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ROAS Calculator
Most ROAS calculators give you a number. This one tells you whether you're actually making money.
The honest math
Your ROAS
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What is ROAS?
ROAS stands for Return on Ad Spend. It tells you how much money you got back for every $1 you spent on ads.
If you spent $1 on ads and got $3 back in sales, your ROAS is 3x. Some people write that as 300% or 3:1. They all mean the same thing.
People use ROAS to check if their ads are working. It is the fastest way to see if a Meta or Google campaign is paying its own way. But ROAS only counts the money that came in. It does not count what you paid for the product, what shipping cost you, or what your refunds add up to. That is why a ROAS that looks great can still leave you with no profit at the end of the month.
Step 2 of the calculator above shows you the difference between a good ROAS and a profitable ROAS.
How to calculate ROAS
The math is simple. Take the money you made from your ads and divide it by the money you spent on those ads.
The formula
ROAS = Money from ads ÷ Money spent on ads
A worked example
Let's say you ran a Meta ad last month. You spent $1,000. That ad brought in $5,000 in sales.
Your ROAS is $5,000 ÷ $1,000 = 5x. For every $1 you put into the ad, you got $5 back. That is a strong number for most stores.
Now flip it. Same $1,000 ad, but only $700 came in. Your ROAS is $700 ÷ $1,000 = 0.7x. For every $1 you spent, you only got 70 cents back. That is a loss, before you even count what your product cost you.
You can run this math by hand. Or you can use the free calculator above and skip the typing.
What is a good ROAS?
There is no one “good” ROAS that works for every business. A good ROAS depends on what your product costs you, what shipping costs you, and how often people return their order. But here is a rough map most online stores can use as a starting point.
| Your ROAS | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Under 1x | You are losing money before you even count your product cost. |
| 1x – 2x | Thin. Most stores break even somewhere in this range. |
| 2x – 3x | Healthy for most online stores with normal margins. |
| 3x – 5x | Strong. You have room to spend more on ads. |
| 5x and up | Excellent, or your product margin is unusually high. |
What a typical ROAS looks like by platform
From the data behind our ROAS benchmark tool, here is the median (middle) ROAS for online stores by platform:
- Meta (Facebook + Instagram): around 2.5x – 3.8x, depending on what you sell
- Google Ads: around 3.0x – 4.5x
- Amazon Ads: around 3.5x – 5.5x
- TikTok Ads: around 1.8x – 3.0x
Your number can be very different and still be fine. A supplements brand with a 70% margin can be profitable at 2x. An apparel brand with a 25% margin and a 20% return rate often needs 4x just to break even. The Break-even ROAS calculator works out the exact number for your store.
ROAS vs ROI vs Break-even ROAS
Three terms people mix up. Here is the short version.
| Term | What it measures | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ROAS | Money from ads ÷ money spent on ads. Only counts the ad cost. | $1,000 ad → $5,000 in sales = 5x ROAS |
| ROI | Profit ÷ total cost. Counts everything: product, shipping, fees, ad spend. | $5,000 sales − $4,000 in all costs = $1,000 profit, 25% ROI |
| Break-even ROAS | The ROAS you need to stop losing money. Depends on your costs. | 40% product cost + 5% fees + 10% returns often needs about 2.5x just to break even |
The big trap: ROAS looks good but ROI is bad. A 4x ROAS sounds great. On a $50 product that costs you $35 to buy and ship, you are still losing money. That is why most calculators are misleading. Step 2 of the calculator above does the full ROI math for you, in 5 boxes.
What this calculator does that others don't
Most ROAS calculators ask for 2 numbers and give you 1 number back. That is fine if you only want the easy math. This one goes 3 steps further.
First, it checks if your ROAS actually makes you money. A 4x ROAS sounds great. On a product that costs you 40% to make, with shipping and refunds, it is barely profitable. Step 2 shows you the real number.
Second, it points to where your money is going. Is the problem your ad? Your website? Your prices? Each one is a different fix. Spending more on ads will not help if the problem is the page people land on. Step 3 sorts it out.
Third, it shows you the cheapest way to grow. Most stores try to grow by spending more on ads. Step 4 shows when a small fix to your page or your prices earns you more than a bigger ad budget.
What it can't tell you
I want to be honest about what this tool cannot see.
It can point you in the right direction, but it can't be exact. The numbers I use to flag your ad or page as a problem are based on patterns from $150M+ in ad spend I have managed. They are not your exact numbers. Real numbers come from looking at your actual account.
It only works if the numbers you typed in are right. If your product cost is off by 5%, or your refund rate is a guess, the answer changes. Bad numbers in, bad numbers out.
It cannot see your ads. It cannot see your page. It cannot see what your competitors are doing. It cannot tell you which one ad is pulling your number down, or which button on your page is killing your sales.
For that, you need a real human to look at the account. That is what the Free Quick Scan is for.
HOT TAKE
The 3 costs most ROAS calculators ignore
Most ROAS calculators stop at “money in ÷ money out”. That is the easy math. The costs they leave out are the ones that quietly kill your profit.
1. Refunds
Most calculators treat every sale as final. They are not. If 10 out of every 100 orders get returned, you still paid to make the product, paid to ship it, and paid for the ad. You get back a used product (sometimes) and a customer who is not coming back. Try step 2 above with refunds at 0%, then at 10%. The break-even number jumps a lot.
2. Payment fees
Stripe, Shopify, and PayPal each take about 2.9% to 3.5% off every order. Every order. Every month. On a $50 order, that is $1.50 to the payment company. At 1,000 orders a month, that is $1,500. If you were planning to make $5,000 in profit, payment fees just took 30% of it. Your accountant sees this. Most calculators do not.
3. Shipping
Free shipping is not free for you. If it costs you $8 to ship a $50 order, that $8 comes straight out of your profit. Stores that can offer free shipping either sell at high prices, ship very cheap products, or have a special deal with a shipping company. If that is not you, charge for shipping or work it into your price. Pretending the cost is not there only hurts you later.
Frequently asked questions
The basics
What is a 3x ROAS?
A 3x ROAS means that for every $1 you spent on ads, you got $3 back in sales. Some people write that as 300% or 3:1. They mean the same thing. For most online stores with normal margins, 3x is a healthy number.
What is the difference between ROAS and ROI?
ROAS only counts your ad cost. ROI counts every cost — the ad, the product, the shipping, payment fees, everything. That is why ROAS can look good while ROI is bad. A 4x ROAS on a low-margin product with high shipping is often a loss when you do the full ROI math.
How do I calculate break-even ROAS?
Break-even ROAS is the ROAS you need to stop losing money. Take your selling price and divide it by your profit per sale (what you keep after the product cost, shipping, payment fees, and refunds). For most online stores, that comes out to somewhere between 2x and 4x. Step 2 of the calculator above works it out for you. Or use the Break-even ROAS calculator for a deeper look.
Is a higher ROAS always better?
Not always. A very high ROAS often means you are spending too little on ads and missing buyers. If your ROAS is 10x and your product is profitable at 3x, you are probably leaving sales on the table. The goal is not the highest ROAS — the goal is the most profit.
About this calculator
How accurate is this calculator?
The math is right. The numbers you type in are yours. If your product cost, refund rate, and shipping cost are accurate, the answer is accurate. If you guess at them, you get a guess.
Why does the calculator ask about refunds and payment fees?
Because they quietly destroy profit and most calculators skip them. A 10% refund rate on a low-margin product can flip a winning store into a losing one. Same with 3% payment fees. The cuts add up to real money fast.
My ROAS looks good but I'm not making money. Why?
Your real break-even is higher than you think. Refunds, shipping, and payment fees eat the space between sales and profit. Try step 2 of the calculator above. It will show the real number.
I'm spending less than $5,000 a month on ads. Is this useful?
Yes. The math works at any size. The smaller your budget, the more one bad ad or one slow page hurts — so the diagnostic in step 3 actually matters more when you are spending less.
Should I use this instead of getting an audit?
Use both. The calculator points to which part of your funnel is the problem. The Free Quick Scan tells you the specific reasons inside that part. If you want a full review, the Deep Dive is built for that.
The math tells you what. A real human tells you why.
The calculator can show you that your ads are losing money. It cannot see your actual ads or your actual website. If you want someone to look at those and tell you what to fix, that is what the Free Quick Scan is for. I will record a private video walking through your ads and your pages. You will have it in 48 hours. No account access needed.
Get Your Free Quick Scan →Written by Aditya
$150M+ in ad spend managed across Meta and Google.