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KDPBookKit
One-off total
$950.00
Per copy
$9.50100 copies
Royalty
$3.19per copy
Break-even
298copies

US paperback · 300 pages · rates checked 2026-11-10 · check on KDP ↗

Self-publishing · budget and break-even · 2026-11-10

Self-publishing cost calculator — what it costs, when you break even

A self-published book can cost $0 or $6,000, because the total is a set of choices rather than a price list. With light editing at $800, a pre-made cover at $150, KDP’s free ISBN and a DIY interior, the default budget here is $950.00: spread over 100 copies that is $9.50 a copy, and at $3.19 of royalty per sale, 298 copies pay it back. Untick any line and the break-even moves with it.

One-off cost · 6 of 6 lines included

$950.00USD

Break-even at 298 copies

Royalty = 60% × $12.99 − $4.60 printing · 300 pages · black & white · US · Paperback royalty rates ↗ / Printing cost table ↗

Per copy at 100
$9.50
Royalty per copy
$3.19
Break-even copies
298

Any price below $9.20 loses money on printing

Your budget

Six optional lines. Amounts are anchor points, not our quotes.

$

Light copy edit, one revision pass.

$

Pre-made cover, your title set into it.

$

Free from KDP for Amazon.

$

DIY in Word from a free template.

$

No paid ads here.

$

One copy at print cost plus shipping.

100

Reporting choice, not a print run you commit to.

24–828

Editing is a one-off fee; a proof copy is charged per copy at print cost. Both are fixed spend, so both are divided by the same print run — and because KDP prints on demand, that run is a slider, not a commitment.

Where the money goes

2 of 6 lines carry a cost

Editing
$800.0084%
Cover design
$150.0016%
ISBN
$0.000%
Interior formatting
$0.000%
Marketing and ads
$0.000%
Proof and author copies
$0.000%
Total
$950.00
Same line items as the budget above.
Per-copy share of $950.00 across 10 to 1,000 copiesPer-copy share of $950.00 from 10 to 1000 copies; at 100 it is $9.50.$0.00$47.50$95.00100 copies → $9.50102505007501000
One-off cost ÷ copies — KDP prints on demand, so this is a reporting choice.

What $0 actually buys

  • A free KDP ISBN, for Amazon only.
  • A cover from KDP’s template and a licensed image.
  • An interior set from a free template.
  • Your own proofread — the line never to zero out.

Royalty is 50% of the list price at or below $9.98 and 60% above it, with printing cost deducted after the multiplication. Rates checked 2026-11-10.

Break-even

Where the money goes, and how many copies bring it back

Six line items, one total, one number that matters: how many sales it costs.

One-off total
$950.00

six optional lines

Per copy at 100
$9.50

fixed cost ÷ copies

Royalty per copy
$3.19

at $12.99 list price

Break-even copies
298

total ÷ royalty per copy

The six cost lines: what each buys, when to skip it, what it adds to this budget
Line itemWhat it buysSkip it whenIn your budgetShare
EditingGrammar, consistency and continuity.Beta readers flagged nothing structural.$800.0084%
Cover designA cover sized to your trim.You can build one from KDP’s template.$150.0016%
ISBNAn ISBN, Amazon distribution only.Never on KDP — it is free.$0.00—
Interior formattingA print-ready PDF with correct gutter.Text-only, and you can follow a template.$0.00—
Marketing and adsAds, newsletters or a launch service.You already have an audience.$0.00—
Proof and author copiesOne copy at print cost plus shipping.The digital previewer is enough.$0.00—
TotalOne-off spend, before any copies are sold$950.00100%

What a royalty has to clear

Royalty is the rate times the list price, minus printing cost — never a share of your profit. Printing costs $4.60 a copy, so a $12.99 paperback pays $3.19: the 60% tier hands you $7.79 and then printing comes off. That That $3.19 is the only money the budget can repay, which is why break-even is so price-sensitive: in the 60% band this book needs 298 sales, below it 684. Run your own numbers through the book pricing calculator before you commit to a cover spend.

$9.99 pays $1.39 a copy and $12.99 pays $3.19, so $950.00 needs 684 copies at the lower price and 298 at the higher — the rate band moves break-even further than any single cost line.

Authors under-read the per-copy figure. $950.00 over 100 copies is $9.50 of setup on every copy — more than the printing cost at this page count. Over 500 it drops to $1.90, and it never reaches zero.

Pages set both printing cost and royalty: a 30,000-word book prints for less than a 50,000-word one at the same trim — the printing cost calculator has the exact figure for yours.

Break-even copies by budget and price

Copies needed to repay a one-off budget at four paperback prices, using this book’s printing cost
Budget$9.99$12.99$14.99$19.99
$250.00180795734
$500.0036015711468
$950.00yours684298217129
$1,000.00720314228136
$2,000.001,439627456271
$5,000.003,5981,5681,139677

Copies = budget ÷ royalty per copy, rounded up. Royalty = rate × price − $4.60 printing.

A $500 cover on a $9.99 paperback costs 360 sales to repay; the same $500 at $19.99 costs 68. The cover did not get cheaper — the royalty did the work.

Royalty and printing cost come from KDP’s paperback royalty rates ↗ and printing cost table ↗, checked 2026-11-10. The budget amounts are yours, not ours — we publish no market price for editing, covers or ads. See all free KDP tools for the rest.

Questions

Cost and break-even questions people actually ask

It can be nothing: KDP charges no setup fee, no monthly fee and takes no share of your royalty. Its ISBN is free, and a DIY cover and interior cost only time. The default budget here is $950.00 — editing at $800 plus a pre-made cover at $150.

Next numbers to work out

A budget only means something next to a royalty. Work out what a copy earns, what it costs to print, and how many pages you have.

Start this book → the planner turns a finished manuscript into a print-ready interior.