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Amazon Break-Even ACoS Calculator

Find the highest ACoS a product can carry before its ads lose money, and the target ACoS that keeps the profit margin you want.

Calculate Your Break-Even ACoS

What one unit costs you, landed at Amazon: product plus freight.

How do you want to enter Amazon fees?

Your category's rate from Amazon's fee schedule. If a low price puts you on the per-item minimum, enter your fees as a total instead.

Enter 0 if you ship orders yourself.

Inbound shipping, prep, storage or anything else you pay per unit. Leave blank if none.

Optional. Used to work out your target ACoS.

Break-even ACoS

Enter your numbers to see a result

Fill in price, COGS and Amazon fees. Use 0 for a fee you don't pay.

Target ACoS

Enter your numbers to see a result

Enter the profit margin you want to keep.

Amazon fees per unit
Enter your numbers to see a result
Margin before ad spend, per unit
Enter your numbers to see a result
Break-even ROAS
Enter your numbers to see a result

The Break-Even ACoS Formula

Break-even ACoS is your profit margin before ad spend. Whatever a sale leaves after cost of goods and Amazon's fees is the most its advertising can cost before the sale stops making money.

Margin = Price − COGS − Amazon fees − Other costs

Break-even ACoS = Margin ÷ Price × 100

Target ACoS = Break-even ACoS − Margin to keep

Worked Example

Example inputs, not real data: sale price $30.00, COGS $7.00, referral fee 15%, FBA fee $5.00, other costs $1.00, and a 10% profit margin to keep.

  1. Amazon fees = $30.00 × 15% + $5.00 = $4.50 + $5.00 = $9.50
  2. Margin before ad spend = $30.00 − $7.00 − $9.50 − $1.00 = $12.50
  3. Break-even ACoS = $12.50 ÷ $30.00 = 41.67%
  4. Target ACoS for a 10% margin = 41.67% − 10% = 31.67%
  5. Break-even ROAS = 100 ÷ 41.67% = 2.40x

In this example, ads that run below 41.67% ACoS make money on each ad-attributed sale, and holding them at 31.67% keeps 10% of every such sale as profit.

How to Use the Result

  • Compare it with your ACoS. Work out the ACoS of a campaign or product with the ACoS calculator. Below break-even, ad-attributed sales make money. Above it, each one costs more margin than it brings in.
  • Bid to the target, not to break-even. Break-even is a ceiling: at break-even, advertising earns you nothing. Turn your target ACoS into a per-click limit with the max CPC calculator, and see the Amazon bid optimization guide for adjusting bids over time.
  • Go above break-even only on purpose. A launch or a ranking push can justify a loss on ad-attributed sales for a while. Decide how long in advance, and watch total sales with the TACoS calculator to see whether it is paying off.
  • Work it out per product. Each product has its own price, cost and fees. One blended number across a catalogue can hide products whose ads lose money.
  • Recalculate when costs change. A new price, supplier cost or Amazon fee schedule moves your break-even, and every target built on it.

Terms Used on This Page

Break-even ACoS · Contribution margin · COGS · Referral fee · FBA fee · ACoS

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate break-even ACoS?
Subtract the cost of goods, Amazon fees and any other per-unit costs from the sale price, then divide what is left by the price. Example: a $30.00 product with $7.00 COGS, $9.50 of Amazon fees and $1.00 of other costs leaves $12.50, so its break-even ACoS is 41.67%.
Is break-even ACoS the same as profit margin?
Yes. Break-even ACoS equals your profit margin before ad spend, as a percentage of the sale price. At that ACoS the ad cost of a sale uses up all of its margin, so the sale makes neither profit nor loss.
What target ACoS should I set?
Start from your break-even ACoS and subtract the profit margin you want to keep on each ad-attributed sale. That gives a target below break-even. Break-even itself is a ceiling, not a goal: at break-even, advertising earns you nothing.
Should I include FBA fees in break-even ACoS?
Yes. Referral fees, FBA fulfilment fees and any other per-unit cost all come out of the margin that pays for ads. Leaving one out makes your break-even ACoS look higher than it really is, which reads as permission to bid more than the product can afford.
Why is my break-even ACoS zero or negative?
The product makes no money per unit even before advertising: price minus COGS, fees and other costs is zero or less. No ACoS can make its ads profitable. Raise the price, lower costs, or check that the fees you entered are per unit.

Let Shurq Bid to Your Target ACoS

Shurq reports true profit per product and marketplace, updated hourly, and adjusts your bids automatically toward the target ACoS you set.

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Related Free Tools and Guides

Max CPC Calculator

The most you can pay per click from price, conversion rate and target ACoS.

ACoS Calculator

ACoS from ad spend and ad sales, and the most you can spend at a target ACoS.

TACoS Calculator

Ad spend against total sales, with ACoS alongside when you know your ad sales.

ROAS Calculator

Return on ad spend, ROAS to ACoS conversion and your break-even ROAS.

Amazon Bid Optimization Guide

A step-by-step guide to setting and adjusting Amazon PPC bids.

Shurq AI Ad Manager

Automated bids, dayparting, keyword harvesting and negatives for Amazon ads.