KDP author copies cost exactly your book’s printing cost, plus shipping and tax at checkout. On Amazon.com, a black-ink paperback in a regular trim size costs a flat $2.30 up to 110 pages, then $1.00 plus $0.012 per page. So a 300-page novel costs $4.60 per author copy, and the same book in hardcover costs $9.25. There’s no bulk discount: KDP says the print cost “is the lowest price we can offer.”
That’s the answer to the price question. The more useful question is what those copies are worth. Sell one at a signing for its $14.99 list price and you keep $10.39 before shipping. An Amazon sale of the same book pays you $4.39. Below is the full author-price table for every format, the shipping break-even KDP doesn’t publish, and the napkin math for one event table (all rates checked November 14, 2026).
TL;DR
- Author price = print cost. A 300-page black-ink paperback costs $4.60 on Amazon.com; the hardcover costs $9.25.
- Up to 110 pages, a paperback costs a flat $2.30. Premium color at 300 pages: $20.50.
- Shipping has no formula and no free or Prime option. Read it on the last checkout page.
- Sold by hand at $14.99, a copy keeps $10.39 vs $4.39 per Amazon sale (2.4x).
- The $6 rule: hand-selling wins while shipping stays under 40% of list price per copy.
Author copies only pay off if you have a catalog worth putting on a table, ideally a series where one sold copy leads to the next. If writing the books is your bottleneck, my top pick is ImagineYourBook. It’s an AI book-writing tool that turns your idea or notes into a complete text draft with a cover, exports Word, EPUB and Markdown files for KDP, and keeps characters and world rules consistent across a series. You revise the draft in your own voice, format it as a paperback, and then order copies at the prices below.
How KDP calculates the author copy price
KDP’s help page is short: author price = print cost in your chosen marketplace x number of copies. The print cost depends on four things: trim size, page count, ink type and paper. Bleed and cover finish (matte or glossy) don’t change it.
The formula is fixed cost + (pages x per-page cost). On Amazon.com the rates are:
- Black ink paperback, regular trim: $2.30 flat for 24 to 110 pages; $1.00 + $0.012 per page from 110 to 828 pages.
- Large trim (wider than 6.12 in or taller than 9 in): $2.84 flat, or $1.00 + $0.017 per page.
- Hardcover, black ink: $6.80 flat for 75 to 108 pages; $5.65 + $0.012 per page above that.
- Standard color paperback: $1.00 + $0.0255 per page (72 to 600 pages).
- Premium color paperback: $3.60 flat up to 40 pages; $1.00 + $0.065 per page above that.
Here is what that means for real page counts:
| Pages | Paperback, black ink | Paperback, black, large trim | Hardcover, black ink | Paperback, standard color | Paperback, premium color |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | $2.30 | $2.84 | $6.80 | $3.55 | $7.50 |
| 200 | $3.40 | $4.40 | $8.05 | $6.10 | $14.00 |
| 300 | $4.60 | $6.10 | $9.25 | $8.65 | $20.50 |
| 400 | $5.80 | $7.80 | $10.45 | $11.20 | $27.00 |
| 500 | $7.00 | $9.50 | $11.65 | $13.75 | $33.50 |
| 600 | $8.20 | $11.20 | $12.85 | $16.30 | $40.00 |
Two things stand out. First, trim size matters more than most authors expect. In our KDP trim size test, the same novel set at 6 x 9 ran 230 pages and cost $3.76 per copy, while 5 x 8 ran 344 pages and cost $5.13. If you order 100 copies, that’s $137 just from the trim choice. Second, color interiors are expensive: a 300-page premium color paperback costs $20.50 per copy, more than four times the black-ink version.
Watch the gap between formats open up as the page count grows:
Author copies outside the US
KDP asks you to choose the marketplace based on where the books will ship, and each marketplace has its own rates. For the same 300-page black-ink paperback:
| Marketplace | Currency | 300-page author copy | Rates used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com | USD | 4.60 | 1.00 + 0.012/page |
| Amazon.co.uk | GBP | 3.85 | 0.85 + 0.010/page |
| Amazon.de, .fr, .es, .it, .nl, .ie, .com.be | EUR | 4.35 | 0.75 + 0.012/page |
| Amazon.ca | CAD | 6.06 | 1.26 + 0.016/page |
| Amazon.com.au | AUD | 9.02 | 2.42 + 0.022/page |
| Amazon.co.jp | JPY | 806 | 206 + 2/page |
KDP notes that orders shipped from outside the EU to an EU address may be charged customs fees, which are added to shipping at checkout. If you’re in Europe, ordering from Amazon.de or another EU marketplace avoids that.
What KDP doesn’t tell you: shipping
KDP publishes no shipping formula. Its help page says the cost depends on how many items you order, the shipping speed, the destination, the marketplace and the weight and size of the books. Proof and author copies also don’t qualify for free or Prime shipping.
The honest way to get your number is to start an order, go to the last checkout page, and read the shipping total before you click “Place your order.” KDP says you don’t need to finish the order to get an estimate. Divide that total by the number of copies, and you have your per-copy shipping cost, which is the one number the rest of this article needs.
The $6 rule: when hand-selling beats an Amazon sale
Take a 300-page paperback listed at $14.99. Here’s what each kind of sale pays you:
- Amazon.com sale: 60% x $14.99 – $4.60 = $4.39 (KDP pays 60% on paperbacks listed at $9.99 or more).
- Expanded Distribution sale (bookstores, libraries): 40% x $14.99 – $4.60 = $1.40.
- Author copy sold by hand at $14.99: $14.99 – $4.60 = $10.39, minus your shipping per copy.
The difference between the hand-sold copy and the Amazon sale is $6.00, which is just the 40% of list price that Amazon keeps. That gives a simple rule: a hand-sold author copy beats an Amazon sale as long as shipping costs you less than 40% of the list price per copy. For a $14.99 paperback, that’s $6.00.
The rule scales with format. A 300-page hardcover at $24.99 pays $5.74 per Amazon sale (60% x $24.99 – $9.25) and $15.74 per hand-sold copy, so its break-even shipping is $10.00 per copy.
The same $6.00 also explains why buying your own book on Amazon to give away is a bad deal. Even after the $4.39 royalty comes back to you, a retail copy costs you $10.60 net, against $4.60 for an author copy. Retail only wins if its shipping is more than $6.00 per copy cheaper.
Don’t confuse proofs with author copies. Proofs can be ordered while your book is still a draft, but they carry a “Not for Resale” watermark and a barcode with no ISBN. For anything you plan to sell or give to readers, order author copies of the live book.
Napkin math: one event table
Let’s say a romance series author takes copies of a five-book series to a reader event and sells 40 paperbacks at $14.99. The number of copies and the shipping costs are assumptions; plug in your own.
- Copies: 40 x $4.60 = $184 at print cost.
- Revenue: 40 x $14.99 = $599.60.
- Kept at $0 shipping: 40 x $10.39 = $416. At $1, $2 and $3 per copy shipping: $376, $336 and $296.
- If those same 40 readers had bought on Amazon instead: 40 x $4.39 = $176.
The hand-sold table keeps between $120 and $240 more than the same 40 sales on Amazon would have paid. Two catches: those sales don’t appear in your KDP reports and don’t help your Amazon sales rank, and unsold copies are cash tied up in boxes. If launch rank is the goal, our KDP launch strategy post covers that side.
Five rules for ordering author copies
- Your book must be Live. The “Order Author Copies” button appears only on Live (or “Live with unpublished changes”) books, and it can take an extra 24 hours after the book goes live.
- Publish your fixes first. Author copies print the live version. If your status is “Live with unpublished changes,” you’ll get the old file.
- Mind the limits. Up to 999 author copies per order, but only 5 proof copies. Proofs carry a “Not for Resale” watermark; author copies don’t, and KDP says you can resell or give them away.
- No royalties, no reports. Author copy orders don’t earn royalties and don’t show up in your KDP reports. You’ll find them in your Amazon order history.
- Get a shipping quote before you price an event. Use the checkout trick above, then check the result against the $6 rule.
The cost side of all this is covered in more detail in our KDP paperback royalty calculator and the KDP hardcover calculator. If you’re weighing bookstore distribution instead, read is Expanded Distribution on KDP worth it, because at $1.40 per copy in this example, it pays less than a third of an Amazon sale.
| Question | Answer (300-page paperback, $14.99) |
|---|---|
| Author copy price | $4.60 (hardcover $9.25) |
| Bulk discount | None; print cost is the lowest price |
| Shipping | Checkout quote only; no free or Prime shipping |
| Kept per hand-sold copy | $10.39 minus shipping |
| Kept per Amazon sale | $4.39 |
| Kept per Expanded Distribution sale | $1.40 |
| Break-even shipping per copy | $6.00 (40% of list) |
| Max copies per order | 999 author copies, 5 proofs |
FAQ
How much do KDP author copies cost?
Exactly the printing cost. On Amazon.com, a black-ink paperback costs $2.30 up to 110 pages, then $1.00 plus $0.012 per page, so 300 pages costs $4.60. Shipping and tax are added at checkout.
How much is shipping for KDP author copies?
KDP publishes no formula. It depends on quantity, speed, destination, marketplace and book weight, and author copies don't get free or Prime shipping. Start an order and read the total on the last checkout page.
Do you get royalties on author copies?
No. Author copies earn no royalty and don't appear in your KDP reports. You can resell or give them away, and a $14.99 copy sold by hand keeps $10.39 before shipping.
Is there a bulk discount on KDP author copies?
No. KDP says the print cost is the lowest price it can offer. You can order up to 999 author copies at once, but the per-copy price stays the same.
Is it cheaper to buy your own book on Amazon?
Almost never. A $14.99 retail copy costs $10.60 net after your $4.39 royalty, versus $4.60 for an author copy. Retail only wins if its shipping is over $6.00 cheaper per copy.
How much does a KDP hardcover author copy cost?
A black-ink hardcover costs $6.80 for 75 to 108 pages, then $5.65 plus $0.012 per page. A 300-page hardcover author copy costs $9.25 before shipping.
The takeaway
KDP author copies cost your print cost: $4.60 for a 300-page black-ink paperback, $9.25 in hardcover, plus shipping you can only see at checkout. The number that matters is $6.00, or 40% of list: as long as shipping costs less than that per copy, every book you sell by hand earns more than an Amazon sale. That math works best when you have a series on the table, so readers who buy Book 1 can pick up Book 2 right away. If you need more books to fill that table, ImagineYourBook turns your outline into a full text draft with a cover, which you then revise in your own voice. The trial is $0 today with a card required and includes one complete 10,000-word book; the first $24.99 charge happens after 7 days unless you cancel before day 8. No tool guarantees sales.
Sources (checked November 14, 2026): KDP Help: How much do proof or author copies cost? · KDP Help: Shipping cost for proof or author copies · KDP Help: How do I order a proof or author copy? · KDP Help: Proof and Author Copies · KDP Help: Paperback Printing Cost · KDP Help: Hardcover Printing Cost · KDP Help: Paperback Royalty · ImagineYourBook pricing. Assumptions: $14.99 list and hand-sale price, 300 pages, black ink, regular trim; 40 event copies and $0 to $3 shipping per copy in the napkin math. Page counts for the 6 x 9 and 5 x 8 examples come from our own trim-size typesetting test. US dollars before tax.