ROAS calculator.
See how much revenue each $1 of ads brings back (your return on ad spend, or ROAS), the level you need to break even, and whether your ads are making money.
- Free
- Runs in your browser
- Nothing is sent or stored
Your ROAS
3.20×
$3.20 back for every $1 spent, a 320% return.
Break-even ROAS
2.50×
Where ads pay for themselves
Your ads make $1,400 a month after product costs. Each $1 of spend brings back $1.28 of margin.
Shaded: below break-even, where ads cost more than they bring back.
Set a target ROAS.
Break-even keeps nothing. Pick the share of revenue you want left as profit once product costs and ads are paid, and see the ROAS that gets you there (your target ROAS).
- Target ROAS
- 3.33×
- Most to spend on today's revenue
- $4,800
- Share of revenue you keep now
- 8.8%
The slider stops a point under your margin: past it, no ROAS is high enough.
Raise ROAS without touching the ads.
Your ads buy visits; your store turns them into orders. When more of the same visits end in an order (a higher conversion rate), revenue, ROAS and profit all rise on the same spend.
Work out your conversion rate| Rise | ROAS | Revenue a month | Profit a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| +10% | 3.52× | $17,600 | $2,040 |
| +20% | 3.84× | $19,200 | $2,680 |
| +30% | 4.16× | $20,800 | $3,320 |
A rise of 10% takes a 1.4% conversion rate to 1.54%. Same spend, visits and average order value; profit is after product costs and ads. Arithmetic on your figures, not a forecast.
Check your MER.
Each ad platform counts the sales it thinks it caused. This skips that: all your store's sales divided by everything you spent on marketing. That's your marketing efficiency ratio, or MER.
Use ROAS to compare campaigns inside one platform, and MER to judge whether all your marketing pays for itself.
Example figures until you add yours. The margin comes from the calculator above.
Your MER
3.00×
Every $1 of marketing brought in $3.00 of sales across the store.
Break-even MER
2.50×
Same as break-even ROAS
Across the store, $1,300 is left a month once product costs and all marketing are paid.
Your ads report 3.20×, but store-wide each $1 brings back less. Either the platforms claim sales other channels made, or the rest of your marketing spend isn't paying back yet.
How to calculate ROAS.
Divide the revenue your ads brought in by what you spent on them. What's left of each sale (your gross margin) sets the level it needs to clear.
ROAS = revenue from ads ÷ ad spend
Break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ gross margin
MER = all store sales ÷ all marketing spend
A store spends $5,000 on ads in a month and they bring in $16,000: 16,000 ÷ 5,000 = 3.2×, or 320%.
With a 40% gross margin, break-even is 1 ÷ 0.40 = 2.5×. The $16,000 leaves $6,400 after product costs, and $1,400 once the ads are paid: $1,400 profit before fixed costs.
Where the numbers come from
- Ad spend and revenueYour ad platform reports both. Look for the sales it credits to your ads: Meta Ads Manager calls this purchases conversion value, and Google Ads, conversion value. Both also show ROAS ready worked out.
- A check on the platformsEach platform decides by its own rules which sales its ads caused (attribution), so their revenue can add up to more than your store took. Divide your total Shopify sales by your total marketing spend for a whole-store figure: your MER.
- Gross marginOrder value minus product cost, shipping, packing and payment fees, as a percentage of order value. Leave out the ads: they're what you're testing.
Common questions.
About ROAS, MER, break-even and where the numbers come from.
Is a 200% ROAS good?
Only if your gross margin is above 50%. A 200% ROAS is 2×, which breaks even at a 50% margin. Below that, sales from ads lose money; above it, they make some.
What does a 1.5 ROAS mean?
Every $1 spent on ads brought back $1.50 in revenue. That breaks even only with a gross margin of about 67% or more.
What is break-even ROAS?
The ROAS where ads pay for themselves and no more: 1 divided by your gross margin. At a 40% margin it's 2.5×. Above it your ads make money; below it they lose it.
Should ROAS be a ratio or a percentage?
Either: they're the same number. 3.2× and 320% both mean $3.20 back for every $1 spent. Ad platforms tend to show the ratio.
What is MER in marketing?
All your store's sales divided by everything you spent on marketing in the same period: ads, agencies, tools and creative. It's also called marketing efficiency ratio or blended ROAS. $19,500 of sales on $6,500 of marketing is an MER of 3×.
MER or ROAS: which should I use?
Both, for different questions. ROAS compares campaigns and ads inside one platform. MER tells you whether all your marketing together pays for itself, using sales no platform can claim twice.
What is a good MER?
One above your break-even, which is 1 divided by your gross margin, the same line as for ROAS. At a 40% margin that's 2.5×. Figures quoted as a good MER for every store ignore margin, so check yours against your own break-even.
Why doesn't my ad platform's revenue match Shopify's?
Each platform credits itself with sales by its own rules, such as a purchase days after someone clicked or saw an ad, so two platforms can both claim the same order. Your total Shopify sales divided by your total ad spend gives a check no single platform can inflate.
What goes into gross margin?
What you pay for each order: product cost, shipping, packing and payment fees. Leave out ad spend, since that's what ROAS is testing. Fixed costs like rent and wages come out of the profit afterwards.
Do you see the numbers I enter?
No. The calculation runs in your browser and the figures never leave it. We only record that the calculator was used, not what was typed.
Turn more of your ad spend into profit.
Coaching gives you a practical plan for your store, ads and email, and a partner who keeps meeting with you as the numbers move.