Return on Ad Spend Calculator
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) measures how much revenue each unit of advertising money produced.
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How to use this calculator
- Enter the revenue your ads generated and the amount you spent on those ads, in the same currency.
- Read the ROAS as a ratio (e.g. 4.00x) and as a percentage, plus the ACOS (ad cost of sales).
- Optionally add your gross profit margin to see net profit after ad spend and your break-even ROAS.
How it works
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) measures how much revenue each unit of advertising money produced. The formula is ROAS = Revenue attributable to ads ÷ Ad spend. A result of 4.00x (or 400%) means every 1 spent on ads returned 4 in revenue. The inverse metric, ACOS = Ad spend ÷ Revenue, expresses the same relationship as the share of revenue eaten by advertising.
ROAS is a gross revenue ratio, so it ignores your cost of goods. To judge profitability you compare ROAS against your break-even ROAS, which is 1 ÷ gross profit margin. If you enter a margin, this tool multiplies revenue by that margin to get gross profit, subtracts the ad spend to get net profit, and reports the break-even ROAS. When ROAS exceeds break-even ROAS, the campaign is profitable; when it falls below, you are paying more for sales than the margin they carry.
Worked example
A campaign that earns 12,000 from 3,000 of ad spend. You spent 3,000 on ads and those ads generated 12,000 in revenue. ROAS = 12,000 ÷ 3,000 = 4.00x (400%), meaning every 1 of ad spend returned 4 of revenue. ACOS = 3,000 ÷ 12,000 = 25%. If your gross profit margin is 40%, gross profit is 12,000 × 40% = 4,800, so net profit after ad spend is 4,800 − 3,000 = 1,800. Your break-even ROAS is 1 ÷ 0.40 = 2.50x, so at 4.00x the campaign is comfortably profitable.
Common mistakes
- Treating ROAS as profit. ROAS is gross revenue per unit spent — a 3.00x ROAS on a product with a 20% margin actually loses money, because break-even ROAS is 5.00x.
- Mixing currencies or including revenue that ads did not drive. Use the same currency for both fields and only count revenue attributable to the campaign.
- Confusing ROAS with ACOS. ROAS is revenue ÷ spend (higher is better); ACOS is spend ÷ revenue as a percentage (lower is better). They are reciprocals, not the same number.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good ROAS?
It depends entirely on your margins. A common rule of thumb is 4.00x (400%), but the only figure that matters is your break-even ROAS, which is 1 ÷ gross profit margin. If your margin is 25%, you break even at 4.00x; if it is 50%, you break even at 2.00x. Aim comfortably above your break-even ROAS.
What is the difference between ROAS and ROI?
ROAS compares ad revenue to ad spend only, and is usually shown as a ratio. ROI compares net profit to the total investment and is shown as a percentage. ROAS tells you how efficiently ads generate revenue; ROI tells you whether the whole activity made money after all costs.
How is ACOS related to ROAS?
ACOS (Advertising Cost of Sales) is the reciprocal of ROAS expressed as a percentage: ACOS = Ad spend ÷ Revenue × 100. A 4.00x ROAS equals a 25% ACOS. Advertisers on Amazon tend to use ACOS, while Google and Meta advertisers tend to use ROAS — they describe the same thing.
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Cite this tool
Zerdly. (2026). Return on Ad Spend Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.zerdly.com/tools/return-on-ad-spend-calculator/
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