ROAS Calculator: Break-Even ROAS, Target ROAS and CPA

Enter your average order or job value, your margin and the profit you want to keep. The calculator gives you the break-even ROAS, the target ROAS to set in Google Ads and the most you can pay to win a customer (your target CPA). It works in your browser: nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved.

Calculate your break-even ROAS, target ROAS and CPA

The example figures are filled in so you can see how it works. Replace them with your own. Amounts are in Canadian dollars, before sales tax.

Average order or job value

$

What a typical customer pays you for one order or one job.

Margin before ad spend

%

Revenue left after the cost of the product or the work, delivery and payment fees, as a share of revenue.

Profit you want to keep

%

The share of revenue you want left after ad spend. Enter 0 to see break-even only.

Other marketing costs (optional)

%

Management, creative or software costs as a share of revenue, if they come out of the same sales.

Leads that become customers (optional)

%

For enquiries and quote requests. Leave at 100 if people buy online.

Break-even ROAS

2.22×222% in Google Ads

Target ROAS

3.33×333% in Google Ads

Break-even CPA (per customer)

$54.00Most you can pay for a sale before losing money

Target CPA (per customer)

$36.00Keeps your profit goal on each sale

Target cost per lead

$36.00Target CPA × the share of leads that become customers

Ad spend at target, as a share of revenue

30%Margin, less other marketing costs and your profit goal

Reset to the example

How to use the ROAS calculator

• Average order or job value. Use what customers paid over the last few months, after discounts and before sales tax. A service business can use the average invoice for one job.

• Margin before ad spend. Take revenue, subtract what it costs to supply the order or do the job (product, materials, labour that changes with the work, delivery, payment fees), then divide by revenue. Your bookkeeper or accountant can confirm the figure.

• Profit you want to keep. The share of each sale you want left after paying for the ads. Set it to 0 to see the break-even point only.

• Optional costs and close rate. If management, creative or software costs come out of the same revenue, add them as a share of revenue. If ads bring enquiries rather than online sales, enter the share of leads that become paying customers.

• Read the targets. Use the target ROAS percentage with a Target ROAS bid strategy, or the target CPA with a Target CPA strategy. Which Google Ads bidding strategy fits your goal explains when each one makes sense.

How to read the results

Break-even ROAS is the revenue each ad dollar must bring in before the campaign stops losing money. Below it, every sale from the ads costs you more than it earns. At it, the ads pay for themselves and nothing more.

Target ROAS adds the profit you want to keep. It is the ratio to aim for, and the number Google Ads asks for as a percentage when you use a Target ROAS strategy. A 3.33× target is entered as 333%.

Break-even CPA and target CPA turn the same limits into dollars per customer. If your ads win customers for less than the target CPA, each sale keeps your profit goal. Between the target and the break-even CPA, sales still cover the ads but keep less profit. Above the break-even CPA, each sale loses money.

Target cost per lead matters when ads bring phone calls, forms or quote requests. If one lead in four becomes a customer, you can pay a quarter of the target CPA for each lead.

These figures are limits, not forecasts. They tell you what the ads can afford, not what Google will charge or how many sales you will get. Compare them with what your account actually reports, and make sure the conversion values and lead counts behind those reports are complete. How marketing attribution models assign credit explains why different reports give different answers.

A worked Canadian example

Two fictional businesses, with teaching figures only: these are not benchmarks, client results or recommended targets.

An Ontario online store sells home goods with an average order of $120. After the product, packaging, shipping and payment fees, it keeps 45% of revenue. The owner wants 15% of revenue left as profit after ads.

If the store's campaign reports a 2.8× ROAS, it is above break-even but below target: the ads pay for themselves, and each sale keeps less than the 15% the owner wants.

A Toronto renovation contractor gets quote requests from search ads. An average job is $8,000, the margin after materials and crew time is 35%, the owner wants 15% left after ads, and one quote request in four becomes a signed job.

The contractor can judge the campaign on cost per quote request while jobs are still being priced, then check the signed-job figure once the work is booked. If only one lead in eight signs, the target cost per lead halves to $200, which is why the close rate deserves as much attention as the click price.

The formulas behind the calculator

• Break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ (margin − other marketing costs)
• Target ROAS = 1 ÷ (margin − other marketing costs − profit you want to keep)
• Break-even CPA = average order value × (margin − other marketing costs)
• Target CPA = average order value × (margin − other marketing costs − profit you want to keep)
• Target cost per lead = target CPA × share of leads that become customers

All percentages are shares of revenue. The calculator assumes your margin stays the same as spending changes and that the order value does not depend on the ad. Refunds, repeat purchases and fixed costs are left out on purpose; ROAS vs ROI: what your ad revenue leaves after costs shows how each one moves the threshold, and the customer lifetime value calculator covers customers who buy again.

When the targets are clear and you want a team to run the campaigns against them, see our Google Ads management in Toronto.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate break-even ROAS?

Divide 1 by your margin before ad spend. At a 40% margin, break-even ROAS is 1 ÷ 0.40 = 2.5, so each ad dollar has to bring in $2.50 of revenue just to pay for itself. If management or other marketing costs come out of the same revenue, subtract them from the margin first.

What is the difference between break-even ROAS and target ROAS?

Break-even ROAS leaves no profit after ad spend. Target ROAS also keeps the profit you want: 1 ÷ (margin − profit you want to keep). With a 40% margin and a 10% profit goal, target ROAS is 1 ÷ 0.30, or about 3.33×.

How do you calculate target CPA?

Multiply the average order or job value by the share of revenue you can spend on ads: average value × (margin − profit you want to keep). For leads, multiply again by the share of leads that become customers. A $2,000 job with a 35% margin and a 15% profit goal gives a $400 target CPA; if one lead in four closes, that is $100 per lead.

Can ROAS be a percentage?

Yes. 3× and 300% describe the same thing: three dollars of revenue for each advertising dollar. Google Ads asks for a target ROAS as a percentage, so a 3.33× target is entered as 333%.

Is a 2.5 ROAS good?

Only if your margin is above 40%. A 2.5× ROAS is exactly break-even at a 40% margin. A business keeping 30% of revenue loses money at 2.5×, while one keeping 60% has room left for profit. Compare any ROAS with the break-even figure for your own margin.

How do I check ROAS in Google Ads?

Add the Conv. value / cost column to your campaign report. That ratio is the ROAS for the conversion values the account records, so it is only as reliable as those values. Check that purchases or lead values are recorded once, at the right amount, before comparing the figure with your target.

How do I calculate ROAS in Excel or Google Sheets?

Divide the revenue cell by the ad spend cell, for example =B2/C2, and format the result with two decimals or as a percentage. For break-even ROAS, divide 1 by the margin cell, for example =1/D2 with the margin entered as 0.45.

Does the calculator save the numbers I enter?

No. The calculation runs in your browser. The figures you type are not sent to Canada Create or anyone else, and they are cleared when you leave the page.

Is ROAS the same as ROI?

No. ROAS is revenue for each advertising dollar. ROI is what is left after the costs you include, compared with those costs. A campaign can show a strong ROAS and still lose money once refunds, delivery and other marketing costs are counted.