BizCalc
Risk notes
All calculators

Paid acquisition

ROAS Calculator

Calculate return on ad spend and contribution after gross margin.

Paid acquisition

ROAS Calculator

Use this to decide whether attributed revenue from ads is enough to cover media spend after product or delivery costs.

How to use this calculator

Start with conservative inputs, copy the result, then test a best-case and worst-case version. For production decisions, compare the estimate against actual accounting, analytics and payment data.

Formula

ROAS shows revenue returned for each dollar of ad spend. Contribution after margin shows whether that revenue can actually cover the media cost.

Formula

ROAS = attributed revenue / ad spend. Contribution = attributed revenue * gross margin - ad spend.

Example

Ecommerce ROAS check

A store spends $3,000 on ads, attributes $12,000 in revenue and has 65% gross margin.

  • Ad spend: $3,000
  • Attributed revenue: $12,000
  • Gross margin: 65%
The example produces 4.0x ROAS and $4,800 in contribution after ad spend.

FAQ

Is high ROAS always profitable?

No. A high ROAS can still lose money if gross margin is low, refunds are high or fixed costs are ignored.

What is break-even ROAS?

Break-even ROAS is roughly 1 divided by gross margin. At 50% gross margin, break-even ROAS is about 2.0x before overhead.

Should I use platform-reported revenue?

Use platform data as a starting point, then compare it with analytics and payment data because attribution can be inflated or incomplete.

Important limits