Find ROAS — return on ad spend — the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising.
How it works
ROAS is revenue divided by ad spend: ROAS = Revenue ÷ Ad Spend. $5,000 in revenue from a $1,000 ad campaign is a ROAS of 5, often written as “5:1” — five dollars earned for every dollar spent.
What this does not include
ROAS measures gross revenue against spend, not profit — it doesn’t subtract the cost of goods sold or other business expenses, which is what a related metric, return on investment (ROI), accounts for.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the revenue generated.
- Enter the total ad spend.
A worked example
$5,000 in revenue from $1,000 in ad spend: ROAS = 5,000 ÷ 1,000 = 5 — every $1 spent generated $5 in revenue.
$12,000 revenue from $3,000 ad spend: ROAS = 4.
What the variables mean
| Variable | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Revenue | Revenue directly attributed to the ad campaign |
| Ad spend | Total amount spent on the campaign |
Edge cases worth knowing
ROAS measures revenue, not profit. A ROAS of 5 sounds strong, but if product costs and overhead eat most of that revenue, the campaign might still be barely profitable or even a loss — ROAS alone doesn’t capture margin.
Zero ad spend makes ROAS undefined — there’s no investment to measure the return against, so the calculator returns no result.
What’s considered a good ROAS?
It depends heavily on profit margins — a business with thin margins may need a ROAS of 4:1 or higher just to break even, while a high-margin business can be profitable at a much lower ratio.
How is ROAS different from ROI?
ROAS compares revenue to ad spend alone; ROI typically factors in total costs (including the cost of goods, not just advertising) to measure actual profit relative to investment.
Can ROAS be less than 1?
Yes — a ROAS below 1 means the campaign generated less revenue than it cost to run, a clear sign the campaign lost money before even accounting for other business costs.
