What is break-even ACoS on OTTO and how do I calculate it?
Last updated: 31 October 2026 · The MargenOptimierer app is in German. Button and menu names are shown exactly as you see them, with the English meaning in brackets.
Break-even ACoS is the share of the gross price that ads can cost at most before you lose money on a sale.
To work it out, subtract all costs of the sale except advertising from the gross price. What's left divided by the gross price is your break-even ACoS. ACoS also calculates with prices including VAT, so you can compare the two directly.
Example: Break-even ACoS for the oak table
Say the oak table has a gross price of 100 €, and after VAT, OTTO commission, purchase price and shipping costs you have 35 € left. That's 35% of the gross price, so a break-even ACoS of 35%.
A target ACoS of 25% applies to the garden furniture. If the ads hit exactly that target, you keep 10% of the gross price on a sale through ads, so 10 €.
How to calculate break-even ACoS
Which costs come off
VAT, OTTO commission, purchase price, shipping costs and your other costs per sale come off. Fixed costs like rent or staff don't count. MargenOptimierer doesn't show break-even ACoS as its own number.
Calculating it from the margin
On the Marge (margin) page, ad spend has already been subtracted. Open the item there. The Werbekosten (ad spend) line shows what percentage of revenue it makes up, and that's the item's TACoS. Margin and TACoS together give you roughly its break-even ACoS. Roughly, because the revenue there also includes the shipping costs customers pay.
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