Free tool
ROAS calculator
Three numbers in, three answers out: your return on ad spend, the break-even your margin demands, and whether the gap makes or loses money.
Your numbers
Revenue left after product and fulfillment costs — needed for break-even, optional for ROAS.
What they mean
- Your ROAS
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- Your break-even ROAS
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How to calculate ROAS
ROAS is revenue divided by ad spend. Spend $1,000 on a campaign that drives $4,200 in sales and your ROAS is 4.2x — each ad dollar returned $4.20 of revenue. The same figure reads as 420% on platforms that report percentages. It's the fastest health check in paid traffic, and the most commonly misread one.
Misread, because revenue isn't profit. ROAS says nothing about what the products cost you — which is why two stores with the same 4x can be in completely different businesses: one banking profit, one quietly funding its ad platform.
Why break-even ROAS is the number that matters
Break-even ROAS is 1 divided by your gross margin — the point where ads stop losing money. At a 30% margin that's 3.3x; at 50% it's 2x; at 20% it's 5x. Any target you set only means something measured against that line, because "profitable" starts there, not at some benchmark from someone else's margins.
The verdict box above does this measuring for you: it takes your actual ROAS and your actual margin and says what every ad dollar returns after costs. If the answer is negative, the fix is rarely "more budget" — it'sa cheaper conversionorbetter-aimed spend.
Common questions about ROAS
Quick answers to the math. For what the numbers mean on your account specifically, bring them to a strategy call.
How do you calculate ROAS?
Divide the revenue your ads generated by what you spent on them. $4,200 of revenue on $1,000 of spend is a 4.2x ROAS — every dollar returned $4.20. Ad platforms report the same math as a percentage (420%). What ROAS ignores is your product costs — that's what break-even ROAS is for.
What is a good ROAS?
The commonly quoted target is 4:1, but the honest answer depends on your gross margin. A store with a 30% margin breaks even at 3.3x, so 4x barely clears profit — while a 50% margin is profitable from 2x. Work out your break-even first, then set the target above it.
What's the difference between ROAS and ROI?
ROAS measures revenue against ad spend alone: revenue ÷ spend. ROI measures profit against total cost — product, fulfillment, fees, and the ads. A campaign can post a healthy ROAS and still lose money once margins enter the math. That's why this calculator asks for your gross margin.
Does this calculator store my numbers?
No. The math runs in your browser — nothing you type is sent anywhere, stored, or attached to a form. It's the same arithmetic we run before spending a dollar of client budget, published because guessing at break-even is the most expensive habit in paid traffic.
Numbers on the wrong side of break-even?
A strategy call looks at how your campaigns are set up today — where the spend leaks, what we'd test first, and what the same budget could return. No slide deck, no pressure, no obligation.