Kindle Unlimited KDP Select Fund smashes through the half-billion-dollar mark for 2022

The KDP Select Global Fund for Kindle Unlimited paid out a total of well over half a billion dollars for 2022 — the first time the fund has topped the $500 million mark during a year.

The December 2022 payout of $45.3 million took the total for last year to $522.8 million over the calendar year, representing an increase of 16% compared with the $450.1 million total seen in 2021.

It was a slowdown on the annual rates of rise seen over the previous couple of years which had been boosted by increased digital book demand during the Covid pandemic, but is still a strong figure.

The Kindle Unlimited KENP rate for December 2022 was $0.0045, the same rate as set in the previous two months.

Readership figures for December were around 9.62 billion KENPs.

The figures I use for total KENPs read are entirely unofficial and use a calculation of dividing the total KDP Select Global Fund ($45.3 million) by the US KENP rate ($0.0045). 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 KENP payouts and KDP Select Fund totals will be published on this website every three months during 2023.


KINDLE UNLIMITED PAYOUTS 2020-2022

The US KENP payout figures for 20120-2022 are:

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

2022

January: $0.0043
February: $0.0045
March: $0.0043
April: $0.0044
May: $0.0045
June: $0.0046
July: $0.0043
August: $0.0042
September: $0.0047
October: $0.0045
November: $0.0045
December: $0.0045


The monthly KDP Select Global Fund totals for 2020-2022 are:

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%

2022

January: $42.9 million
February: $39.4 million
March: $41.4 million
April: $41.5 million
May: $43.3 million
June: $43.4 million
July: $45 million
August: $45.1 million
September: $45.1 million
October: $45.2 million
November: $45.2 million
December: $45.3 million

Total for 2022: $522.8 million


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

2022: $522.8 million

Grand total overall since Kindle Unlimited launched in July 2014 of $2,491,035,000 ($2.491 billion)