Amazon's subscription reading service where readers pay a monthly fee to borrow unlimited ebooks, and authors get paid based on pages read.
Kindle Unlimited (KU) is Amazon's ebook subscription program. Readers pay roughly $12 per month to borrow and read as many enrolled books as they want. For authors, enrolling in KU requires exclusivity through Amazon's KDP Select program, meaning your ebook can only be sold on Amazon and nowhere else. In return, you earn from a shared monthly fund based on pages read, typically around half a cent per page. For many indie authors, especially those writing in high-volume genres like romance and fantasy, KU page reads represent the majority of their income.
Kindle Unlimited has reshaped how indie authors think about publishing strategy. The page-read payment model rewards books that keep readers hooked all the way through, which directly affects how you write and structure your stories. If you are considering self-publishing, the decision to go exclusive with KU or sell wide across multiple retailers is one of the most consequential business choices you will make. Understanding how KU works gives you the information to make that call wisely.
This romance series exploded through Kindle Unlimited and BookTok simultaneously, demonstrating how KU can amplify viral discovery when readers can borrow an entire series risk-free.
A LitRPG series that built massive readership through KU page reads, showing how the subscription model rewards binge-worthy genre fiction.
One of the early LitRPG success stories on KU, Kong leveraged the platform's page-read model to build a full-time writing career in a then-emerging genre.
KDP Select auto-renews in 90-day cycles. If you forget to opt out before the renewal date, you are locked in for another three months. Set a calendar reminder if you are testing exclusivity and want the option to go wide.
Since KU pays per page read, longer books and series with strong read-through earn significantly more. A reader who tears through your 400-page novel earns you roughly $2, while a 100-page novella earns about $0.50. Plan your word counts with this in mind.
In KU, the real money is in series. Track what percentage of readers who finish book one go on to read book two, then book three. If read-through drops sharply, that tells you exactly where your series is losing readers and where to focus revision.
The per-page rate fluctuates monthly because it comes from a shared fund. Do not build your budget around a specific rate. Track your averages over several months to get a realistic picture of what KU income looks like.
Research the top 20 books in your genre on the Kindle Unlimited Best Sellers list. Note the average page count, series length, and pricing. Calculate what a full read-through of a five-book series would earn at the current estimated page rate. Then decide whether an exclusive KU strategy or a wide distribution approach makes more sense for your writing goals, and write a short paragraph explaining your reasoning.