KDP analytics: what your books really earn after ads
Royalties, ad spend and profit per book — explained with screenshots from our own KDP and Amazon Ads dashboards. Real numbers from a publisher with 77,600+ copies sold since 2023.
Disclosure: We use AuthorLens daily and have a business relationship with it.
Right now AuthorLens only reads your data — it doesn't change campaigns, bids or books. Coming soon: apply its advice with one click, or switch on autopilot yourself. Ad Coach amounts are estimates, not guarantees.
Ad Coach found 39 fixes in our ads this September: cutting the spend that loses money is worth about $355 a month, by its estimate. 17 of them take a minute.
When another tool fits better
Honest answer — AuthorLens isn't for everyone.
Adigy
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Publisher Champ
You sell wide on many platforms, not only Amazon. From $16.99/month.
Book Report
Your catalog is small — it's free up to $1,000 in earnings.
Publisher Rocket
You need keyword and category ideas before you publish. $199 one-time.
Case studies
Real reports from our account
KDP and Amazon Ads screenshots from our own books — royalties next to ad spend, titles hidden. Use the arrows to see all 16.
June 2026 · outside the cooking niche
Ad spend
Royalties
$2,650.56
Ad spend
$1,025.63
Net
$1,624.93
ACOS
41.01%
104 orders from 124,048 impressions. A 41% ACOS is far from perfect ads — there is room to optimize, and the book still kept over $1,600 net for the month. In an overheated niche the same result would cost a lot more.
May 2026 · a book back from a year of silence
Ad spend
Royalties
$4,647.21
Ad spend
$1,849.58
Net
$2,797.63
ACOS
46.77%
173 orders from 217,828 impressions. Before May the book had barely sold for almost a year — and nearly half of its lifetime royalties came in this one month. $2,797 net, or $90 a day.
May 2026 · 2.4× growth
Ad spend
Royalties
$3,309.11
Ad spend
$1,831.88
Net
$1,477.23
ACOS
38.62%
165 orders from 234,156 impressions. The book launched in April 2025 and made a steady $700–1,500 a month. In May we reworked the ads — and it reached $3,309 in royalties.
May 2026 · a 9-month-old book
Ad spend
Royalties
$1,981.86
Ad spend
$958.12
Net
$1,023.74
ACOS
49.58%
86 orders from 156,399 impressions. The book launched in August 2025 and in nine months reached $1,000 net a month. A 49.58% ACOS is high — there is still room to grow.
Ads · after Q4 · January 2026
Ad sales
$7,552.02
Ad spend
$2,039.88
Net
≈$1,890
ACOS
27.01%
The season ended, but the book kept selling: 354 orders at 27% ACOS in the first three weeks of the year. The rankings earned in December keep working. Royalties from ad sales ≈$3,021, plus about 30% organic — ≈$3,927 together, minus ads.
Ads · holiday peak · December 2025
Ad sales
$14,467.08
Ad spend
$3,550.35
Net
≈$3,970
ACOS
24.56%
From December 25, sales stay above $700 a day and ACOS drops to 24.56% — the cheapest ads of the whole season: there are so many buyers that ads pay for themselves. Royalties from ad sales ≈$5,787, plus about 30% organic — ≈$7,523 together, minus ads.
December 2025 · $93 a day
Ad spend
Royalties
$4,748.57
Ad spend
$1,863.08
Net
$2,885.49
ACOS
28.03%
The month before the holidays: people buy books as gifts and for the new year. Ads took 39% of royalties — the other $2,885 stayed in the pocket. That's $93 net every day while everyone celebrates.
December 2025 · ads at 22%
Ad spend
Royalties
$3,070.48
Ad spend
$1,510.64
Net
$1,559.84
ACOS
22.13%
The cheapest ads of all our campaigns: 22% where 30–40% is normal. Every ad dollar came back as two. A precise niche and clean keywords beat any bid optimization.
Ads · mid-Q4 · November 2025
Ad sales
$4,065.86
Ad spend
$1,385.24
Orders
189
ACOS
34.07%
189 orders, but ACOS jumped to 34% — the most expensive ads of the four periods. Competitors had already entered the season and peak demand was still ahead: bids grow faster than sales.
Ads · before Q4 · October–November 2025
Ad sales
$3,418.79
Ad spend
$1,011.62
Orders
160
ACOS
29.59%
160 orders at 29.59% ACOS — ads are still cheap. This is when a book builds its rankings to meet the season at the top: in December it's too late to ramp up.
1.5 years · $128,336 net
Ad spend
Royalties
$253,156.21
Ad spend
$124,820.01
Net
$128,336.20
ACOS
29.53%
The account our book business started with: about $7,100 net a month on average. The report says “27 books” — back then Amazon counted the paperback, hardcover and Kindle of one book as separate titles.
July 2024 · $123 a day
Ad spend
Royalties
$4,863.88
Ad spend
$1,053.73
Net
$3,810.15
ACOS
19.27%
The next month of the same book as below: 323 orders at 19.27% ACOS. The result holds month after month — not a one-off spike, but a steady level.
June 2024 · 15% ACOS
Ad spend
Royalties
$5,764.69
Ad spend
$1,128.85
Net
$4,635.84
ACOS
15.19%
The cheapest ads in the whole history of our campaigns. 436 orders from 194,816 impressions; ads took only a fifth of royalties — $4,635 net for the month. This is what a book looks like once it holds its rankings.
1.5 years · $2,200 a month
Ad spend
Royalties
$69,511.24
Ad spend
$29,844.91
Net
$39,666.33
ACOS
38.87%
This account started on low bids and was barely managed. Active work began in April 2026 — the chart shows royalties multiplying after that. Books published two years ago keep selling.
Ads · what keywords show
Ad sales
$11,624.43
Ad spend
$3,216.33
Orders
504
ACOS
27.67%
Lifetime stats for one book: 6,342 clicks, 504 orders, 27.67% average ACOS. You can see which keywords bring sales and which only spend the budget.
Royalties by book · 2023 – May 2025
Ad spend
Lifetime royalties
$296,091.53
Ad spend
$124,820.01
Best book
$41,090
ACOS
29.53%
The top row is the whole account: $296,091.53 in lifetime royalties. Below it, one row per book: the best one made $41,090, the second $36,189, then a sharp drop. Not every book pays off the same — and that's normal. Lifetime ad spend: $124,820.01 at 29.53% ACOS.
These are our own results, not a promise: income depends on the niche, the book, the listing and the ads.
About the author
Daria Neskoromnaya
Daria has been publishing on Amazon KDP since 2023, with 77,600+ copies sold. Her team runs ads every day, and every article here is written from screenshots of our own dashboards — no made-up examples.
A spreadsheet that puts royalties and ad spend per book side by side — the same way we track our own books. Leave your email and we'll send it.
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FAQ
KDP profit questions
How do I see profit per book on KDP?
KDP shows royalties and Amazon Ads shows ad spend, but neither shows profit per book. Subtract each book's ad spend from its royalties for the same dates — in a spreadsheet, or with a dashboard that pulls both reports.
What is a good ACOS for books?
There is no single number. Your break-even ACOS is your royalty divided by the list price: above it, every ad sale loses money. The royalty calculator works it out for your book.
Why do my ads look profitable when I'm not making money?
Amazon Ads counts sales at list price, not your royalty. $942 in ad sales can be $438 in royalties — less than the ad spend.
Is AuthorLens the only tool that shows profit per book?
No. Adigy and Publisher Champ show profit per book too. AuthorLens combines profit per book with Ad Coach advice, keyword ranks and niches for $39.99 a month.
2026 Amazon KDP Author SurveyHow much indie authors really earn and what Amazon Ads cost. 5 minutes, anonymous.
KDP dashboard · royalties, our books · Jul 2023 – Jun 2025
