If the first book in your series is free on Kindle because Amazon matched a free price at another store, that free price can turn back into a paid one without any email to you. This week, take five minutes to open the Amazon page for each free book and check the price, then make it a Monday habit.
Authors call these books permafree. You can’t set them up inside KDP. You make the ebook free at other stores, such as Apple Books or Google Play, and Amazon may choose to match that price.
What Amazon’s pages say
- You can’t set free yourself. KDP’s Price Troubleshooting page (checked 12 October 2026) says plainly that you can’t set your book’s list price as free.
- The only self-serve free days are in KDP Select. The Free Book Promotions page (checked 12 October 2026) allows up to 5 free days in each 90-day KDP Select term. Select also means your ebook is sold only on Amazon during that term.
- Matching is a “may,” not a promise. The Digital Book Pricing Page (last updated 21 April 2026, checked 12 October 2026) says that if your ebook is free through another sales channel, Amazon “may also make it available for free.” Your royalty during a free match is zero.
- Prices can change. The Price Troubleshooting page adds that the price shown on Amazon is set at Amazon’s discretion and is subject to change.
- You can ask for a review. The Pricing Page also says that if you contact KDP Customer Support about a price-match error, they will review it and make best efforts to correct it.
What some authors have reported
On 6 October 2026, The Publishing Times wrote about a KDP Community thread from 28 September 2026. In it, one author said 26 of 37 free titles on the US store went back to paid over a single weekend. Other authors have described similar changes in forums and on a podcast. These are author reports. The article notes that Amazon has not announced any change and has not commented publicly.
So there is no reason to panic or pull your books. There is a good reason to look.
Five steps for this week
- List your free books. Write down each title, its ASIN from your KDP Bookshelf, and the stores where it is free.
- Open each Amazon page. Look at the Kindle price on Amazon.com and on any other Amazon store where your readers buy, such as Amazon.co.uk.
- Note what you see. Write the date and the price in a notebook or a simple spreadsheet. If it still shows free, you’re done for the week.
- If it shows a price, check the other stores first. Make sure the book is still free at Apple Books, Google Play, or wherever you set it free. Then contact KDP Customer Support with the ASIN, the Amazon stores affected, and direct links to the free listings.
- Decide after a few weeks. If free matching keeps failing, you have two calm options. Keep book one at a low price on Amazon and free elsewhere, or move it into KDP Select and use the free days there.
A small example
Say book one of your cozy mystery series is free on Apple Books and Google Play, and Amazon.com matched it to free. One Monday you open the Amazon page and see $0.99. You check Apple and Google, and both still show free. You send KDP a short message with the ASIN, the words Amazon.com, and the two free links. You write the date in your log and look again next Monday.
One lesson for this Monday: a free Kindle price is a match Amazon may make, not a setting you own, so check it every week.