Revenue from ads

Attributed revenue from your ad campaigns (in your reporting window)

Ad spend

Total ad spend in the same window

ROAS = Revenue ÷ Ad Spend

5.0×

Return on ad spend

$50,000

Revenue

$10,000

Ad spend

$40,000

Revenue – spend

500%

As percentage

Strong — most agencies target 3-5× ROAS for paid social.

How to use ROAS (and where it lies)

ROAS = revenue from ads ÷ ad spend. A 4× ROAS means $4 of attributed revenue per $1 spent. It's the most common paid-media efficiency metric — and one of the most misunderstood, because attribution loss after iOS 17/18 means platform-reported ROAS overstates by 20-40% depending on vertical.

2026 benchmarks by channel

2.5–4×Meta Ads (cold prospecting, DTC)

4–7×Google Ads (Search, branded mix)

3–6×TikTok Ads (younger DTC)

5–10×Email + SMS (already engaged)

1.5–3×LinkedIn (B2B, long sales cycle)

4–8×Retargeting (any channel)

The three ROAS modes in this calculator

Basic: Revenue ÷ spend. The vanilla calculation.

Break-even: The ROAS you need to cover product cost. Formula = 1 ÷ gross margin. A 50% margin = 2× break-even ROAS minimum.

Target spend: "If I want $X revenue at Y× ROAS, what can I spend?" Useful for setting monthly budgets.

Why ROAS alone isn't enough in 2026

ROAS measures channel efficiency, not business profitability. A 6× Meta ROAS sounds great until you realize Meta is cannibalizing email or organic. That's why we pair ROAS with MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio) for every DTC client. Try the MER calculator →

A 7-day ROAS report after a creative launch will look 30% better than a 30-day report. View-through attribution inflates 1-day-view ROAS by 50-80% vs click-only. Choose your attribution window once, document it, and stop comparing apples to seasons.

Return on Ad Spend, in two clicks.