Kindle Unlimited's Per-Page Rate Rose Again in September as the Fund Shrank

The amount Kindle Unlimited, now Kindle+, pays US authors per page read rose for a second straight month in September, even though the pot it comes from got smaller. Written Word Media, which tracks the figure every month, puts the September US rate at $0.005365 per page, up from $0.005170 in August and $0.004221 in July.

Amazon does not publish a per-page rate. It announces the size of the KDP Select Global Fund, and Written Word Media works out the rate itself. The company has said it divides subscription royalties by total US pages read, so the figure is an estimate. An author's own KDP reports are the final word on what they were paid.

A smaller fund, a higher rate

The fund itself has drifted down. Written Word Media's list shows $67.6 million for July, $66.0 million for August and $65.9 million for September. The August figure matches Amazon's own August announcement, which PT covered in September.

A higher rate from a smaller fund means fewer pages shared the money. The fund is split by each book's share of total pages read, so when total pages fall faster than the fund, every page is worth more. Amazon has not said why page totals moved, and the published figures do not show it.

How September compares

On Written Word Media's numbers, $0.005365 is the highest US rate since November 2016, when it listed $0.0054. Its list also carries a $0.03228 entry for December 2024 that readers have flagged in the comments as a likely error, since nearby months sit around $0.004. Leaving that entry aside, every month from January 2025 through July 2026 falls between $0.0040 and $0.0051.

For a book earning 100,000 pages a month, the change from July to September is the difference between about $422 and about $537, using Written Word Media's rates. Real payouts vary by marketplace, since the per-page value differs by country.

What changes from October

September is the last full month before the switch to Kindle+. Under Kindle+, the KENP report counts both reading and listening, and audiobooks in KDP Select are paid from the same fund. Amazon's KDP Select help page says it is "investing additional funds in the KDP Select Global Fund" to cover the new audio catalog, but it has not said how much.

That makes the October rate the first real test. If listening adds pages faster than Amazon adds money, the rate could fall back. If the added funds keep pace, it may hold. KDP says monthly KENP figures are finalized near the 15th of the following month, so October's numbers should arrive in mid-November.

Authors who saw their dashboard page counts drop after October 21 should note that the reporting changed at the same time, as PT reported on October 27.

Sources

• Written Word Media: KDP Global Fund Payouts (updated September 2026)
• KDP Help: KDP Select
• KDP Help: KENP Report