle Direct Publishing stops being free
70% royalty tier, Free
- Applies to ebooks priced $2.99-$12.99 (expanded from $9.99 ceiling in July 2026)
- In-copyright works only
- Delivery fee of roughly $0.15/MB deducted per sale
- Territory restrictions apply
No paid tier on record
Kindle Direct Publishing lists a free tier and no priced tier above it in the record we hold.
What the product covers
The full Kindle Direct Publishing feature record, grouped as the catalogue groups it. This is the product as a whole; the record does not map every feature onto a specific tier.
Other
- Free publishing
- 70%/35% royalty tiers
- Print-on-demand
- KDP Select
- Delivery fee deduction
- Pre-order and release tools
People bring Kindle Direct Publishing in for a self-published author wanting free, no-fee distribution to the largest single ebook and print-on-demand market, an author pricing a book between $2.99 and $12.99 to qualify for the 70% royalty tier rather than 35%, a publisher considering kdp select exclusivity to earn kindle unlimited page-read royalties, trading away distribution on other retailers for the enrollment period, an author with a large, image-heavy ebook file who needs to understand the per-megabyte delivery fee before setting a price. If that is not the job you are buying for, the alternatives to Kindle Direct Publishing are worth a look before you commit to a tier.
How that compares in Publishing
Too few publishing tools in this directory publish a starting price to quote a meaningful median, so the table below is a like-for-like list rather than a ranking.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Rated | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kindle Direct Publishing (this page) | Free | Free to publish; Amazon earns a royalty share rather than a fee | - | |
| Everand | $11.99/month | Per user per month, unlimited | - | vs Kindle Direct Publishing |
| Kobo | Free | Free store and app; hardware sold separately; optional subscription | - | vs Kindle Direct Publishing |
| Scrivener | On request | One-time purchase | - | vs Kindle Direct Publishing |
| PublishDrive | Free | Flat-fee subscription, no commission on paid plans | - | vs Kindle Direct Publishing |
| BookBaby | On request | One-time purchase per project | - | vs Kindle Direct Publishing |
| Wattpad | Free | Free with ads; paid ad-free subscription and optional in-app coin purchases | - | vs Kindle Direct Publishing |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry, they are not reviews hosted on Softwr. How each figure is used is set out on the Kindle Direct Publishing badges page.
Before you pay for Kindle Direct Publishing
Three things this page cannot tell you, and all three change the bill. The record carries a price and a billing period but not the unit - per-seat and flat-rate pricing are indistinguishable in this data, so a five-person team may be looking at five times the figure above. It carries no annual rate, so any discount for paying yearly is not something this page can quote. And it carries no trial length.
What it can tell you is the shape of the ladder: 2 tiers between Free and Free, with the jump itemised above. Because there is a free tier, the cheapest way to answer the rest is to use it before paying anything.
Kindle Direct Publishing runs on web, and is published by Amazon of Seattle, Washington, United States. The full record is on the Kindle Direct Publishing review, and the rest of the category is under best publishing tools.
Kindle Direct Publishing pricing questions
- How much does Kindle Direct Publishing cost?
- Kindle Direct Publishing publishes 2 tiers, from Free for 70% royalty tier up to Free for 35% royalty tier. The entry tier costs nothing.
- Does Kindle Direct Publishing have a free plan?
- Yes. The 70% royalty tier tier costs nothing and covers applies to ebooks priced $2.99-$12.99 (expanded from $9.99 ceiling in july 2026), in-copyright works only, delivery fee of roughly $0.15/mb deducted per sale.
- What is the difference between 70% royalty tier and 35% royalty tier on Kindle Direct Publishing?
- 35% royalty tier costs Free against Free, and adds applies below $2.99, above $12.99, or for public domain content, no delivery fee deducted, applies automatically outside eligible territories for the 70% tier.
- Which publishing tools can I use without paying?
- 5 of the 8 publishing tools listed alongside Kindle Direct Publishing have a free tier: Kobo, PublishDrive, Wattpad, Webtoon, Goodreads.
- What am I actually paying for with Kindle Direct Publishing?
- The record lists 6 features across 1 area: other. In practice it is brought in for a self-published author wanting free, no-fee distribution to the largest single ebook and print-on-demand market, an author pricing a book between $2.99 and $12.99 to qualify for the 70% royalty tier rather than 35%, a publisher considering kdp select exclusivity to earn kindle unlimited page-read royalties, trading away distribution on other retailers for the enrollment period.
- Does Kindle Direct Publishing charge per user?
- The record carries a price and a billing period for each of its 2 tiers, but not the unit that price is charged in. Per-seat and flat-rate billing look identical in this data, so check the vendor's page before budgeting for a team.
- Are these Kindle Direct Publishing prices current?
- They are what the catalogue entry holds, refreshed when the entry is. Vendors change pricing without notice and nobody at Softwr re-verifies each tier by hand, so treat this as a structured summary and the vendor's own pricing page as the authority.
- What should I compare Kindle Direct Publishing against before paying?
- The closest publishing tools in this directory are Everand, Kobo, Scrivener, PublishDrive. Each has a side-by-side comparison with Kindle Direct Publishing covering price, platforms and features.