Break-even ROAS Calculator

What can an order afford to spend on advertising?

The pre-filled inputs are a hypothetical example. Replace them with consistent order-level values. Calculations happen in your browser. Input values are not sent to analytics or third-party services.

Read the inputs consistently

Use revenue net of sales tax and on a consistent discount/refund basis. If revenue already reflects expected refunds, do not subtract that same loss again. Shipping subsidy is the shipping cost you absorb after any shipping revenue, rather than automatically the full delivery cost. Use the same currency for all fields; this calculator displays euros.

Contribution before advertising is not net profit. Fixed overhead and the desired profit buffer must be covered by the post-ad contribution. An order CPA is not customer CAC unless every measured order represents one newly acquired customer.

Formulas and example

Contribution = revenue − all listed variable costs. Break-even CPA per order = contribution. Break-even ROAS = revenue ÷ contribution. Target CPA = contribution − desired post-ad contribution. Target ROAS = revenue ÷ target CPA.

With the hypothetical defaults, €100 revenue minus €60 costs leaves €40 contribution. Break-even ROAS is 2.50×. Reserving €15 leaves a €25 target CPA and a 4.00× target ROAS.

If contribution is zero or negative, no positive advertising spend breaks even under these assumptions. If the desired contribution equals or exceeds available contribution, there is no positive target CPA.

Continue the diagnosis

• Read the profitability framework
• Review the rest of the acquisition system

Want this reviewed in your own account? See the €650 eCommerce Diagnostic. For ongoing ownership, explore Google Ads Growth for eCommerce.

About the author

Written by Andrei Visan, a hands-on Google Ads consultant since 2010. The examples here explain a diagnostic method; they are not client performance claims.