Amazon changed its KDP royalty structure on June 10, 2025, and a lot of pricing guides haven't caught up. If you're still following advice that puts $7.99 as the sweet spot for coloring books, you're leaving significant money per sale on the table.
The change is straightforward: books priced below $9.99 now earn a 50% royalty instead of 60% [1]. Books at $9.99 and above keep the 60% rate. That single percentage point difference, multiplied across your list price, adds up to real dollars on every sale.
This guide covers the current math: what your book costs to print, what you earn at different price points, and why the right default for most coloring books is $9.99.
Table of contents
- The KDP royalty structure explained
- How to calculate your print cost
- The royalty formula
- The $9.99 case: a side-by-side comparison
- Pricing by page count
- When to price higher
- When lower prices make sense
- Setting your price
The KDP royalty structure explained
KDP uses 2 royalty tiers for paperbacks on Amazon.com [1]:
- 50% royalty for books priced at $9.98 or below
- 60% royalty for books priced at $9.99 or above
Before June 10, 2025, both tiers earned 60%. The change effectively cut royalties on every sub-$9.99 book by 10 percentage points. Amazon partially offset this by reducing color printing costs, but B&W coloring book interiors were already cheap. The offset did not meaningfully change the math for most coloring book publishers.
There's a third tier: 40% royalty for Expanded Distribution (which covers non-Amazon channels like bookstores and libraries). That rate is flat and has not changed. For most independent publishers, Expanded Distribution is a secondary consideration.
How to calculate your print cost
KDP calculates print cost using this formula for B&W paperbacks on Amazon.com [2]:
Print Cost = $1.00 + (Page Count x $0.012)
The $1.00 is the fixed base cost. The $0.012 per page is the variable cost. This applies to standard-trim B&W books from 24 to 828 pages.
Coloring books have one formatting rule that directly affects page count: single-sided printing. Every design page needs a blank backing page so markers don't bleed through. A "40-page coloring book" is actually 80 pages in KDP's interior page count.
Print costs for common coloring book formats:
| Coloring pages | KDP interior pages | Print cost |
|---|---|---|
| 30 designs | 60 pages | $1.72 |
| 40 designs | 80 pages | $1.96 |
| 50 designs | 100 pages | $2.20 |
| 55 designs | 110 pages | $2.32 |
| 60 designs | 120 pages | $2.44 |
The 40-design format (80 interior pages) at $1.96 is the most common structure for bold and easy coloring books, as covered in our guide to the bold and easy style.
These costs apply to Amazon.com sales. Print costs vary by marketplace; EU, UK, CA, and AU all have their own rates.
The royalty formula
Your net royalty on each sale is:
Net Royalty = (List Price x Royalty Rate) - Print Cost
At $7.99 with a 50% royalty and $1.96 print cost:
($7.99 x 0.50) - $1.96 = $4.00 - $1.96 = $2.04
At $9.99 with a 60% royalty and the same print cost:
($9.99 x 0.60) - $1.96 = $5.99 - $1.96 = $4.03
The $1 price increase and the royalty rate flip together nearly double your profit per sale.
The $9.99 case: a side-by-side comparison
Here's the full table for a standard 80-page interior (40 coloring designs + 40 blank backs, B&W):
| List price | Royalty rate | Gross royalty | Print cost | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $6.99 | 50% | $3.50 | $1.96 | $1.54 |
| $7.99 | 50% | $4.00 | $1.96 | $2.04 |
| $8.99 | 50% | $4.50 | $1.96 | $2.54 |
| $9.99 | 60% | $5.99 | $1.96 | $4.03 |
| $10.99 | 60% | $6.59 | $1.96 | $4.63 |
| $12.99 | 60% | $7.79 | $1.96 | $5.83 |
The jump from $8.99 to $9.99 adds $1.49 in profit per sale, which is a 59% increase from a $1 list price change. No other single-dollar price move in this range comes close to that return.
At 100 sales per month, the difference between pricing at $8.99 and $9.99 is $149/month per book. With 10 books in a catalog, that's $1,490/month in profit you're giving up by staying at $8.99.
Pricing by page count
The print cost changes as your page count increases. That shifts the optimal price point for larger books:
| Interior pages | Print cost | Minimum $9.99 profit | Suggested price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 pages | $1.72 | $4.27 | $9.99 |
| 80 pages | $1.96 | $4.03 | $9.99 |
| 100 pages | $2.20 | $3.79 | $9.99 |
| 120 pages | $2.44 | $3.55 | $10.99-$11.99 |
| 160 pages | $2.92 | $3.07 | $11.99 |
| 200 pages | $3.40 | $2.59 | $12.99 |
For books above 120 pages, the higher print cost starts to compress your margin at $9.99. Moving to $10.99 or $11.99 keeps the 60% rate while recovering the margin. Larger books also justify the higher price to buyers because they're getting more content.
When to price higher
Most bold and easy niches can support prices above $9.99. Three factors justify a higher price:
More pages. Going from 40 designs to 55 or 60 designs is a direct value-add that buyers understand. A 55-design book at $10.99 is an easier sell than a 40-design book at the same price.
Niche specificity. Buyers in tight niches (cottagecore, ocean animals, cozy spaces) are often more motivated purchasers with less price sensitivity than buyers searching generic terms like "adult coloring book." Niche buyers are looking for something specific and will pay for it. Testing $11.99 or $12.99 in a tight niche is worth doing if your reviews are strong.
Bundles and extras. Some publishers include a "color test page" at the back, a reference palette guide, or a brief technique section. These add perceived value and give you room to go to $11.99 or $12.99 without buyer resistance.
The bestselling range for adult coloring books in 2026 is $7.99 to $12.99, with an average around $8.71 [4]. That average is pulled down by publishers still using pre-June-2025 pricing. The publishers making the most per sale are clustered at $9.99 to $11.99.
When lower prices make sense
Pricing below $9.99 is a deliberate trade-off, not the default. There are situations where it makes sense:
Series pricing. Some publishers price book 1 of a series at $7.99 to lower the barrier to entry, then capture repeat buyers at $9.99 on subsequent books. This is a reasonable launch strategy if you have multiple books ready. It only works if you have a follow-up to sell into.
High-volume markets. Children's coloring books have strong price sensitivity. A parent buying a coloring activity book for a 6-year-old expects to pay $5.99 to $7.99. Trying to charge $9.99 in that category puts you above most competition without a clear reason. For children's books, the volume compensates for lower margin per sale.
Aggressive launch phase. Some publishers temporarily price below $9.99 during the first 30 days to accelerate reviews and rank. If you go this route, have a specific date to move the price up and don't let it drift.
Outside these specific scenarios, pricing below $9.99 in 2026 is giving up 10 royalty percentage points for no good reason.
Setting your price
The decision tree is short:
- Calculate your print cost: $1.00 + (interior pages x $0.012)
- Check your net royalty at $9.99: ($9.99 x 0.60) - print cost
- If that number is above $3.00, price at $9.99
- If you have 55+ designs or a tight premium niche, test $10.99 or $11.99
- Use the KDP royalty calculator to confirm the numbers for your specific trim size and marketplace before you publish
The June 2025 royalty change makes pricing at $9.99 the rational default for every standard coloring book format. The math is not close. Every dollar of list price above $9.99 earns 60 cents in royalty. Every dollar below earns only 50 cents, plus you're starting from a lower base.
If you're building a catalog, the compounding effect of pricing 10 books at $9.99 instead of $7.99 is the difference between a hobby income and a real publishing business. Price accordingly.
At BookIllustrationAI, the PDF and print files we generate are formatted to KDP's exact specifications, including single-sided output for marker-friendly printing. Each exported interior is ready to upload without reformatting.
References
- Paperback Royalty Rates- Amazon KDP
- Paperback Printing Cost- Amazon KDP
- Amazon KDP Royalty Changes 2025: What to Know and Do- Dibbly
- How to Price Your Coloring Book on Amazon KDP- KDPEasy