About the TACOS Calculator
TACOS stands for Total Advertising Cost of Sale. Where ACOS divides ad spend by sales the ads directly produced, TACOS divides the same ad spend by all your sales for the period, including organic sales from search, also-boughts, newsletters and word of mouth.
That makes TACOS a better health check for an author business. Ads often lift a book's rank, which brings organic sales that Amazon does not attribute to any click. If your ad spend stays flat while total sales grow, TACOS falls, a sign that ads are building lasting visibility. If TACOS climbs, your sales are leaning harder on paid traffic.
Enter your ad spend and total sales to get TACOS. Add your ad-attributed sales too, and the calculator also shows ACOS, your organic sales and the organic share of revenue, so you can see both numbers side by side. Use the same date range for every figure, ideally a full month.
How It Works
TACOS is ad spend divided by total sales, shown as a percentage.
If you enter ad-attributed sales, ACOS is ad spend divided by those sales, organic sales are total sales minus ad-attributed sales, and organic share is organic sales divided by total sales.
Total sales can come from your KDP reports (units multiplied by list price) or any sales dashboard, as long as it covers the same period and books as your ad spend.
Formula
- TACOS
- TACOS = Ad spend ÷ Total sales
- ACOS
- ACOS = Ad spend ÷ Ad-attributed sales
- Organic sales
- Organic sales = Total sales − Ad-attributed sales
Example
$150 ad spend, $1,500 total sales, $600 of it attributed to ads
- TACOS: $150 ÷ $1,500 = 10.00%.
- ACOS: $150 ÷ $600 = 25.00%.
- Organic sales: $1,500 − $600 = $900, which is 60.0% of total sales.
Ads cost 10% of total revenue, and 60% of sales arrived without an ad click.
Important Notes
- TACOS uses sales at list price, not royalty. To judge profit, compare total royalties with ad spend in the KDP Profit Calculator.
- Organic sales here simply means sales not credited to ads. Some of them may still have been influenced by ads.
- Kindle Unlimited earnings are not counted as sales unless you add an estimate yourself.
- Use matching date ranges. Ad reports and KDP reports can update on different schedules.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good TACOS?
It depends on your royalty and goals. What matters most is the trend. A falling TACOS over several months usually means ads are helping your book sell on its own, while a rising one suggests growing dependence on paid clicks.
Why is my TACOS lower than my ACOS?
It always is, unless every sale came from ads. TACOS divides the same spend by a larger number, total sales, so it is lower than or equal to ACOS.
Should I include all my books or just one?
Either works, as long as ad spend and sales cover the same books. Series authors often calculate TACOS for the whole series, because ads for book one drive sales of later books.
Can I include Kindle Unlimited income?
You can add an estimate of KU earnings to total sales if you want a fuller picture. Just be consistent from month to month so the trend stays meaningful.
Where do I find ad-attributed sales?
In your Amazon Ads campaign reports, shown as Sales for the selected date range. It is optional here, but adding it unlocks ACOS and the organic share.
Related KDP Tools
- ACOS CalculatorCalculate Advertising Cost of Sale, plus break-even and target ACOS for books.
- ROAS CalculatorCalculate return on ad spend and convert it to ACOS.
- KDP Ad Profit CalculatorModel clicks, conversions and royalty to see whether your Amazon Ads campaign makes money.
- KDP Profit CalculatorTurn royalties, ad spend and other costs into net profit, profit per book and margin.
- Advertising Break-Even CalculatorFind your break-even CPC, break-even ACOS and maximum sustainable bid.
- Conversion Rate CalculatorCalculate the share of clicks or page visits that turn into orders.