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Break-even ROAS: the number your ads have to beat.
A 3x ROAS is great for one store and a loss for another. The difference is the margin left after the product, delivery and fees. Enter what an average order brings in and what it costs you, and the calculator gives the exact ROAS at which the ads stop losing money.
Your numbers
Revenue per order, without tax.
What you pay to make or buy the product and ship it.
Payment fees, packaging, returns, as a share of the order.
Your results
You keep 57% of each order, so any campaign above 1.8x makes money on the first sale.
- Contribution margin per order
- $57.00
What is left to pay for the ad. - Margin as a share of the order
- 57.0%
- ROAS for a 20% profit margin
- 2.7x
A common target once the ads are proven.
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<iframe src="https://aistrikeforce.com/tools/break-even-roas-calculator?embed=1" title="Break-even ROAS calculator" width="100%" height="860" style="border:0;border-radius:24px" loading="lazy"></iframe> <p><a href="https://aistrikeforce.com/tools/break-even-roas-calculator">Break-even ROAS calculator</a> by AI Strike Force</p>
Break-even too high? Fix the funnel, not the ads.
Order bumps, upsells and follow-up raise the value of every order the ads already paid for. Our funnel builds took one client from a $35 average order to over $100.
Why break-even ROAS matters more than ROAS
ROAS tells you how much revenue the ads produced. Break-even ROAS tells you how much they had to produce. The gap between the two is your profit or your loss, and most accounts that "have a good ROAS but lose money" simply never calculated the second number.
How to use the result
- Set your campaign target above the break-even figure, not at it: the "20% profit margin" line shows the ROAS that leaves a fifth of the order as profit.
- Compare campaigns against this number rather than against each other; a 2.5x campaign is a winner for a 1.7x break-even and a loser for a 3x one.
- Recalculate whenever prices, shipping or fees change. A free-shipping promotion moves the break-even point immediately.
- If the break-even ROAS is above 4x, the ads are not the problem: raise the average order (bundles, order bumps) or the margin first.
Lowering the break-even point
The fastest lever is average order value. In our digital product funnel, order bumps and upsells took the average order from $35 to over $100 without changing the ad spend, which turned a marginal campaign into one that returns $5 per $1. The ROAS calculator gives you the actual figure to compare with this break-even point.
Questions, answered.
What is break-even ROAS?
The return on ad spend at which the revenue from ads exactly covers the ad cost plus the product, delivery and variable fees of the orders. Above it you make a profit on each sale; below it you lose money.
How do I calculate break-even ROAS?
Divide the average order value by the contribution margin per order (order value minus product cost, delivery and variable fees). If a $100 order leaves you $57, break-even ROAS is 100 ÷ 57 = 1.75x.
Should I include fixed costs like salaries?
Not in break-even ROAS, which looks at the margin on each sale. Fixed costs matter for the profit of the whole business; the ROI calculator covers that view.
What is a good target ROAS?
A common approach is break-even ROAS plus a profit margin, for example the ROAS that leaves 20% of the order as profit, which this calculator shows. Aggressive growth phases sometimes accept break-even on the first order and make the profit on repeat purchases.
Does this work for services and lead generation?
Partly. For services, use the value of an average won client as the order value and the delivery cost as the product cost. For lead generation, the cost per lead calculator is the better fit.
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