01
Enter the revenue
Your selling price, or the average order value if a typical order holds more than one item. Everything is measured against this.
Break-Even ROAS Calculator
Find the minimum profitable ROAS for any channel — break-even and target ROAS, with ACoS conversion and a fee-aware profit cushion.
Updated Reviewed by Sajid Hussain· Editor
Use the calculator
Try it with your numbers
Enter the values that match your situation — results update in real time as you type.
Your numbers
Results
⚡
Results appear as you type
No submit button needed
What ROAS keeps you profitable?
Know your floor before you spend a cent on ads
This break-even ROAS calculator tells you the minimum ROAS you need to stop losing money on advertising — for any channel, not just Amazon. It works out the profit each sale already carries before ads (your contribution margin), then turns that into a break-even ROAS, a target ROAS for the margin you actually want to keep, and the matching ACoS for both. Whether you run Meta, Google, TikTok, or Amazon PPC, the floor is the same idea.
ROAS — return on ad spend — is just revenue divided by ad spend. A 4.0x ROAS means every $1 of ads brought in $4 of sales. But a ROAS that looks great can still lose money: if your product, fees, and shipping eat 80% of the sale price, you only have 20% left to pay for ads, and any ROAS under 5.0x is a loss. The break-even point is the exact ROAS where ad profit is zero — your floor. Run above it and ads make money; run below it and every campaign quietly burns cash.
The math is simpler than it looks. Every sale already carries some profit before you advertise it: selling price minus product cost minus marketplace/payment fees minus any shipping you absorb. That leftover — the contribution margin — is the entire budget you have to spend on ads for that order. Break-even ROAS is just the selling price divided by that pre-ad profit, and break-even ACoS (ad cost ÷ sales) is the contribution margin itself. The two are reciprocals: ACoS% = 100 ÷ ROAS, and ROAS = 100 ÷ ACoS%.
Most "break-even ROAS" tools online are hard-wired to Amazon and only do the floor. This one is channel-agnostic and goes further: it adds a target ROAS so you can solve for a real profit cushion (not just zero), converts cleanly between ROAS and ACoS so a Meta advertiser and an Amazon seller both see their native metric, and is fee-aware so the contribution margin reflects what you actually keep. It is the same engine dropshippers, Shopify stores, and PPC managers reach for when planning bids.
A deliberate note on tax: sales tax, VAT, and GST are collected from the buyer and remitted to the government, so they are never your money and never a cost. We exclude them from the margin entirely — building them in would understate the budget you have for ads and inflate your break-even ROAS. Enter your costs net of tax and the floor will be right.
How it works
From one sale to your ad-spend floor
Four short steps — seconds to the ROAS you must beat.
02
Add your costs
Product cost, the marketplace/payment fee %, and any per-order shipping you absorb. These set the budget left to fund ads.
03
Set your profit goal
The margin you want to keep after ads. Break-even ROAS is the floor; target ROAS banks this extra margin on top.
04
Read the floor
Get break-even ROAS and ACoS, your target ROAS, contribution margin, and the per-order profit you have to spend on ads.
Steps to use the Break-Even ROAS Calculator: Enter the revenue, Add your costs, Set your profit goal, Read the floor.
Formula
Exactly what the calculator computes
No black boxes — the break-even and target ROAS math in plain algebra.
01
Contribution margin (the budget for ads)
Pre-Ad Profit = Price − Product Cost − (Price × Fee%) − Other Cost → Contribution Margin% = Pre-Ad Profit ÷ Price × 100
The profit each sale carries before any ad spend, as a % of revenue. This is the entire budget you have to fund ads on that order — and it is also your maximum profitable ACoS.
02
Break-even ROAS
Break-Even ROAS = Price ÷ Pre-Ad Profit = 100 ÷ Contribution Margin%
At break-even, ad cost equals the entire pre-ad profit, so ad profit is zero. The ROAS that does this is the selling price over the margin available — the lowest ROAS that does not lose money.
03
Break-even ACoS
Break-Even ACoS% = Contribution Margin% = 100 ÷ Break-Even ROAS
ACoS (ad cost ÷ sales) is the reciprocal of ROAS. Your break-even ACoS is simply your contribution margin: spend that share of revenue on ads and you exactly break even.
04
Target ROAS (for a profit cushion)
Target ACoS% = Contribution Margin% − Target Profit Margin% → Target ROAS = 100 ÷ Target ACoS%
To keep a profit margin after ads, reserve it first: subtract your target margin from the contribution margin to get the ACoS you can afford, then flip it to a ROAS. If the target margin meets or exceeds the contribution margin, no ROAS can reach it.
05
ACoS ⇄ ROAS identity
ACoS% = 100 ÷ ROAS and ROAS = 100 ÷ ACoS%
The two metrics are the same information flipped. A 4.0x ROAS is a 25% ACoS; a 20% ACoS is a 5.0x ROAS. We show both so every advertiser reads their native number.
Worked example
A $40 order, $14 cost, 15% fee, 10% target margin
Watch the contribution margin become a break-even ROAS, then a target ROAS.
1
Step 1 · Find the pre-ad profit
The 15% fee on $40.00 is $6.00. Pre-ad profit = $40.00 − $14.00 − $6.00 = $20.00. As a share of revenue that is a 50% contribution margin — your whole ad budget per order.
Pre-ad profit $20.00 · contribution margin 50%
2
Step 2 · Break-even ROAS
Break-even ROAS = $40.00 ÷ $20.00 = 2.0x. Equivalently, break-even ACoS = the contribution margin = 50%. Spend all $20.00 of margin on ads and you net zero.
Break-even 2.0x ROAS (50% ACoS)
3
Step 3 · Reserve your profit
You want to keep 10% of $40.00 = $4.00 as profit. That leaves $16.00 for ads. Target ACoS = 50% − 10% = 40%.
Target ACoS 40% · ad budget $16.00
4
Step 4 · Target ROAS
Flip the target ACoS: target ROAS = 100 ÷ 40 = 2.5x. Run campaigns at 2.5x or better and you bank your 10% margin after ads.
Target 2.5x ROAS
The takeaway
Stay above 2.0x to avoid losses, and above 2.5x to also keep your 10% margin. Drop the fee to 0% (pure dropshipping) and the contribution margin — and your floor — improve immediately; raise the product cost and the floor climbs.
Industry benchmarks
What break-even and target ROAS to expect
Rules of thumb by margin profile. A higher contribution margin means a lower break-even ROAS and more room for ads.
| Metric | Poor | Average | Good | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contribution margin | < 15% | 15–30% | 30–50% | 50%+ |
| Break-even ACoS | < 15% | 15–30% | 30–50% | 50%+ |
| Break-even ROAS | > 6.67x | 3.33–6.67x | 2.0–3.33x | < 2.0x |
| Target ROAS (profit cushion) | > 8.0x | 5.0–8.0x | 3.0–5.0x | < 3.0x |
| Profit margin after ads | < 5% | 5–10% | 10–20% | 20%+ |
| ROAS headroom (target vs break-even) | < 0.5x | 0.5–1.0x | 1.0–2.0x | 2.0x+ |
Why this calculator
Calcrux vs other break-even ROAS calculators
Most are Amazon-only and stop at the floor. This one is channel-agnostic, fee-aware, and adds a real profit target.
| Feature | Calcrux | Amazon-only tool | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Break-even ROAS (the floor) | Manual | ||
| Target ROAS for a profit cushion | Rare | Manual | |
| ACoS ⇄ ROAS shown both ways | ACoS only | Manual | |
| Fee-aware contribution margin | Sometimes | Manual | |
| Works for Meta / Google / TikTok | |||
| Dropshipping / Shopify friendly | Manual | ||
| Excludes tax (no margin distortion) | Varies | Manual | |
| Interprets the result (warnings) | |||
| Works in any currency | US-only | ||
| Free, no signup | Most |
Common mistakes
Why advertisers misread their ROAS floor
Treating a high ROAS as automatically profitable
Why it matters
ROAS measures revenue per ad dollar, not profit. A 4.0x ROAS loses money if your break-even is 5.0x. The headline number says nothing about whether your margin covers the spend.
Fix
Compare your campaign ROAS to your break-even ROAS, not to a generic "good ROAS" figure. The floor is what matters.
Forgetting marketplace and payment fees
Why it matters
Fees come off the top of every sale and shrink the contribution margin — the budget you have for ads. Leave them out and your break-even ROAS looks lower than it really is, so you overspend.
Fix
Enter your fee % so the contribution margin reflects what you actually keep. The break-even ROAS rises to a number you can trust.
Confusing ROAS with ACoS
Why it matters
They are reciprocals, not the same scale. A 25% ACoS is a 4.0x ROAS; people who read one as the other set bids wildly wrong.
Fix
We show both side by side. Remember ACoS% = 100 ÷ ROAS, and a lower ACoS is a higher ROAS.
Aiming only for break-even
Why it matters
Break-even ROAS keeps you out of a loss but leaves zero profit. Running campaigns exactly at break-even means working for free after costs.
Fix
Set a desired profit margin and aim for the target ROAS, which reserves that profit before spending.
Setting a target margin above the contribution margin
Why it matters
If you want to keep 40% but only have a 30% contribution margin, no ad spend can leave that much profit — the target ROAS is impossible.
Fix
Keep your target profit margin below your contribution margin. Fix the unit economics first if it is not.
Building tax into the cost
Why it matters
Sales tax, VAT, or GST is collected and remitted, not kept. Counting it as a cost understates your contribution margin and overstates your break-even ROAS.
Fix
Enter costs net of tax. The calculator deliberately excludes tax from the margin.
Tips
Use your ROAS floor to bid smarter
Bid against the floor, not a rumor
Set max bids so your expected ROAS clears break-even with room to spare. A generic "4x is good" number is meaningless without your margin.
Raise contribution margin to lower the floor
A higher price, lower COGS, or fewer fees all lift contribution margin — which directly drops your break-even ROAS and frees up ad budget.
Use AOV, not unit price, for bundles
If buyers usually take more than one item, enter the average order value. A higher AOV spreads fixed-ish costs and improves your ROAS floor.
Keep a cushion for inefficiency
Real campaigns waste some spend on poor search terms. Target a ROAS comfortably above break-even so a noisy week still profits.
Convert to your team's native metric
Amazon teams think in ACoS; Meta/Google teams think in ROAS. Use the side-by-side conversion so everyone reads the same floor.
Re-run when fees or costs change
A fee hike or a COGS increase quietly raises your break-even ROAS. Recompute so your bids and targets stay honest.
Use cases
When sellers reach for this calculator
The Break-Even ROAS Calculator works across every stage of the workflow.
Dropshippers planning Meta ads
Work out the minimum profitable ROAS on a product before launching a Facebook or TikTok campaign, so you scale only winners.
Amazon PPC managers
Translate the contribution margin into a break-even ACoS and a target ACoS to set Sponsored Products bids that protect margin.
Shopify store owners
Find the ROAS each product must hit across Google and Meta to fund ads profitably, fees included.
Launching a new product
Check whether the unit economics can even support paid ads before committing a budget — if the floor is too high, fix margin first.
Setting agency / client targets
Agree a target ROAS that bakes in a real profit margin, not just break-even, so campaigns are judged against the right number.
Auditing a money-losing account
Compare actual campaign ROAS to the break-even floor to spot exactly which products are advertising at a loss.
Glossary
ROAS and ACoS vocabulary
Every important term you'll encounter in this calculator and the broader topic.
- ROAS
- Return on ad spend — revenue divided by ad spend. A 4.0x ROAS means $4 of sales per $1 of ads. It measures revenue efficiency, not profit.
- Break-even ROAS
- The lowest ROAS at which ads make zero profit. Above it you profit; below it you lose money. Equals selling price ÷ pre-ad profit.
- Target ROAS
- The ROAS that leaves a chosen profit margin after ad spend — always higher than break-even because it reserves profit first.
- ACoS
- Advertising cost of sales — ad spend divided by sales, as a %. The reciprocal of ROAS: ACoS% = 100 ÷ ROAS. Amazon advertisers use it most.
- Break-even ACoS
- The highest ACoS you can run and still break even. It equals your contribution margin.
- Contribution margin
- Profit per sale before ads, as a % of revenue — selling price minus product cost and fees. The entire budget available to fund ads.
- Pre-ad profit
- The money left on an order after product cost, fees, and shipping, before any ad spend. The cash you can spend on ads at break-even.
- BEROAS
- A common shorthand for break-even ROAS, used widely in the dropshipping community.
- Profit cushion
- The gap between your target ROAS and your break-even ROAS — the safety margin that keeps a campaign profitable when efficiency dips.
Help & answers
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about how the Break-Even ROAS Calculator works.
01What is break-even ROAS?
Break-even ROAS is the lowest return on ad spend at which your advertising makes zero profit — the floor. Above it, ads make money; below it, every ad dollar loses money. It is calculated as selling price ÷ pre-ad profit, where pre-ad profit is the selling price minus product cost, marketplace/payment fees, and any shipping you absorb. For example, if you keep $20 of profit on a $40 sale before ads, your break-even ROAS is $40 ÷ $20 = 2.0x. You must beat 2.0x to profit.
02How do I calculate the minimum profitable ROAS?
First find your pre-ad profit: selling price − product cost − fees − other variable costs. Then divide the selling price by that profit. The result is your break-even (minimum profitable) ROAS. The shortcut is 100 ÷ contribution margin %: a 50% contribution margin gives a 2.0x floor, a 25% margin gives a 4.0x floor, a 20% margin gives a 5.0x floor. The thinner your margin, the higher the ROAS you must hit just to avoid a loss.
03What is the formula for break-even ROAS?
Break-Even ROAS = Selling Price ÷ Pre-Ad Profit, which is the same as 100 ÷ Contribution Margin %. The matching break-even ACoS = Contribution Margin % = 100 ÷ Break-Even ROAS, because ROAS and ACoS are reciprocals. This calculator builds the contribution margin from your price, product cost, fee %, and other per-order costs, then computes both the break-even ROAS and a target ROAS that reserves the profit margin you want to keep.
04What is the difference between ROAS and ACoS?
They are the same information expressed two ways and are exact reciprocals: ACoS% = 100 ÷ ROAS, and ROAS = 100 ÷ ACoS%. ROAS (return on ad spend) is revenue per ad dollar — higher is better. ACoS (advertising cost of sales) is ad spend as a % of sales — lower is better. A 4.0x ROAS is a 25% ACoS; a 20% ACoS is a 5.0x ROAS. Amazon advertisers usually think in ACoS, while Meta and Google advertisers think in ROAS, so this tool shows both.
05What is a good break-even ROAS for dropshipping?
It depends entirely on your margin, not on a magic number. Dropshipping products with a 25–35% contribution margin have a break-even ROAS around 3.0x–4.0x, so a typical target ROAS for profit is roughly 1.3x–2x above that. Thin-margin products (under 20% after supplier cost and fees) push the break-even ROAS above 5.0x, which is hard to sustain on Meta or TikTok. Use this calculator with your real numbers — your break-even ROAS is personal to your product economics.
06How is target ROAS different from break-even ROAS?
Break-even ROAS keeps you out of a loss but leaves zero profit. Target ROAS is higher because it reserves a profit margin first: target ACoS = contribution margin − target profit margin, then target ROAS = 100 ÷ target ACoS. For example, with a 50% contribution margin and a 10% desired profit margin, target ACoS is 40% and target ROAS is 2.5x — versus a 2.0x break-even. Run above 2.5x and you bank the 10% margin after ads.
07Should I include marketplace fees and shipping in the calculation?
Yes — any cost that scales with each sale belongs in the contribution margin. Marketplace and payment fees (Amazon ~15%, eBay ~13.6%, Etsy ~9.5%, Shopify/Stripe ~2.9%), plus shipping you absorb and typical return costs, all reduce the profit available to fund ads and therefore raise your break-even ROAS. Leaving them out makes your floor look lower than reality and leads to overspending. Do not include fixed overhead or your ad spend itself — ad spend is what break-even ROAS solves for.
08Does sales tax or VAT affect my break-even ROAS?
No. Sales tax, VAT, and GST are collected from the buyer and remitted to the government, so they are never your money and never a cost. This calculator excludes them from the contribution margin on purpose — including them would understate the budget you have for ads and overstate your break-even ROAS. Enter your selling price and costs net of tax and the floor will be accurate. The tool works in any currency because the math is all per-order ratios.
09What happens if my product has no margin left for ads?
If product cost plus fees plus other costs use up the entire selling price, your pre-ad profit is zero or negative — and no ROAS can be profitable, because there is nothing left to spend on ads. The calculator flags this instead of showing a misleading number. The fix is to improve unit economics first: raise the price, lower COGS, or reduce fees until you have a positive contribution margin, then advertising can work.
10Can I use this break-even ROAS calculator for Meta, Google, and Amazon ads?
Yes — it is channel-agnostic. The break-even ROAS depends on your product economics, not on which platform serves the ads, so the same floor applies to Meta, Google, TikTok, and Amazon. The one nuance is fees: marketplace fees only apply where you sell on a marketplace, so enter the fee % that matches the channel. For Amazon you would typically include the ~15% referral fee; for a Shopify store driven by Meta ads you would use your payment processing rate instead.
Keep exploring
Related tools
Amazon PPC Break-Even Calculator
Find your break-even ACoS, max CPC bid, and the conversion rate you need to stay profitable.
Open tool
Amazon Ads ROAS Calculator
Find your true ad ROAS, ACoS, break-even point, and the max CPC you can profitably bid.
Open tool
Selling Price Calculator
Find the exact price to charge to hit your target margin after marketplace and payment fees — the pricing tool that grosses up for fees so you never underprice.
Open tool
LTV CAC Calculator
Calculate customer LTV, CAC, the LTV:CAC ratio and payback period — then reverse it to find the max CAC you can afford. All on gross profit, in any currency.
Open tool
Category
Ecommerce Seller Operations
Subcategory
ads marketing
Availability
Global · 9 markets
Price
Free forever
Topics
break-even roasberoastarget roasroas calculatoracosminimum profitable roasdropshippingppcadvertisingcalculator
Explore 500+ more tools
Calculators, simulators, and decision tools for every stage of business operations.