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ROAS Calculator

Work out your return on ad spend from what you spent and what it earned. Add your gross margin to see whether that ROAS is actually profitable.

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Adds a profit check and your break-even ROAS.

Enter ad spend and revenue to see your ROAS.

What ROAS measures

Return on ad spend (ROAS) is the revenue your advertising brings in for every unit of currency you spend on it. A ROAS of 4 means every $1 of ads produced $4 of sales. It is the quickest way to compare campaigns, channels and audiences against each other.

ROAS only looks at revenue, not profit. That is why the calculator asks for your margin: the same ROAS can be profitable for a high-margin product and loss-making for a low-margin one.

The ROAS formula

ROAS = Revenue from ads ÷ Ad spend

Usually written as a multiple (4x), a ratio (4:1) or a percentage (400%).

Example

Ad spend
$1,500
Revenue from those ads
$6,000
ROAS = 6,000 ÷ 1,500
4x (400%)
Gross profit at a 40% margin
$2,400
Profit after ads = 2,400 − 1,500
$900

How to read your result

Compare your ROAS with your break-even ROAS, which is 1 divided by your gross margin. Above it, ads make money; below it, they lose money on every sale.

Gross marginBreak-even ROASWhat it means
70%1.43xSoftware, digital products: most campaigns can be profitable
50%2xMany branded consumer products
30%3.33xTypical retail and resale
20%5xThin margins: ads have to work very hard

Not sure of your margin? Work it out with the profit margin calculator, or get your exact break-even point from your costs with the break-even ROAS calculator.

Common mistakes

  • Treating any ROAS above 1 as profitable

    A ROAS of 1.5 means revenue is 1.5× ad spend, but if your margin is 30%, you keep only 45% of the spend back as gross profit. You are losing money.

  • Using the ad platform’s revenue without checking it

    Platforms attribute sales with generous windows and can double-count across channels. Check against your own sales data before scaling.

  • Including tax and ignoring refunds

    Revenue that includes sales tax or VAT, or that is later refunded, inflates ROAS. Use net revenue for decisions.

  • Judging a campaign on too little data

    A few days or a handful of sales can swing ROAS wildly. Compare over enough orders for the number to settle.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good ROAS?

It depends on your margin. A good ROAS is one above your break-even ROAS, which is 1 divided by your gross margin. With a 50% margin you break even at 2x; with a 25% margin you need 4x. A 3x ROAS can be excellent for one business and loss-making for another.

How do you calculate ROAS?

Divide the revenue attributed to your ads by what you spent on them. $5,000 of revenue from $1,000 of ad spend is a ROAS of 5, usually written 5x or 5:1, or 500% as a percentage.

What is the difference between ROAS and ROI?

ROAS compares revenue with ad spend only. ROI compares profit with all the money invested, including product costs, fees and overheads. A campaign can have a high ROAS and still a negative ROI if margins are thin.

Should ROAS use revenue before or after tax and refunds?

Use the same definition every time. Most ad platforms report revenue including tax and before refunds, which flatters ROAS. For decisions, net revenue after refunds and excluding tax gives a more honest number.

Why is my ROAS different from the ad platform’s number?

Platforms use their own attribution windows and can count the same sale more than once across channels. Your own sales data rarely matches exactly. Pick one source of truth and compare like with like.

Last reviewed 2 October 2026. This tool runs in your browser; nothing you enter is stored or sent to Boostlix.