Marketing Calculator

What this calculator does

This tool answers the three questions every paid campaign comes down to: how much revenue does each ad dollar bring back, how much does it cost to win a customer, and how much return do you need before a campaign stops losing money? Enter your numbers and get ROAS, CAC, break-even ROAS, and your break-even point. All calculations run in your browser and nothing is stored.

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)

ROAS measures how much revenue your ads generate for each unit of currency you spend on them.

ROAS = Revenue from ads ÷ Ad spend

It's usually written as a ratio (4:1 or 4x) or a percentage (400%).

Example

You spend $2,000 on ads in a month, and those ads drive $8,000 in tracked sales.

ROAS = $8,000 ÷ $2,000 = 4x. Every $1 of ad spend brought back $4 in revenue.

What ROAS doesn't tell you

ROAS uses revenue, not profit. A 4x ROAS can be very profitable for a product with high margins and a loss for one with thin margins. That's why you also need break-even ROAS (below). ROAS also depends on your attribution settings: the same campaign can show different ROAS in different ad platforms and analytics tools.

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

CAC is the average cost of winning one new customer.

CAC = Total acquisition costs ÷ New customers acquired

Decide up front what goes into "acquisition costs." A narrow version counts only ad spend. A fuller version also includes agency fees, sales and marketing salaries, tools, and creative production. Whichever you choose, use it consistently so you can compare periods fairly.

Example

In one quarter you spend $9,000 on ads and $3,000 on marketing tools and freelance design, and you win 240 new customers.

CAC = ($9,000 + $3,000) ÷ 240 = $50 per customer.

CAC and customer lifetime value

CAC is most useful next to customer lifetime value (LTV): the gross profit you expect from a customer over the whole relationship. If a customer is worth $150 in gross profit and costs $50 to acquire, your LTV:CAC ratio is 3:1. A ratio below 1:1 means you lose money on every customer you win. The right target depends on your business model, cash flow, and how quickly you recover CAC, so set your own threshold instead of copying a generic number.

Break-even ROAS

Break-even ROAS is the minimum ROAS at which ad spend pays for itself after product costs. Below it, you lose money on ad-driven sales. Above it, you make a profit.

Break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ Profit margin

Here, profit margin is your margin before ad costs, as a decimal: (price − cost of goods, shipping, fees and other variable costs) ÷ price.

Example

You sell a product for $60. Product cost, shipping, payment fees, and packaging total $36 per order.

• Margin = ($60 − $36) ÷ $60 = 0.40 (40%)
• Break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ 0.40 = 2.5x

At 2.5x ROAS, ads cover their own cost and your variable costs, and nothing more. Using the ROAS example above, a 4x ROAS on this product would be profitable. A 2x ROAS would lose money even though revenue is twice the spend.

A useful rule falls out of the formula: the thinner your margin, the higher the ROAS you need. A 20% margin needs 5x ROAS just to break even.

Break-even point

The break-even point tells you how many units (or how much revenue) you need to sell to cover your fixed costs.

Break-even units = Fixed costs ÷ (Price per unit − Variable cost per unit)

The part in brackets is your contribution margin per unit.

Break-even revenue = Fixed costs ÷ Contribution margin ratio

Example

Your monthly fixed costs (software, rent, salaries) are $6,000. You sell at $60 with $36 in variable costs, so each sale contributes $24.

• Break-even units = $6,000 ÷ $24 = 250 units per month
• Contribution margin ratio = $24 ÷ $60 = 0.40
• Break-even revenue = $6,000 ÷ 0.40 = $15,000 per month

If you also count ad spend as a cost per sale, subtract your CAC from the contribution margin. With a $10 ad cost per order, each sale contributes $14, and break-even rises to about 429 units.

Putting the numbers together

A simple routine for any campaign:

1. Work out your margin and break-even ROAS before launching, so you know the target.
2. Track ROAS weekly and compare it to break-even, not to a number you read online.
3. Track CAC and compare it with the value of a customer over time, not just the first order.
4. Use the break-even point to see how much volume your business needs each month.

These calculators tell you whether a campaign pays off, but not why. To improve the numbers, look at which keywords, channels, and competitors drive your best customers, using your ad platform's reports or an SEO and marketing research tool. And make sure the page you send traffic to loads quickly, since a slow landing page quietly raises your CAC.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good ROAS?

There's no universal "good" ROAS. It depends on your margins. Calculate your break-even ROAS first. Anything above it is profitable on a per-sale basis, and how far above it you need to be depends on your fixed costs and growth goals.

What's the difference between ROAS and ROI?

ROAS compares revenue with ad spend only. ROI compares profit with the total investment, including product and operating costs. A campaign can have a strong ROAS and a negative ROI.

Should CAC include salaries and tools?

It can. A "paid CAC" using only ad spend is useful for comparing channels. A "fully loaded CAC" including salaries, tools, and agency fees shows the true cost. Pick one definition and use it consistently.

Why does my ROAS differ between ad platforms and analytics?

Each tool uses its own attribution model and time window, and some count view-through conversions. Pick one source of truth and compare trends within it.

Can I use this calculator for subscription businesses?

Yes. For subscriptions, compare CAC with customer lifetime value instead of first-order revenue, because a customer who looks unprofitable in month one may become profitable over several months.