KDP Coloring Book Royalty & Print Cost Calculator
Estimate printing cost, royalty rate and per-sale royalty for a US paperback — and compare two page counts before committing to a single-sided layout.
60% royalty from $9.99; 50% at $9.98 and below.
e.g. double-sided version of the same designs.
Printing cost
$2.84
Royalty per sale (60% rate)
$3.15
Break-even list price
$5.68
Formula: “(Royalty rate x list price) – printing costs = royalty” · printing = “Fixed cost + (page count * per page cost) = printing cost” (large trim table, 84 pages).
| Pages | Printing cost | Royalty / sale |
|---|---|---|
| 84 | $2.84 | $3.15 |
| 44 | $2.84 | $3.15 |
Difference: $0.00 per sale between the two page counts.
Cost data: kdp-print-cost-2026-08, verified against KDP: Paperback Printing Cost and KDP: Paperback Royalty.
Estimates only — taxes, returns, ads and currency effects are excluded, prices can change, and nothing here is an earnings guarantee. The KDP pricing page shows the authoritative number for your book.
How the kdp coloring book royalty calculator works
Two published tables drive everything. Printing cost is a fixed amount plus a per-page amount, chosen by ink type and trim class — trims wider than 6.12" or taller than 9" use the more expensive large-trim table, which covers almost every coloring-book size. Royalty is the rate (60% from $9.99, 50% below) times list price, minus that printing cost. The break-even price accounts for the rate switch at the threshold.
Worked example: single-sided vs double-sided
40 designs at 8.5"×11", black ink, $9.99 list. Single-sided (84 pages) and double-sided (44 pages) both sit in the fixed-cost tier (24–108 pages), so printing is $2.84 either way and royalty is 0.6×9.99 − 2.84 = $3.15 — the blank backs are effectively free. The economics change past the tier boundary: a 200-page single-sided book costs 1 + 200×0.017 = $4.40 to print, cutting royalty to $1.59. That tier structure is why the scenario comparison is built in.
Common mistakes
- Pricing just under $9.99. At $9.49 you earn 50%; at $9.99 you earn 60% — the calculator warns when the higher price would pay more.
- Estimating cost from the design count. Printing cost uses final PDF pages — blank backs included.
- Ignoring the large-trim table. 8.5"×11" costs more per page than 6"×9" for the same content.
- Treating the estimate as profit. Ads, returns and taxes come out of this number — plan ad spend with the breakeven ACoS tool.
Frequently asked questions
- How is KDP paperback royalty calculated?
- (Royalty rate × list price) − printing cost. On Amazon.com the rate is 60% for list prices of $9.99 and above, and 50% at $9.98 or below. Printing cost is a fixed amount plus a per-page amount that depends on ink, paper and trim class.
- Why does a single-sided coloring book earn less per sale?
- Blank backs double the page count, and every page past the fixed-cost tier adds per-page printing cost. An 84-page single-sided book costs more to print than the 44-page double-sided version of the same designs — the scenario comparison shows exactly how much royalty that costs you.
- Does trim size change the royalty?
- Yes, through printing cost: trims wider than 6.12" or taller than 9" are "large trim" and use a higher cost table. An 8.5"×11" black-ink book costs $2.84 (fixed tier) versus $2.30 for a 6"×9" — same page count, different royalty.
- Is this my profit?
- No — it is the estimated royalty per sale from the published tables. Taxes, returns, advertising and exchange effects are outside this estimate, and it is not an earnings guarantee. For ad economics, feed the royalty into the breakeven ACoS calculator.