Break-Even ROAS Calculator

Enter your price and per-order costs, or your margin, and get the ROAS and ACoS where ads break even, the ROAS for a target profit, and what your current ROAS earns per ad dollar.

Work & BusinessWorldwideSource: Break-even arithmetic (1 ÷ margin)Free, no sign-up

Work from

Selling price ($)

Product cost ($)

Shipping ($)

Payment / platform fees ($)

Your actual ROAS (optional)

Revenue ÷ ad spend, e.g. 3.2.

Profit you want after ads, % of revenue (optional)

The result updates as you type.

Break-even ROAS

2.07× (48.3% ACoS)

At a 48.3% margin, every $1 of ads must bring in $2.07 in sales to break even · max cost per sale $29.00

Profit margin before ads	48.33%
Break-even ROAS (1 ÷ margin)	2.069
Break-even ACoS (ad spend ÷ revenue)	48.33%

What this page cannot tell you

Repeat purchases and customer lifetime value, returns, or fixed overhead. Break-even here means the first order covers its own ad cost; a business that wins repeat customers may accept a lower ROAS, and one with high overhead needs more.

How to calculate break-even ROAS

Work out your margin. Enter price, product cost, shipping and fees, or a margin you already know.
Read break-even ROAS. 1 ÷ margin: the revenue each ad dollar must bring in to cover itself.
Add a profit target. Optional: the profit you want left after ads.
Compare your actual ROAS. See profit or loss per ad dollar at the ROAS you're getting.

10 situations where a break-even ROAS calculator helps

Setting a target ROAS bid

Know the floor below which a campaign loses money.

Judging a campaign report

A 3× ROAS can be a loss on a thin margin; check against break-even.

Amazon ACoS targets

Break-even ACoS equals your margin.

Pricing a product for ads

See how raising the price lowers the ROAS you need.

Free shipping decisions

Shipping costs eat margin and raise break-even ROAS.

Comparing products

High-margin items can be advertised at lower ROAS.

Agency reporting

Explain to a client why their ROAS target is what it is.

Maximum cost per acquisition

The most you can pay for a sale and not lose money.

Scaling decisions

Profit per ad dollar shows whether more spend helps.

Planning a promotion

Discounts cut margin; see the new break-even.

How it's worked out

This is arithmetic with no outside data. ROAS (return on ad spend) is revenue ÷ ad spend. A sale breaks even on ads when the gross profit it earns equals what the ads cost to get it. With a profit margin m before ads, that happens at ROAS = 1 ÷ m. ACoS (advertising cost of sale) is the inverse of ROAS, so break-even ACoS equals the margin.

For a profit target t (as a share of revenue after ads), the needed ROAS is 1 ÷ (m − t). Profit per ad dollar at an actual ROAS r is r × m − 1. When you enter price and costs, the profit per order is also the maximum cost per acquisition that breaks even.

Limits: this is first-order break-even. It ignores repeat purchases and customer lifetime value (which can justify a lower ROAS), returns and refunds, and fixed overhead (which needs a higher one). What to include in 'costs' is your choice. Everything runs in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate break-even ROAS?

Divide 1 by your profit margin before ads. At a 40% margin, break-even ROAS is 2.5.

What is a good ROAS?

Anything above your break-even ROAS is profitable on the first order; how far above you need depends on your goals and overhead.

What's the difference between ROAS and ACoS?

ROAS = revenue ÷ ad spend; ACoS = ad spend ÷ revenue. One is the inverse of the other.

What is break-even ACoS?

Your profit margin before ads. A 35% margin breaks even at 35% ACoS.

What costs should I include?

Everything per order that ads don't cover: product cost, shipping, packaging, payment and platform fees.

Why would I accept a ROAS below break-even?

If customers buy again, the lifetime value can make a first-order loss worthwhile; this page shows first-order break-even only.