How Much Did the Original Kindle Cost in 2007?
By the Price Time Machine team · Updated
The original Kindle price was $399 when Amazon launched its first e-reader in the United States on November 19, 2007. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $639.65 in September 2026 money, roughly 1.6 times the original price.
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Amazon Kindle at a glance
- US launch price
- $399
- In today’s money
- ≈ $639.65November 2007 to September 2026 (CPI-U, BLS)
- US release date
- November 19, 2007
- Where it was designed
- Cupertino, United StatesDeveloped by Amazon's hardware lab, Lab126, in Cupertino, California. Amazon was based in Seattle.
- Category
- Big purchases
- Price source
- press.aboutamazon.com
Today’s price is the US launch price adjusted for US inflation with the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, comparing the launch month with the latest published month. It updates automatically as new figures come out.
What did $399 buy?
The first Kindle had a 6-inch black-and-white E Ink screen that looked like paper, a full keyboard and room for about 200 books. Its big idea was free wireless: books downloaded in under a minute over a mobile network, with no computer, no Wi-Fi and no monthly bill.
Amazon launched it with more than 90,000 books, and most New York Times best sellers cost $9.99. Publishers later fought hard against that low price.
The original Kindle price in today’s money
Inflation means a dollar buys less today than it did in 2007. Using the US Consumer Price Index, the original Kindle price of $399 works out at about $639.65 in September 2026 money, around 1.6 times the original figure. That is what the same amount of spending power would cost now, not what a first Kindle sells for second-hand.
Sold out in five and a half hours
The first batch sold out in five and a half hours, and the Kindle stayed out of stock for about five months. In May 2008 Amazon cut the price to $359. By 2011 the cheapest Kindle cost $79.
When was the Kindle released?
- United States: November 19, 2007
- Outside the US: October 2009, with the Kindle 2
Where was the Kindle designed?
It was designed by Lab126, Amazon’s hardware lab in Cupertino, California. The 126 stands for A to Z, the first and last letters of the alphabet, like the arrow in Amazon’s logo.
Kindle facts you might not know
- Jeff Bezos appeared on the cover of Newsweek with the Kindle just as it launched.
- It weighed 10.3 ounces, less than a typical paperback.
- It could also deliver newspapers, magazines and blogs, for a subscription.
Frequently asked questions
How much was the first Kindle?
The first Amazon Kindle cost $399 when it launched in the United States on November 19, 2007.
How much is $399 from 2007 worth today?
Adjusted for US inflation, the original Kindle’s $399 price is about $639.65 in September 2026 money.
How many books did the first Kindle hold?
About 200 books, and more than 90,000 were available to buy at launch.
Why is Amazon’s hardware lab called Lab126?
The 1 and 26 stand for A and Z, the first and last letters of the alphabet.
Want to compare the original Kindle price with similar launches? See what the iPad, the Amazon Fire Phone, the PalmPilot and the iPod cost, browse more famous launch prices, or play the Kindle question in Price Time Machine.
Sources
Launch prices and dates are checked against the sources below. Today’s price is calculated from official US inflation data and updates automatically when new figures are published.
- Press release: Amazon, Introducing Amazon Kindle (November 19, 2007)
- Company archive: Amazon, A look back at 10 years of the Amazon Kindle
- Wikipedia: Amazon Kindle
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index (CPI-U)