Break-Even ROAS Calculator
The minimum return on ad spend your product economics can support.
About this calculator
Before setting a ROAS target in your ad platform, you need the break-even point that falls out of your product economics: price, landed cost and fees determine the contribution per sale, and its inverse is the minimum ROAS. Below that number every "successful" campaign quietly loses money.
The formula
Worked example
Price £30, cost £10, fees £5 → contribution £15 (50%). Break-even ROAS = 30 ÷ 15 = 2.0x.
Common mistakes
- Setting a platform ROAS target below your break-even — scale just accelerates the loss.
- Computing it from gross margin without fees and fulfilment.
- Using revenue including VAT, which understates the true break-even.
Frequently asked questions
Assumptions & limitations
First-order economics with constant per-unit cost and fees.
Sources & verification
This calculator applies the standard formula published above to the figures you enter — it relies on no external statutory data. The formula and the worked example were checked by hand against each other.
Spotted an error or an out-of-date figure? Report it — corrections are prioritised over all other work (see our corrections policy).