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CALCULATOR · Finance

Break-Even ROAS Calculator

The return on ad spend at which an order stops losing money, the most a sale can cost in ads, and the ROAS a target margin needs.

Show formula
Break-even ROAS = order value ÷ (order value − product − shipping − fees − other costs)

Method reviewed:Contribution-margin break-even: ROAS = order value ÷ margin per order, CPA = margin per order · reviewed October 2026

Inputs

Revenue per order, without sales tax or VAT.

What the goods in an average order cost you to buy or make.

Card processing and marketplace commission: a percentage of the order plus any fixed amount per transaction.

Packaging, a returns allowance and anything else each order costs.

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The share of each order you want to keep after ads.

Result

Your result appears here

Enter Average order value and the result fills in as you type.

How it works

  1. Enter the average order value without VAT, and what an order costs you: the product, shipping, payment and platform fees, and anything else.
  2. Optionally add the profit margin you want to keep after ads, and a campaign’s ad spend with the revenue it brought in.
  3. Read the break-even ROAS and CPA, the ROAS your target margin needs, and whether the campaign made or lost money.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good ROAS?

Any ROAS above your own break-even figure makes money, and anything below it loses some. A 3× ROAS is profitable for a shop with a 40% margin (break-even 2.5×) and loses money for one with a 25% margin (break-even 4×), so there is no universal good number.

Why does a thin margin need a high ROAS?

Break-even ROAS is one divided by the margin: 1 ÷ 0.40 = 2.5× at a 40% margin, 1 ÷ 0.20 = 5× at 20%. Halving the margin doubles the ROAS the ads have to reach.

What is the difference between ROAS and ROI?

ROAS divides ad revenue by ad spend and ignores every other cost; ROI divides profit by the whole investment. A campaign can show a 4× ROAS and still lose money when the products’ margin is under 25%.

Should the order value include VAT and the shipping the customer pays?

Leave VAT out: it belongs to the tax office. Count shipping charged to the customer only if your ad platform includes it in revenue, and then enter your real shipping cost as a cost.

Examples

A 60 order with 22 of product, 6 of shipping, fees of 3% + 0.30 and 2 of packaging
Margin before ads 27.90, so break-even ROAS is 2.15× (215%) and an order can cost up to 27.90 in ads.
Keeping a 10% margin on the same order
Target ROAS 2.74×, with up to 21.90 of ad cost per order.
A campaign on that order that spent 1,500 and brought in 4,800
ROAS 3.2×, above the 2.15× break-even: about 80 orders leave 732 of profit after the ad spend.

Break-Even ROAS vs ROI Calculator

Both ask whether money spent comes back. This page judges ad spend against your margin per order; the ROI Calculator measures the overall return on any investment.

  • ROI Calculator — You want the percentage gain or loss on an investment, from what went in and what came back.
  • Discount Calculator — You are planning a promotion: a lower price shrinks the margin, so rerun this page with the discounted order value.

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