Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) Calculator
Enter your ad spend and the revenue it brought in to find ROAS as a percentage and as a ratio.
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Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) Calculator
Our ROAS Calculator measures how much revenue your advertising brings in for every unit of currency you spend on it. Enter your ad spend and the revenue those ads generated, and it shows return on ad spend as a percentage and as a ratio. It is made for marketers, media buyers, business owners and analysts who need a quick read on campaign performance.
Quick answer
ROAS is ad revenue ÷ ad spend × 100: 1,755 ÷ 1,200 × 100 = 146.25%, or about 1.46 of revenue for every 1 spent on ads.
- Below 100%: revenue is less than ad spend.
- 100%: revenue equals ad spend.
- Above 100%: the ads bring in more revenue than they cost.
- Ratio form: 325% is the same as 3.25 : 1 or 3.25x.
What Is Return on Ad Spend?
Return on ad spend (ROAS) is a performance metric that measures the revenue generated for every unit of currency spent on advertising. It shows how efficient a campaign is and helps a business decide where to put its advertising budget. It is written as a percentage or as a ratio:
÷ Ad spend × 100
- Ad spend: the total amount invested in the campaign, such as pay-per-click costs, social media budgets, display, video and native ads, and influencer fees.
- Ad revenue: the revenue directly attributable to those ads, tracked with pixels, UTM-tagged URLs, conversion tracking, a CRM or third-party analytics.
The more accurate your attribution, the more reliable your ROAS.
How to Calculate ROAS
A campaign cost 1,200 and brought in 1,755 of revenue:
= 1.4625 × 100
= 146.25%
- Divide revenue by spend. 1,755 ÷ 1,200 = 1.4625.
- Multiply by 100. 1.4625 × 100 = 146.25%.
- Read it. Every 1 spent on ads brought back about 1.46 of revenue.
Revenue was 46.25% higher than the ad spend. That is not the same as a 46.25% profit, because the cost of the goods or services sold still has to come out of the revenue.
ROAS Examples
E-commerce sale. An online store spends 10,000 on paid social ads and earns 32,500 from them:
The campaign generated 3.25 for every 1 spent. If another campaign produced only 110%, the store can see at once which one deserves more budget.
Local service business. A home cleaning business spends 650 on search ads and earns 1,100:
For every 100 spent, the business earned about 169.23 back.
SaaS company. A month of paid search costs 8,000 and brings 13,600 from signups and upgrades:
| Revenue ÷ Spend | ROAS |
|---|---|
| E-commerce 12,500 ÷ 5,000 | 250% |
| SaaS 13,600 ÷ 8,000 | 170% |
| Local services 1,100 ÷ 650 | ≈ 169% |
| Fashion 2,640 ÷ 2,200 | 120% |
| Mobile apps 15,900 ÷ 15,000 | 106% |
These are made-up scenarios, not industry averages. They show how the same formula reads from strong (250%) to barely above ad cost (106%).
How to Interpret ROAS
| ROAS | Reading |
|---|---|
| Below 100% | Revenue is less than spend. The ads lose money. |
| 100% | Revenue equals spend. |
| 120% to 300% | Can be profitable, depending on costs and margins. |
| 300% and above | Strong targeting, well optimised ads or a strong niche. |
Treat these bands as a rough guide. Margins differ between businesses, so ROAS targets differ too. Your own target matters more than any general benchmark.
Break-Even ROAS
ROAS counts revenue, not profit. To know the ROAS at which ads stop losing money, divide 1 by your gross margin:
= 1 ÷ Gross margin × 100
| Gross margin | Break-even ROAS |
|---|---|
| 25% | 400% |
| 40% | 250% |
| 50% | 200% |
| 80% | 125% |
With a 40% margin, 100 of ad spend needs 250 of revenue to cover itself, because only 40% of that revenue (100) is left after the cost of the goods. This is why low-margin sellers need a much higher ROAS than high-margin ones.
Ad Spend and ROAS
- At low spend, ROAS can be high because the ads reach the most interested buyers first.
- As spend increases, efficiency gradually falls.
- At saturation, extra spend adds little revenue and returns flatten or decline.
This is why ROAS matters for scaling decisions: check it again each time you raise the budget.
Why ROAS Matters
- Budget allocation. Move money to the channels that return the most.
- Campaign optimisation. Compare ads, audiences, keywords and platforms.
- Testing. Compare campaign variations, A/B tests and seasonal periods.
- Forecasting. Estimate the revenue a planned budget should bring.
- Scaling. Decide when a campaign is ready for more spend.
ROAS vs ROI
| Metric | Measures |
|---|---|
| ROAS | Revenue compared with ad spend only. Fast and tactical. |
| ROI | Profit after all costs (product, fulfilment, salaries, overhead) compared with the total investment. Broader and strategic. |
A campaign can have a ROAS well above 100% and still have a negative ROI once every cost is counted.
Common Mistakes
- Reading ROAS as profit. A ROAS of 146.25% means revenue is 46.25% above ad spend, not a 46.25% profit.
- Swapping the inputs. Revenue goes on top: revenue ÷ spend, not spend ÷ revenue.
- Leaving out costs. Agency fees, creative and tool costs are part of ad spend if you want the full picture.
- Trusting one attribution model. Last-click, first-click and data-driven attribution give different revenue figures.
- Mixing periods. Use spend and revenue from the same campaign and the same dates.
Key Terms
- ROAS
- Return on ad spend: ad revenue ÷ ad spend.
- Ad spend
- The total paid for the advertising.
- Ad revenue
- Revenue attributed to that advertising.
- Attribution
- The rules that decide which ad gets credit for a sale.
- Break-even ROAS
- 1 ÷ gross margin: the ROAS at which ads pay for themselves.
- ROI
- Return on investment: profit after all costs ÷ total investment.
How to Use the Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) Calculator
- Enter the ad spend. Type the total amount spent on the campaign, such as 1,200. Commas are fine.
- Enter the ad revenue. Type the revenue attributed to those ads, such as 1,755.
- Read and copy the result. ROAS appears as you type as a percentage, with the working, the ratio and revenue minus ad spend. Press Copy to copy it, or Clear or Esc to start again.
Example: ad spend 10,000 and ad revenue 32,500. The result is 325%, from 32,500 ÷ 10,000 × 100 = 325%, a ratio of 3.25 : 1.
Who Can Use This Calculator?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do you calculate ROAS?
Divide the revenue from your ads by what you spent on them, then multiply by 100. ROAS (%) = ad revenue ÷ ad spend × 100. Without the × 100 you get the ratio form, such as 3.25 : 1.
What is the ROAS if I spend 1,200 on ads and earn 1,755?
It is 146.25%. 1,755 ÷ 1,200 × 100 = 146.25%, which means about 1.46 of revenue for every 1 spent on ads.
What does ROAS tell me about my advertising?
ROAS measures how effectively your ad spend generates revenue. A higher ROAS means a campaign produces more revenue for its cost. It helps you see which channels, ad groups or creatives deliver the best results and which need work or less budget.
Is ROAS the same as ROI?
No. ROAS compares revenue with ad spend only. ROI accounts for all the costs of a campaign or business, including product costs, fulfilment, salaries and overhead. ROAS is immediate and tactical, while ROI is broader and strategic.
What is a good ROAS?
It depends on your industry, profit margins and business model. High-margin businesses can do well at 150% to 200%, while low-margin sectors such as retail often need 300% to 500%. Compare ROAS with your own target margins and past performance rather than a universal benchmark.
What is break-even ROAS?
It is the ROAS at which ads pay for themselves: 1 ÷ gross margin × 100. With a 40% gross margin the break-even ROAS is 250%.
Can ROAS help me decide when to scale a campaign?
Yes. If a campaign consistently meets or beats your target ROAS with a stable cost per acquisition, it may be ready for more budget. If ROAS drops sharply as you raise spend, that points to audience saturation or inefficiency to fix first.
How does attribution affect ROAS?
Attribution decides how much revenue is credited to your ads. Last-click, first-click, data-driven and platform-specific tracking can give different revenue figures, so poor attribution can overstate or understate ROAS.
Is the ROAS Calculator free?
Yes. It is completely free, needs no sign-up, and can be used as many times as you like.
Sources
- Google Ads Help. About Target ROAS bidding.
- Shopify. Return on Ad Spend: How To Calculate Your ROAS.
- Universal Marketing Dictionary. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
- BigCommerce. What is ROAS? Calculating Return On Ad Spend.
- Wikipedia. Return on marketing investment.
Try our ROAS Calculator to see what your ads earn for every 1 you spend.