TL;DR Spoiler: If your Amazon KDP paperback or hardcover sells for less than the “thresholds” of $9.98 USD or $13.98 CAD (or less), your royalty drops 10 points on June 10, 2025.
What changed?
Any paperback or hardcover you list at or below the new marketplace thresholds now (as of June 10, 2025) earns a 50 % royalty instead of the long-standing 60 %. Price the book even one cent higher? Then you’ll get the full 60 % rate.
These changes affect print books only—eBook royalties (which already have a 2-tier system of 35% and 70% depending on the price you set) and Kindle Unlimited payment (based on number of pages read) stay put.
To soften the blow for illustrators and full-color projects, Amazon has trimmed color-printing costs a little in several regions, so the per-unit expense drops even as the royalty math shifts.
All Marketplaces At-a-glance
| Marketplace | 50 % rate kicks in if you price your book at or below: | Keep 60 % royalties if you price your book at: |
|---|---|---|
| US | ≤ $9.98 USD | $9.99 USD + |
| Canada | ≤ $13.98 CAD | $13.99 CAD + |
| UK | ≤ £7.98 | £7.99 + |
| Euro zone (DE/FR/IT/ES/NL) | ≤ €9.98 | €9.99 + |
| Australia | ≤ A\$13.98 | A\$13.99 + |
| Japan | ≤ ¥999 | ¥1,000 + |
| Poland | ≤ zł 39 | zł 40 + |
| Sweden | ≤ SEK 98 | SEK 99 + |
How Amazon set the numbers
It looks like Amazon started from the price cap of $9.98 USD and converted it to each marketplace’s currency (in Canada, that’s $13ish), then rounded to “retail-friendly” prices (ending in .99). The usual fees are baked in (local manufacturing and fulfillment costs).
Minimum print cost (Canada)
The cost to print a paperback with 300 black & white pages for Amazon.ca’s Canadian marketplace…
| Fees & Fee-Fees | Book Math | Amount (Canada) |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed cost | — | 1.26 CAD |
| Per-page cost | 300 pages × 0.016 CAD | 4.80 CAD |
| Printing cost | 1.26 + 4.80 | 6.06 CAD |
| Minimum list price | 6.06 ÷ 0.60 | 10.10 CAD |
New royalties based on list price
| Your current Canadian list price | Royalty after June 10 | Action to consider |
|---|---|---|
| ≤ CAD $13.98 | 50 % | Decide whether that lower take-home is okay or bump the price. |
| ≥ CAD $13.99 | 60 % | Nothing to do—you’re still in the high tier. |
If you’ve been selling paperbacks at $11.99 CAD because it “looks friendly,” that book will drop to 50 %. A tiny nudge to $13.99 CAD keeps your margin intact.
NOTE: I don’t usually sell any non-fiction book below the $17.99 mark in any market.
My take
I doubt readers who love an author’s content will bail over a tiny increase.
Want help with pricing or recalculating royalties?
Shoot me a message. We’ll crunch the numbers together!
Want to play with pricing on your own? Use our calculator!
Happy writing!
xo Jenn
