TACoS · Total Advertising Cost of Sale
Total Advertising Cost of Sale (TACoS) measures ad spend against total revenue, both advertising and organic sales, rather than ad-driven sales alone.
TACoS = total ad spend ÷ total revenue × 100. Because the denominator includes organic sales, a TACoS that falls over time usually means advertising is lifting your organic rank and the listing is leaning less on paid traffic.
ACoS judges a single campaign in isolation. TACoS judges the health of the whole product.
Why it matters
TACoS shows whether your ad spend is building durable organic sales or just renting them, which makes it a key signal for long-term profitability.
Related terms
Guides that use this term
- How to Calculate Profit Margins: Amazon FBA vs Dropshipping
A step-by-step guide to working out your true profit margin, covering the full Amazon FBA fee and cost stack, the ad-cost reality of dropshipping, and the break-even maths that decides whether a product is worth selling.
- How to Advertise Your Products: Amazon PPC & Paid Social
A practical guide to advertising your products: how Amazon PPC and paid social for dropshipping work, how to start without wasting budget, and how to tell whether your ad spend is actually making money.
- How to Lower Your ACoS (and When Not To)
How to lower your Amazon ACoS without killing sales: cutting wasted spend, tightening targeting and bids, and knowing when a higher ACoS is the right call for rank and long-term profit.
- Advertising Metrics That Matter: ACoS, TACoS, and ROAS
A plain-English guide to the advertising metrics that decide whether your ad spend is working: ACoS and TACoS on Amazon, ROAS in dropshipping, and the click and conversion numbers behind them.
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