Amazon KDP vs Google Play Books vs Apple Books: Royalty Rates Compared (2026)
By Itorzo Editorial · July 11, 2026 · 7 min read
Amazon KDP, Google Play Books, and Apple Books are the three ebook stores that matter most for self-published authors, and all three advertise a 70% royalty. The headline rate, however, hides big differences in the price band you must stay inside to qualify, the delivery fees each platform deducts, and the rules around file size and marketplaces. As of July 7, 2026, Amazon KDP raised the ceiling on its 70% band from $9.99 to $12.99, the first change to that band since 2007, so a 2026 comparison is materially different from anything written before that date.
The single most important 2026 change: KDP's $12.99 ceiling
For roughly fifteen years, Amazon KDP's 70% royalty option required an ebook to be priced between $2.99 and $9.99 on Amazon.com. That $9.99 ceiling acted as a soft price cap across the industry, because pricing above it dropped the author back to KDP's 35% royalty tier. Effective July 7, 2026, the 70% band now runs from $2.99 to $12.99, with equivalent local-currency ranges in other marketplaces (for example, the UK band now extends to £12.99). 
Royalty rate comparison table (2026)
The table below shows what each platform pays at standard pricing. The headline percentages match, but the row that changes an author's take-home most is the price band, followed by delivery fees.
| Platform | Standard royalty | Lower-rate option | 70% price band (US) | Delivery fee on 70% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon KDP | 70% | 35% (any price) | $2.99 - $12.99 | ~$0.06 per MB |
| Google Play Books | 70% | 38% below the floor | Effectively any positive price | None |
| Apple Books | 70% | Below minimum price tiers | No firm upper ceiling | None |
Royalty tiers, visualized
The chart below maps each platform's qualifying 70% price band against the same dollar scale. KDP's expansion to $12.99 brings it closer to Apple and Google, though KDP alone charges a per-megabyte delivery fee on top.
Worked example: a $9.99 novel at ~3 MB
Assume a 3 MB EPUB priced at $9.99 on all three platforms. On KDP, the 70% royalty is $6.99 minus a delivery fee of about $0.18 (3 MB at roughly $0.06 per MB), leaving roughly $6.81 per sale. Google Play Books pays a flat 70% with no delivery deduction, so it returns $6.99. Apple Books likewise pays $6.99. The gap is small at $9.99, but it widens for larger files: a 20 MB illustrated ebook on KDP would lose roughly $1.20 to delivery fees, while Apple and Google keep paying a clean 70%.
Where each platform actually wins
KDP's advantage is reach and conversion: Amazon is the dominant ebook store in most markets, and Prime-adjacent promotions such as Kindle Unlimited sit only on KDP. Google Play Books is the default storefront on Android in many regions and charges no delivery fee, which favors image-heavy or large-file books. Apple Books has no firm upper price ceiling on 70% and a high-value reader base, making it attractive for premium-priced specialist titles. Pricing the same book identically across all three is rarely optimal; many wide-distributed authors use a paperback via IngramSpark or BookBaby for bookstore and library reach and keep ebook pricing on each store flexible. Itorzo distributes across 40+ platforms worldwide, and the playbook for going wide is covered in our self-publishing in India guide.
The 35% trap on KDP
One detail catches new authors off guard: on Amazon KDP, pricing outside the $2.99-$12.99 band does not raise your royalty, it drops you to 35%. A $1.99 ebook earns 35%, and a $14.99 ebook also earns 35%, because both fall outside the 70% band. Google and Apple do not apply the same hard ceiling, so a $14.99 ebook still earns 70% on those stores. This is the single biggest reason a per-platform pricing strategy beats a single flat price.
Indian author context: royalty and the 80QQB deduction
For authors resident in India, ebook royalties from KDP, Google, and Apple are taxed as professional or business income from literary work, and Section 80QQB of the Income Tax Act allows a deduction of up to ₹3 lakh per year on royalty or copyright income from Indian-authored books. This is general information only and not tax advice; the actual position depends on your residency, total income, and where the royalty is sourced, so confirm with a qualified chartered accountant before filing. The free-ISBN route via the Raja Rammohun Roy National Agency and the wider Indian publishing workflow are detailed in our ISBN in India guide. Academic and textbook authors have a separate path described in our academic publishing guide.
Pairing this with a paperback and a brand
Ebook royalties are only half the picture. A paperback gives bookstore, library, and gifting reach that ebooks cannot, and Itorzo Publications publishes trade formats including cookbooks, lifestyle, and fiction, with a companion recipe catalogue at MostWantedRecipes.com for cookbook authors. The right combination is usually: ebook on KDP, Google, and Apple with per-store pricing; paperback wide via a distributor; and a focused brand home that owns the audience.
Bottom line
For 2026, all three platforms pay 70% at the headline, but KDP's expanded $2.99-$12.99 band (effective July 7, 2026) is the change that matters most, because it removes the old $9.99 penalty without removing KDP's per-megabyte delivery fee. Price within the band on KDP, avoid the delivery-fee trap on large files by leaning on Google or Apple, and never assume one flat price is optimal across all three stores.
FAQ
What is the Amazon KDP 70% royalty price band in 2026?
Effective July 7, 2026, the Amazon KDP 70% royalty option applies to ebooks priced between $2.99 and $12.99 on Amazon.com, up from the previous $9.99 ceiling that had been in place since 2007. Equivalent local-currency ranges apply in other marketplaces. Pricing outside this band drops the royalty to 35%.
Which ebook platform pays the highest royalty: KDP, Google Play Books, or Apple Books?
All three offer a headline 70% royalty, but Google Play Books and Apple Books do not charge a per-megabyte delivery fee, while KDP deducts roughly $0.06 per MB on the 70% tier. For large or image-heavy files, Google and Apple can therefore return more per sale than KDP at the same list price.
Does Amazon KDP charge a delivery fee on the 70% royalty?
Yes. On the 70% royalty tier, Amazon KDP deducts a delivery fee of approximately $0.06 per megabyte of the delivered file size, which is subtracted from the royalty before payout. The 35% tier has no delivery fee. Google Play Books and Apple Books do not charge a delivery fee on either tier.
What happens if I price my KDP ebook above $12.99?
Pricing above $12.99 on Amazon KDP moves the ebook out of the 70% band and drops the royalty to 35%, as does pricing below $2.99. On Google Play Books and Apple Books there is no equivalent hard upper ceiling, so a higher-priced ebook can still earn 70% on those stores.
Is Section 80QQB available on ebook royalties from KDP and Apple Books?
Section 80QQB of the Income Tax Act allows resident Indian authors to deduct up to Rs 3 lakh per year on royalty or copyright income from books they author, subject to conditions. Whether it applies to a given ebook royalty depends on residency and the source of the income, so this is general information only and a chartered accountant should confirm the position before filing.