ROAS calculator: is your advertising profitable?
Enter what you spent on ads and the revenue they produced. Add your gross margin and the calculator shows whether that return actually makes money, or only looks good in the ad platform.
Return on ad spend
Estimates only. Results depend on your market, offer and tracking.
What is ROAS and how is it calculated?
ROAS (return on ad spend) is the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising. It is calculated as revenue from ads divided by ad spend. A ROAS of 4x means $4 of revenue for every $1 spent.
ROAS on its own does not tell you whether you made money. A business with a 25% gross margin needs a 4x ROAS just to break even on the ad spend, while a business with a 75% margin breaks even at about 1.33x. That is why this calculator asks for margin.
Ad platforms also tend to over-credit themselves. Check the revenue figure against your own sales records or CRM, not only what Google or Meta reports.
The ROAS formulas.
Three numbers decide whether advertising is working: what you spent, what it brought in, and how much of that revenue you keep.
ROAS, answered plainly.
What is a good ROAS?
A good ROAS is one above your break-even ROAS with room for profit. Break-even ROAS equals 1 divided by your gross margin. With a 50% margin, break-even is 2x, so a 3x or 4x ROAS is healthy. With a 20% margin, break-even is 5x.
How do you calculate ROAS?
Divide the revenue generated by advertising by the amount spent on that advertising. For example, $20,000 in revenue from $5,000 in ad spend is a 4x ROAS, or 400%.
What is the difference between ROAS and ROI?
ROAS measures revenue per ad dollar. ROI measures profit relative to total investment, after costs such as product, labor and agency fees. A campaign can have a high ROAS and still have a negative ROI if margins are thin.
What is break-even ROAS?
Break-even ROAS is the return at which ad-driven gross profit exactly covers ad spend. The formula is 1 divided by gross margin. Use our break-even ROAS calculator to add a profit target.
Why is my ROAS different in Google Ads and Meta?
Each platform uses its own attribution model and conversion window, and both can count the same sale. Compare platform-reported revenue with your own sales data to get a truer figure.
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Black X Marketing is based in Fort Collins, Colorado, and runs campaigns for businesses across the US. See the markets we serve.
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