Top 50 most profitable niche Amazon book categories

A writer’s first obsession is to find an idea to write about. Not any idea mind you. Depending on the kind of writer you are, you may be simply looking for original ideas on any topic. Maybe you are only searching for ideas in specific niche Amazon categories (vampires, time management, etc.).

However, all these potential ideas implicitly share the same untold criteria: they need to sell, period.

In today’s post, I decided to focus on this single principle in an attempt to answer a basic question:

Which niche book categories are most profitable on Amazon and are accessible to new writers?

We are looking for book categories on Amazon that are popular amongst readers, which means that most of the books on the bestseller list are relatively well ranked. At the same time the sales threshold to make it to this bestseller list should as low as possible. Otherwise the whole argument is meaningless.

 

It’s actually a bit subtler that than. We are also looking for categories with the perfect balance between the book’s price and the sales achieved. In other terms, are you better off listing your book in the Romance category at 2.99 and sell a 100 copies to make a few hundred bucks, or write a book about Project management, price it at $60 and sell two copies to get the same income?

This post pretty much answers this question, at least for writers who are not celebrities and don’t have 200M followers:

Top 50 most profitable niche book categories on Amazon

Category name  Best seller rank  50th book's rank  Median sales volume  Median price  
Books -> Teens -> Education & Reference -> Mathematics -> Algebra4,64882,396$15,204$54.30
Books -> Computers & Technology -> Programming -> Software Design, Testing & Engineering -> Logic4,754162,641$18,549$82.81
Books -> Law -> Legal Education -> Legal Profession5,61580,328$13,578$80.83
Books -> Law -> Legal Education -> Legal Writing59598,621$14,616$58.00
Books -> Engineering & Transportation -> Engineering -> Mechanical -> Drafting & Mechanical Drawing1,01882,285$17,181$87.66
Books -> Science & Math -> Mathematics -> Pure Mathematics -> Discrete Mathematics2,37794,771$19,246$62.49
Books -> Science & Math -> Mathematics -> Pure Mathematics -> Finite Mathematics4,015229,032$13,720$70.00
Books -> Science & Math -> Chemistry -> Physical & Theoretical -> Physical Chemistry120128,394$21,809$97.37
Books -> Science & Math -> Chemistry -> Molecular Chemistry113354,655$17,311$77.29
Books -> Science & Math -> Nature & Ecology -> Oceans & Seas -> Oceanography1,77681,090$13,562$53.82
Books -> Science Fiction & Fantasy -> Gaming -> Dungeons & Dragons81125,530$16,138$23.06
Books -> Engineering & Transportation -> Engineering -> Bioengineering -> Biomedical Engineering67162,374$15,306$60.74
Books -> Engineering & Transportation -> Engineering -> Reference -> Architecture -> Codes & Standards3,744215,863$15,647$62.10
Books -> Engineering & Transportation -> Engineering -> Civil & Environmental -> Structural1,73677,988$24,981$89.22
Books -> Medical Books -> Medicine -> Internal Medicine -> Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation4,62181,186$14,513$57.60
Books -> Business & Money -> Economics -> Econometrics1,34977,469$13,742$44.62
Books -> Medical Books -> Medical Informatics54088,470$16,903$60.37
Books -> Business & Money -> Processes & Infrastructure -> Office Automation4,31397,627$24,082$86.01
Books -> Computers & Technology -> Hardware & DIY -> Microprocessors & System Design2,69381,704$17,393$69.02
Books -> Computers & Technology -> Programming -> Software Design, Testing & Engineering -> Structured Design6,11192,915$23,742$84.80
Books -> Computers & Technology -> Software -> Microsoft -> Microsoft Powerpoint1,339161,573$14,793$75.48
Books -> Computers & Technology -> Software -> Microsoft -> Microsoft Word1,085119,161$16,495$84.16
Books -> Textbooks -> Engineering -> Aeronautical Engineering2,77980,139$18,229$72.34
Books -> Textbooks -> Business & Finance -> Business Law1,48082,594$34,218$111.10
Books -> Textbooks -> Law -> Tax Law1,35599,040$24,931$98.94
Books -> Engineering & Transportation -> Engineering -> Civil & Environmental -> Fire Science1,66692,985$15,245$77.79
Books -> Computers & Technology -> Databases & Big Data -> Access1,36981,259$29,526$95.87
Books -> Medical Books -> Psychology -> Physiological Aspects58380,142$17,048$43.49
Books -> Textbooks -> Business & Finance -> Banking4,852208,620$15,041$67.15
Books -> Textbooks -> Business & Finance -> Sales1,241165,260$21,522$64.06
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Administration & Policy -> Medical History & Records12,588122,161$14,721$65.72
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Allied Health Services -> Medical Technology2,71586,713$13,950$55.36
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Alternative Medicine -> Diet Therapy1,910252,908$15,233$54.41
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Medicine -> Basic Sciences -> Biochemistry886158,178$17,655$63.06
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Medicine -> Basic Sciences -> Genetics1,311110,345$19,852$64.46
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Medicine -> Basic Sciences -> Immunology1,153228,656$13,861$55.01
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Medicine -> Basic Sciences -> Microbiology1,63798,007$13,585$48.52
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Medicine -> Basic Sciences -> Pathology48380,488$33,614$66.70
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Medicine -> Basic Sciences -> Pathophysiology483103,677$30,417$40.24
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Medicine -> Clinical -> Critical Care912160,324$14,938$48.50
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Medicine -> Clinical -> Emergency Medicine91288,543$14,971$66.84
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Medicine -> Clinical -> Geriatrics2,861138,502$13,684$54.31
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Nursing -> Clinical -> Home & Community Care823106,294$31,627$66.45
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Nursing -> Clinical -> Nutrition1,907104,708$40,964$77.00
Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Nursing -> Clinical -> Pediatric & Neonatal95182,653$21,390$50.93
Books -> Computers & Technology -> Computer Science -> Bioinformatics1,35986,432$16,395$58.56
Books -> Business & Money -> Accounting -> Auditing1,14593,691$22,092$78.90
Books -> Engineering & Transportation -> Engineering -> Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems -> Project Management2,181115,097$17,497$62.49
Books -> Business & Money -> Management & Leadership -> Project Management -> Technical2,672119,909$17,497$62.49
Books -> Education & Teaching -> Schools & Teaching -> Counseling -> Career Development71586,243$18,331$65.47

As you can see, the big winner is Books -> Textbooks -> Medicine & Health Sciences -> Nursing -> Clinical -> Nutrition with its staggering $40,000 monthly sales volume. You only need to sell one copy a day to hit the front page of the bestseller list! From then on, you have a decent chance of collecting a nice income, so long as you price your book close to the median price of $77.

Pretty sweet, Heh?

I should clarify at this point, that the sales volume does not consider Amazon’s royalty shares (which fluctuates between 25% and 65% depending on many factors). Nevertheless, it serves its point of being a good indicator of a category’s popularity and sales potential.

It is interesting to note that these promising categories only include “non-fiction” topics. Fiction category did not make it to the cut because the sales threshold to the bestseller list is on average higher, and the low median price (usually around $3.99) makes it more challenging for new writers to gain a significant income.

 

Take the time to browse the list above and find your niche to achieve the highest income on Amazon. If none of the above categories suits you in particular, check out Kindle Ranker for other ideas. There are literally 10 000 categories to choose from 😉

Cheers,

Alex from KR