ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) Calculator
Compute ROAS = revenue / ad cost. Shows break-even and flags whether the campaign was profitable (ROAS > 1).
How ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) works
ROAS is the cleanest measure of a paid-media campaign's revenue efficiency: ROAS = revenue_attributed_to_ads ÷ ad_spend. A ROAS of 2.0× means every R$ 1 spent in ads returned R$ 2 in revenue. Note this is not ROI: ROI subtracts cost from return and considers margin, while ROAS measures top-line revenue per ad dollar.
Example: R$ 50,000 of revenue attributed to ads and R$ 10,000 in ad spend gives ROAS = 50,000 ÷ 10,000 = 5.0×. Whether 5.0× is good depends on gross margin: with 30% margin the break-even ROAS is 1 ÷ 0.30 = 3.33×, so a 5.0× ROAS leaves R$ 1.67 of contribution per R$ 1 spent. With 10% margin, BE ROAS = 10× — and the same 5.0× campaign would be unprofitable.
Where ROAS is used
Performance-marketing dashboards (Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, TikTok Ads) report ROAS at the campaign, ad-set and creative level. Benchmarks: e-commerce on Google Search averages 2-4×; Meta retargeting 3-6×; LinkedIn B2B 1-2×. ROAS drives daily decisions on bid increases, budget shifts between channels, and pausing under-performing creatives in Shopify, Bling and similar stacks.
FAQ
What ROAS is "good"? It depends on your gross margin. Compute the break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ gross_margin. Anything above that breakeven contributes to fixed costs and profit; below, the campaign destroys value.
ROAS vs ROI vs CPA — which one? ROAS is fast for daily optimization (revenue-based). ROI considers margin and overheads (truer profitability). CPA (cost per acquisition) is best when LTV is well-known. Most teams optimize ROAS in-flight and review ROI/LTV monthly.
Why does ROAS drop when I scale budget? Diminishing returns: cheaper, higher-intent inventory gets exhausted first. Doubling spend usually more than doubles cost per click, so ROAS compresses — that's where channel diversification and creative refresh matter.
Should I include shipping or taxes in revenue? Be consistent. Most platforms report gross revenue including shipping; for profitability decisions, switch to net revenue (excluding taxes, shipping subsidies and discounts).
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The results provided by this tool are for general informational and educational purposes only and do not constitute professional, financial, medical, legal, tax or accounting advice. Always confirm important decisions with a qualified professional and official sources.