Example numbers. One order. Replace with yours.
Break-even ROAS
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…How to use the break-even ROAS calculator
The break-even ROAS calculator shows the lowest return on ad spend at which an order stops losing money, from your order value and per-order costs or from your margin alone. That number is your break-even ROAS (BEROAS): above it your ads make money, below it every sale they bring in loses some.
- Pick “From my costs” or “From my margin”, and your currency.
- Enter your average order value (AOV), product cost, shipping and fulfillment, and payment fees %. Or, on the margin tab, enter your contribution margin after per-order costs, before ad spend.
- On the costs tab, under “+ Add fixed fee, refunds and other costs”, add the fixed fee, refunds and returns (% of revenue) and other costs per order. These hold the example’s $0.30 fixed fee and $4 other costs and count even while hidden: set them to your own numbers or 0.
- Add your current ROAS (optional) to see profit or loss per $100 of ads.
- Add a profit goal (% of revenue, optional) for a target ROAS.
If costs reach the price, the result reads None: no ROAS can fix that. “Show the working” lists every step, and “Copy result” and “Copy link” save it.
How to calculate break-even ROAS
To calculate break-even ROAS, divide 1 by your contribution margin: an order that keeps 50% of its price after per-order costs breaks even at 2.00×. The break-even ROAS formula, in both forms:
Formula
Break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ contribution margin = order value ÷ contribution per order
Take the break-even ROAS calculator’s example order: $120, with $38 product, $12 shipping, a $3.48 payment fee (2.9%), a $0.30 fixed fee and $4 other costs: $57.78 in all.
- Contribution margin: $120 minus $57.78 = $62.22, or 51.85%.
- Break-even ROAS: 120 ÷ 62.22 = 1 ÷ 0.5185 = 1.93×.
| Contribution margin | Break-even ROAS |
|---|---|
| 20% | 5.00× |
| 25% | 4.00× |
| 30% | 3.33× |
| 40% | 2.50× |
| 50% | 2.00× |
| 60% | 1.67× |
Which costs go in
Put in only the costs that come with each order: product, shipping and fulfillment, payment fees, marketplace fees such as Amazon’s referral and FBA fees (in the fee % or other costs), refunds and packaging. Fixed costs (rent, salaries, software) and the ad spend stay out: the profit above break-even pays for them.
A refunded order loses its revenue, while the product, shipping and, on Shopify Payments, the card fee stay spent. On a $100 order with a 50% margin, 10% refunds move break-even from 2.00× to 2.50×. Resellable returns make it a little lower (2.27×).
Gross margin vs contribution margin
Gross margin takes off only product cost; contribution margin takes off every per-order cost, which is why break-even ROAS numbers often disagree. On the example order, gross margin gives 1.46× and contribution margin 1.93×. At 1.8×, the gross view says the ads keep $23.00 per $100; with every cost in, they lose $6.67. Use contribution margin.
Is your ROAS good?
No ROAS is good or bad on its own. Put your costs in the break-even ROAS calculator, then read your ROAS against your break-even. On a 50% margin, a 3× ROAS keeps $50 per $100 of ads, and 1.5× loses $25. To calculate ROAS, divide ad revenue by ad spend.
Triple Whale’s Facebook ad benchmarks, which cover over 40,000 of its customer brands from August 2025 to July 2026, put the median Meta ROAS at 1.88. That median needs a contribution margin of about 53% to break even, so treat it as context, not a target.
Which ROAS to compare
Compare your break-even with blended ROAS (store sales before refunds ÷ all ad spend) and each platform’s. Meta’s ROAS counts purchases attributed to your ads, and part of it may be modeled. Each platform credits sales by its own attribution, so two platforms can claim one sale. Blended ROAS below break-even means the ads lose money overall, whatever a platform reports. Use platform ROAS as reported; the calculator already counts refunds.
Target ROAS: break-even plus the profit you want
For a profit above break-even, add a profit goal (% of revenue) in the break-even ROAS calculator to get a target ROAS.
Formula
Target ROAS = 1 ÷ (contribution margin − profit goal)
On a 50% margin with a 10% goal, that’s 2.50×: $25 of profit on $250 of revenue per $100 of ads. Tools that multiply break-even by 1.1 measure the 10% on ad spend instead: 2.20×, keeping 4.5% of revenue. A goal at or above your margin is not possible. On the example order, a 10% goal gives 2.39× and a target CPA of $50.22.
Google Ads takes target ROAS as a percentage (a 2.39× target is 239%); Meta takes its ROAS goal as a number (2.39).
Break-even ROAS, ACoS and CPA
ACoS is ROAS turned upside down, so your break-even ACoS equals your contribution margin; your break-even CPA is your contribution per order. Below your break-even ACoS the ads make money; above it they lose. Enter 100 ÷ ACoS as your current ROAS: 28% ACoS is 3.57×, which on a 30% margin keeps $7.10 per $100 of ads.
| Break-even | How it’s worked out | Example order |
|---|---|---|
| ROAS | 1 ÷ contribution margin | 1.93× |
| ACoS | contribution margin as a % | 51.9% |
| CPA | contribution per order, the most you can pay in ads for it | $62.22 |
What to do if your ROAS is below break-even
Below break-even, stop adding spend and work through these levers in order.
Judge each campaign against your break-even, not the account average. Pause or rework each one under it.
Raise the order value. Bundles and free-shipping thresholds make fixed per-order costs, like shipping and the $0.30 card fee, weigh less.
Lower per-order costs. Each dollar off product, shipping or fees adds a dollar of contribution per order.
Watch your discounts. The costs stay while the price drops: 20% off the example order lifts break-even from 1.93× to 2.47×.
Count repeat buyers on purpose. A channel below first-order break-even can still pay if those customers buy again. Decide that with your repeat rate.
Re-run the break-even ROAS calculator whenever your costs or prices change.
Frequently asked questions
I only know my gross margin. Which tab do I use?
The costs tab, since gross margin leaves out shipping and fees. Enter product cost as order value × (1 − gross margin): a $640 order at 55% is $288. With $60 shipping, 2.5% fees, and the fixed fee and other costs set to 0, break-even is 2.32×, not the 1.82× that 55% gives on the margin tab, and a 15% goal targets 3.56× (356% in Google Ads), not 2.50×.
Is a 2.2 ROAS good?
Only if your contribution margin is above 45.5%, the margin at which 2.2 breaks even. On a 50% margin it keeps $10 per $100 of ads; on a 40% margin, which breaks even at 2.50×, it loses $12.
Is a ROAS of 4 good?
Yes, on any contribution margin above 25%, where 4× breaks even; below 25% it loses money. Per $100 of ads, a 35% margin keeps $40 and a 50% margin keeps $100.
What ROAS is 25% ACoS?
4×. ROAS is 100 ÷ ACoS %, so 20% ACoS is 5×, 30% is 3.33× and 50% is 2×. The break-even ROAS calculator shows your break-even ACoS next to the ROAS.
What ACoS should I target?
Your contribution margin minus your profit goal, both as a share of revenue. On the example order, a 10% goal gives a target ACoS of 41.85%, the same as a 2.39× target ROAS. A 30% margin with a 10% goal targets 20% ACoS, or 5.00×.
What does a 2.5 ROAS mean?
A 2.5 ROAS needs a 40% contribution margin to break even: each $1 of ads brings back $2.50 in revenue (250%, or 2.5:1). On a 50% margin it keeps $25 per $100 of ads; on 30% it loses $25. If you don’t know your margin, use the costs tab.
Is a ROAS of 1 (100%) break-even?
Only for an order with no costs. Meta calls a ROAS goal of 1.00 break even, but that means revenue equals ad spend, before product, shipping and fees. The example order at 1.00× loses $48.15 per $100 of ads. So never set Meta’s goal at 1.00; set it from your break-even or target ROAS.
My platform ROAS beats my target, but blended ROAS is below break-even. What now?
Go by blended ROAS. The platform is crediting itself with sales that, across your store, don’t cover the ad spend, so raise that platform’s ROAS goal above your target (with several platforms, start with your main one). Re-check blended ROAS after a period until it clears break-even; there is no fixed correction factor between the two.
Should refunds be a share of orders or of revenue?
Of revenue, which is what the refunds field takes. If refunded orders are refunded in full, the share of orders refunded is close enough. With partial refunds, count the refunded amount, not the number of orders. To find your rate, divide refunds by gross sales for a recent period; in Shopify’s sales report, that’s sales reversals ÷ gross sales, a rough rate, since sales reversals include cancellations and gross sales is before discounts. With no history, run the break-even ROAS calculator at 0%, 5% and 10%: the example order moves from 1.93× to 2.13× to 2.39×. Plan on the highest figure until you have real data.
How do I calculate break-even ROAS in Excel?
Put one product per row: A order value, B product cost, C shipping, D payment fee %, E fixed fee, F refunds %, G other costs and H profit goal %, with the percentages as percent cells. Contribution margin in I2: =(A2-(B2+C2+A2*D2+E2+A2*F2+G2))/A2. Break-even ROAS in J2: =IF(I2<=0,”None”,1/I2). Target ROAS in K2: =IF(I2<=H2,”not possible”,1/(I2-H2)). The same formulas work in Google Sheets. Check the sheet against the break-even ROAS calculator on one row before you trust it.