How to Set the Perfect Price for Your eBook

Amazon, Apple & the likes

When you’re choosing an eBook price, it’s natural to look at bestsellers in your genre and think: “If readers are paying $X for those, they’ll pay $X for mine too.”

In reality, pricing works differently for discoverability stage authors (i.e., authors readers don’t know yet). Big publishers can often price higher because their authors already have name recognition and built-in demand. For newer or indie authors, your price needs to do two jobs at once:

Feel low-risk to a new reader
Still earn you a worthwhile return

That’s where royalties matter because the platform you sell on can change what you actually earn per sale.

Another consideration to take into account is the royalty rate paid at various price points too. For KDP paperbacks, royalties depend on marketplace and list price (often 50% or 60% on Amazon marketplaces), and Amazon deducts printing costs. If you enable Expanded Distribution, royalties are 40% minus printing costs.

Here is a basic indicator of royalties.

Price	B&N	Amazon.com	Apple Books
$0.99 – $2.98	40%	35%	70%
$2.99 – $9.99	65%	70%	70%
$10 – upwards	40%	70%	70%

While it seems a no-brainer to price between $2.99 – $9.99 for Amazon Kindle sales, it is also worth considering for books at the 70% royalty rate there is also a on Amazon’s 70% royalty option, your royalty is 70% of list price (excluding VAT) minus delivery costs, and delivery costs vary by marketplace and file size (KDP notes an average delivery cost around $0.06 per unit, and provides marketplace-specific examples). Ebooks on the 35% option are not charged delivery fees.

One would think that multiplying the per MB delivery fee by the size of your eBook, then subtracting that from the base royalty rate would give you the total earn per book, but unfortunately it isn’t quite that simple. To get an accurate cost / royalty total you would need to upload your book file to the KDP pricing page and see what numbers are generated on there. Not least because the compressed size of your eBook file will be smaller than the file size you first upload.

Quick gotchas (KDP):

70% applies only in eligible territories; outside those, it’s 35%.
Mostly public-domain content may only qualify for 35%.
Royalties are calculated on list price excluding VAT; delivery applies only on the 70% option.

Royalties matter more than most authors realise

A common trap is assuming “higher price = higher earnings.” Sometimes that’s true but sometimes a higher price pushes you into a lower royalty tier, or reduces conversions enough that your income drops overall.
Also: royalties differ between eBooks and paperbacks.

Quick note on paperback royalties (important!)

Amazon KDP does not pay a fixed 60% for paperbacks. KDP print royalties can be 50% or 60% depending on marketplace and list price, and your royalty is calculated as:
(Royalty Rate × List Price) – Printing Costs = Your Royalty
So paperback pricing is its own strategy. This guide is mainly about eBook pricing (where you have much more flexibility).

Book Promotions

Together with our collective experience in the industry we also have an extensive reader database with preferences right across the spectrum of both fiction and non-fiction, so whatever type of book you have written we have a huge and ever-growing audience ready and eager to read.

So What Price is Best?

Our general pricing sweet spot

In our experience, pricing at $2.99 (or slightly above) often hits the strongest overall balance of:

conversion (more readers willing to try you),
visibility (more sales velocity),
and return (better per-sale earnings on many platforms).

But “perfect price” depends on your publishing strategy

If Amazon is your main focus:

$2.99 is a common “entry point” because it often supports the 70% approach (where eligible), and it feels low-risk to new readers.

If you publish wide (Apple / B&N / Kobo / Google Play):

You’re not always bound by Amazon-style thresholds.
Example: Apple Books pays 70% regardless of price and has no delivery fees, so you can price more confidently based on genre expectations, length, and reader value perception

Niche nonfiction can go higher

Specialist nonfiction often supports higher pricing because the buyer intent is stronger (they’re purchasing for a specific outcome). If your book is positioned as a solution — not entertainment — you can often test higher (e.g., $5.99–$7.99) and still convert.

Series strategy (simple and effective)

If you write series, you have more leverage:

Use book 1 as your “try me” price (often lower)
Raise later books once readers are invested

And don’t be afraid to experiment — just do it methodically.

Having your ebook at the perfect price is one thing but readers need to know your book exists before price even matters.

At BeBookSharp, we combine years of industry experience with an extensive, genre-spanning reader database so you can get your book in front of the readers most likely to click, buy, and review.

We wish you the very best of luck finding your ideal ebook price and remember, it always pays to BeBookSharp.

Warmest regards,
Kathy K and the BeBookSharp team

Ready to take the next step in your literary journey? Reach out and discover how BeBookSharp can elevate your book to new heights.

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