Print cost is the floor under every KDP price. This estimator answers one question quickly — what does this page count cost to print? — across page counts, so you can see the cost of adding 50 pages, switching ink, or moving to a large trim before you commit to a layout. For royalty at a specific list price, use the royalty calculator; the tables and spot-checks are identical.
Estimate only, from KDP's published Amazon.com print-cost tables (checked November 2026). Other marketplaces price differently, and your KDP dashboard is the final authority for your book.
Print cost by page count — the comparison table (paperback, regular trim)
| Pages | Black ink | Standard color | Premium color |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | $2.30 | $3.55 | $7.50 |
| 200 | $3.40 | $6.10 | $14.00 |
| 300 | $4.60 | $8.65 | $20.50 |
| 400 | $5.80 | $11.20 | $27.00 |
| 500 | $7.00 | $13.75 | $33.50 |
The pattern worth memorising: every 100 pages adds $1.20 in black ink, $2.55 in standard color, and $6.50 in premium color at a regular trim. Spot-check this estimator against KDP’s own worked example: 300 pages, black ink, regular trim = $1.00 + (300 × $0.012) = $4.60.
Cost looks workable but the files keep failing? Pricing was never the problem — the files are. The free check runs your interior and cover PDFs against all 13 KDP and IngramSpark checks and reports in plain English, free within 48 hours. Get the free check →
How to use the number
- Minimum list price (60% tier) = print cost ÷ 0.60. The 300-page black-ink example: $4.60 ÷ 0.60 = $7.67 — below that list price the book cannot earn a positive 60%-tier royalty.
- Trim is a cost decision, not just a look. The same 300-page black-ink book costs $6.10 at a large trim vs $4.60 at a regular trim — $1.50 more on every copy. See trim sizes compared.
- Page count is a cost decision too. Cutting 50 black-ink pages saves $0.60 on every copy, forever. Check your count against the maximum page count table at the same time.
- Ink dwarfs both. Premium color at 300 pages ($20.50) costs more than four times black ink ($4.60). The full comparison is in premium vs standard color.
The honest limit
These are Amazon.com tables. The same book sold on another marketplace prints at that marketplace’s rates, author copies and proof copies are priced from the same tables, and KDP can revise its rate card — if a launch price matters, confirm the estimator’s figure in your KDP dashboard’s Rights & Pricing page before you set it. Bleed, paper colour (white vs cream) and cover finish do not change black-ink print cost; page count, ink, trim class and format do.
Or send us the files — the check is free
Email your interior and cover PDFs and we'll tell you exactly what's wrong — in plain English, free, within 48 hours. If it does need fixing, the by-hand fix is $19 and we redo it free if KDP rejects it for a formatting issue we were hired to fix. We rebuild files to be compliant with KDP's published spec — that's the promise we can keep.
Prefer the whole library in one file? The KDP Rejection Field Guide (free PDF) collects every guide, table, and the 13-point checklist.
More from the Help Library
- The KDP & IngramSpark Help Library — all guides & tools
- KDP royalty calculator — list price → royalty per copy
- Premium vs standard color — the print-cost comparison
- Maximum page count by trim, format & ink — master table
- Hardcover vs paperback — specs and the real print-cost gap
- Spine width calculator — page count + paper → spine and cover size
- The free rejection check — all 13 checks at once