How to Use the IngramSpark Calculator
Choose the market your list price is in, then the book's trim width, binding and paper. IngramSpark prices every book in two sizes: under 6.15 inches wide, which covers 5×8, 5.5×8.5 and 6×9, and anything wider. Enter the page count and the list price, then the discount you'll offer retailers and whether the book is returnable. The answer updates as you type:
- Print cost is IngramSpark's charge for printing one copy: a fixed amount per book plus a cost per page, from its rate card.
- You earn is the list price, minus the retailer's discount, minus the print cost, minus the 1.875% distribution fee.
- Lowest price that breaks even is the list price at which a sale at your discount earns exactly zero.
- One return costs you is what IngramSpark charges back when a store returns a copy, and sales it cancels is how many sales it takes to pay for it.
- Same book on KDP shows Amazon's royalty for the matching KDP edition, in the US and UK, where KDP prints the same binding and paper.
The calculator starts with a 6×9 black-and-white paperback of 300 pages at $16.99 and a 55% discount: $5.71 to print, $1.62 earned per copy, against $5.59 for the same book sold on Amazon through KDP. It runs in your browser and sends nothing anywhere.
This is an independent tool. BookBird isn't affiliated with IngramSpark, and IngramSpark's own calculators in its account area remain the final word for your title.
How IngramSpark Pays You
IngramSpark's rate card puts it in one line: "The publisher is compensated the title list price less discount less print cost for each sale made." Since February 2026 the same rate card adds a Global Distribution Fee of 1.875% of the list price on each sale. Nothing is billed to you up front for wholesale orders, and title setup is free.
For the default book: $16.99 list, 55% discount, so the retailer pays $7.65. Printing takes $5.71 and the fee $0.32, which leaves $1.62. IngramSpark pays it about 90 days after the end of the month of the sale.
IngramSpark Print Costs, 2026
Print cost is the per-book amount plus the page count times the per-page amount. US dollar rates for the most common choices, from the IngramSpark rate card effective February 1, 2026:
| Book | Per book | Per page | 300 pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paperback, under 6.15", black & white 50 lb | $1.33 | $0.0146 | $5.71 |
| Paperback, 6.15" or wider, black & white 50 lb | $1.39 | $0.0212 | $7.75 |
| Paperback, under 6.15", standard color 50 lb | $1.16 | $0.0249 | $8.63 |
| Paperback, under 6.15", premium color 70 lb | $1.35 | $0.0721 | $22.98 |
| Hardcover, under 6.15", black & white 50 lb | $5.31 | $0.0132 | $9.27 |
| Hardcover with jacket, under 6.15", black & white 50 lb | $7.76 | $0.0147 | $12.17 |
| Hardcover, 6.15" or wider, black & white 50 lb | $5.26 | $0.0185 | $10.81 |
The rate card also lists pound, Australian dollar and euro rates, which the calculator uses when you change the market. Dust-jacket hardcovers are priced in the smaller size only. These are list rates. Orders you place for your own copies get quantity discounts, starting at 2% for 100 copies.
Which Discount to Choose
IngramSpark lets you set the wholesale discount between its minimum and 55%. Its own guidance gives the minimum as 40% in the US and 35% in the UK, EU and Australia, and the setup page shows the current figure for your title. The trade-off is simple: the higher the discount, the more likely a store is to stock the book, and the less you earn.
IngramSpark's user guide says "53% to 55%, with a 'returnable' status, generally allows for the widest availability." That's the setting for an author who is pitching bookstores. If you mainly want the book orderable online and by libraries, a lower discount earns more per copy. Use the At every discount rows to see the difference for your book.
What Returns Cost
IngramSpark offers three return settings. No keeps the book non-returnable; many stores then won't stock it. Yes, destroy lets stores send copies back, which are destroyed, and charges you the wholesale price for each. Yes, deliver, for the US and Canada, ships the returned copies to you and adds $3.00 a book to a US address.
A returned copy costs the wholesale price, while a sale earns only what's left after printing. On the default book one return costs $7.65 and cancels 4.7 sales. Returns come out of your payments, and IngramSpark invoices you if they're larger.
IngramSpark or KDP for the Same Book?
For copies sold on Amazon, KDP pays more: $5.59 against $1.62 at a 55% discount, or $4.17 at 40%, on the default book. KDP's Expanded Distribution reaches stores for $2.20 a copy but gives you no choice of discount or returns. Many authors publish the paperback on both, with their own ISBN and Expanded Distribution switched off. The full comparison, with the ISBN rules, is in IngramSpark vs. Amazon KDP. For KDP's side in every marketplace, use the KDP royalty calculator.
Before you set a price, check the page count with the words-to-pages calculator, and size the cover with the cover calculator.
IngramSpark Calculator FAQ
How much does IngramSpark charge to print a book?
A 6×9 black-and-white paperback costs $1.33 plus $0.0146 a page under the 2026 rate card, so $5.71 for 300 pages. A hardcover of the same size costs $5.31 plus $0.0132 a page, $9.27 for 300 pages.
How much do you earn per book on IngramSpark?
List price minus your wholesale discount, minus the print cost, minus a 1.875% distribution fee. A 300-page paperback at $16.99 earns $1.62 at a 55% discount and $4.17 at 40%.
Does IngramSpark charge setup or revision fees?
No. Title setup has been free since 2023, and IngramSpark made revisions free from January 1, 2026. The 2026 rate card's ongoing charge is the 1.875% Global Distribution Fee on each sale.
What is a good wholesale discount on IngramSpark?
55% for books aimed at bookstores, the setting IngramSpark says gives the widest availability when the book is also returnable. A lower discount, down to the minimum, earns more per copy if you mainly want the book orderable online and by libraries.
Is this the official IngramSpark calculator?
No. It applies IngramSpark's published 2026 rate card. IngramSpark's own calculators are in its account area, and the setup screen for your title has the final numbers.
