Kindle Unlimited ends 2021 with 19% annual KDP Select fund rise as total for year tops $450 million

The Kindle Unlimited KDP Select Global Fund for December 2021 rose by $300,000 to $40.2 million from $39.9 million in November to send the total amount paid out during the calendar year 2021 to $450.1 million.

That total paid out by the KDP Select Fund to indie authors and publishers in 2021 represented a 19.4% annual increase over the $377 million paid out during 2020.

The KENP rate for December 2021 stayed steady at $0.0047, which was the same level seen in November 2021.

The annual increase has slowed down from the 25% rise in 2020 compared with 2019 as the pandemic boosted digital reading, but the nearly 20% increase in 2021 is still a massive rise and takes the yearly amount close to the half-billion-dollar level.

A year-on-year comparison for the month shows the December 2021 KDP fund total of $40.2 million is $6.2 million higher than the December 2020 KDP fund of $34 million, an annualised rise of 18%.

The KENP rate for the UK for December 2021 also stayed at the same level as for November at £0.0033.

My calculations indicate there could have been around 8.55 billion KENPs read during December compared with 8.48 billion KENPs read in November.

The figures I use for total KENPs read are entirely unofficial and use a calculation of dividing the total KDP Select Global Fund ($40.2 million) by the US KENP rate ($0.0047). These estimates are based entirely on the amount paid out under the KDP Select Global fund and are only an indication of possible trends.


KINDLE UNLIMITED PAYOUTS 2018-2021

The US KENP payout figures for 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 are:

2018

January: $0.0044
February: $0.0046
March: $0.0045
April: $0.0045
May: $0.0045
June: $0.0046
July: $0.0045
August: $0.0045
September: $0.0048
October: $0.0048
November: $0.0052
December: $0.0048

2019

January: $0.0044
February: $0.0047
March: $0.0045
April: $0.0046
May: $0.0046
June: $0.0046
July: $0.0044
August: $0.0044
September: $0.0046
October: $0.0046
November: $0.0049
December: $0.0046

2020

January: $0.0044
February: $0.0045
March: $0.0046
April: $0.0042
May: $0.0042
June: $0.0045
July: $0.0043
August: $0.0043
September: $0.0045
October: $0.0045
November: $0.0046
December: $0.0045

2021

January: $0.0042
February: $0.0045
March: $0.0044
April: $0.0045
May: $0.0044
June: $0.0044
July: $0.0043
August: $0.0042
September: $0.0045
October: $0.0045
November: $0.0047
December: $0.0047


The monthly KDP Select Global Fund totals for 2018, 2019 and 2020 are:

2018

January: $20.9 million
February: $20 million
March: $21 million
April: $21.2 million
May: $22.5 million
June: $22.6 million
July: $23.1 million
August: $23.3 million
September: $23.4 million
October: $23.5 million
November: $23.6 million
December: $23.7 million

Total for 2018: $267.8 million

Annual increase from 2017-2018: 20.35%

2019

January: $24.7 million
February: $23.5 million
March: $24 million
April: $24.1 million
May: $24.6 million
June: $24.9 million
July: $25.6 million
August: $25.8 million
September: $25.9 million
October: $26 million
November: $26.1 million
December: $26.2 million

Total for 2019: $301.4 million

Annual increase from 2018-2019: 12.5%

2020

January: $28.2 million
February: $27.2 million
March: $29 million
April: $30.3 million
May: $32.2 million
June: $32.3 million
July: $32.4 million
August: $32.6 million
September: $32.7 million
October: $32.9 million
November: $33.2 million
December: $34 million

Total for 2020: $377 million

Annual increase from 2019 to 2020: 25%

2021

January: $36 million
February: $33.5 million
March: $35.4 million
April: $35.5 million
May: $35.9 million
June: $36.5 million
July: $38.1 million
August: $39.6 million
September: $39.7 million
October: $39.8 million
November: $39.9 million
December: $40.2 million

Total for 2021: $450.1 million

Annual increase from 2020 to 2021: 19%


The annual total figures for Kindle Unlimited since it started are:

2014: $31.735 million (Jul-Dec)

2015: $131.6 million

2016: $186 million

2017: $222.6 million

2018: $267.8 million

2019: $301.4 million

2020: $377 million

2021: $450.1 million

Grand total overall of $1,942,235,000 ($1.942 billion)


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