Book Page Count and Print Cost Calculator
Turn a word count into a page count, then see what KDP and IngramSpark charge to print each copy and what you keep.
No signup. Uses the US rates both platforms publish, checked 2026-10-30.
Your book
Your manuscript's total, from Word or Google Docs.
Cream is usual for novels, white for books with photos or diagrams.
Cost and earnings per copy
Estimated page count
240
6" x 9" trim, about 350 words a page, plus front and back matter.
Amazon KDP
Sold on Amazon.com
Your royalty per copy
$6.31- Printing cost
- $3.88
- Royalty rate at $16.99
- 60%
- Minimum list price
- $7.76
IngramSpark
Sold through bookstores and other retailers
Your earnings per copy
$2.50- Printing cost
- $4.83
- Wholesale discount (55%)
- $9.34
- Distribution fee (1.875%)
- $0.32
US rates published by KDP and IngramSpark, checked 2026-10-30. KDP figures are for sales on Amazon.com; IngramSpark figures are for wholesale sales, not copies you order yourself. Page counts from a word count are estimates.
How print-on-demand cost is calculated
KDP and IngramSpark price every copy the same way: a fixed charge for the cover and binding, plus a charge for each page. Ink, paper and trim size set the two rates; page count does the rest. Nobody pays anything upfront. The cost comes out of each sale before you are paid.
Short books are the exception. KDP charges a flat $2.30 for any black-and-white paperback up to 110 pages, so a 60-page book costs the same to print as a 110-page one. Color changes the picture completely: KDP's premium color is $0.065 a page, more than five times the black-and-white rate, which is why a 200-page color cookbook can cost $14 to print.
Why trim size changes your page count
A 6" x 9" page holds roughly 350 words of 11 pt text. A 5" x 8" page holds closer to 250. The same 80,000-word novel comes out at about 240 pages in the bigger size and 330 in the smaller one, and costs $3.88 against $4.96 to print on KDP.
Smaller trims still suit some books. Plenty of trade fiction is 5.5" x 8.5" or smaller, and a book that feels right in the hand can be worth a dollar of print cost. Run both sizes through the calculator before you commission a cover, because the spine width depends on the final page count.
Watch the edges of each platform's size classes, too. KDP charges its large-trim rate on anything wider than 6.12", so 6.14" x 9.21" costs about $1.10 more per copy than 6" x 9" for a 240-page book, even though it has fewer pages. IngramSpark draws its line at 6.15", so the same trim is cheap there.
KDP vs IngramSpark: what you actually keep
KDP
You get 60% of the list price minus printing, for books priced at $9.99 or more on Amazon.com. Below $9.99 the rate drops to 50%, which wipes out most of the royalty on a cheap paperback.
KDP only sells through Amazon unless you turn on Expanded Distribution, which pays 40% and is not covered here.
IngramSpark
You set a wholesale discount between 40% and 55%. Retailers buy at that discount, IngramSpark subtracts the print charge and a 1.875% distribution fee, and you get the rest.
Bookstores rarely stock a book below 55%, so a lower discount earns more per copy but sells fewer.
An 80,000-word novel at 6" x 9" and $16.99 earns about $6.31 a copy on Amazon through KDP and about $2.50 through IngramSpark at a 55% discount. The IngramSpark copy is the one that can end up on a bookshop shelf.
Frequently asked questions
Format your book for print and EPUB from one manuscript
The real page count comes from the formatted interior. Familiar turns a Word manuscript into a print-ready PDF at any of these trim sizes and an EPUB for ebook stores, with a preflight check against common KDP and IngramSpark rejections.
Related tools and guides
Author royalty calculator
Compare ebook and print earnings on KDP, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital and with a traditional publisher.
Word count by genre
How long readers and retailers expect a book in your genre to be.
How much it costs to self-publish
Editing, cover, formatting, ISBNs and proofs, with real price ranges.
Self-publishing checklist
Every step from finished draft to launch, in order.
Sources: KDP paperback and hardcover printing cost pages, KDP paperback royalty, and the IngramSpark 2026 rate card. Familiar is not affiliated with Amazon or Ingram.