ROAS Breakeven Calculator
Find the breakeven ROAS and maximum cost per sale for your product — the exact ad efficiency and CPA where a paid campaign stops losing money.
How it works
Gross profit per order = price − COGS − shipping − other · Breakeven ROAS = price ÷ gross profit per order · Max cost per sale (CPA) = gross profit per order · Margin before ads = gross profit ÷ price × 100
ROAS — return on ad spend — is revenue divided by ad spend, but a “good” ROAS is meaningless without knowing your margin. The breakeven ROAS is the point where ad-driven revenue exactly covers the ad cost plus the product’s own costs: it equals the selling price divided by the gross profit left after COGS, shipping and other per-order costs. Its mirror image is the maximum CPA — the most you can pay to acquire one sale, which is simply the gross profit per order. Thin margins force a high breakeven ROAS (you must sell efficiently); fat margins let you buy customers aggressively and still profit.
Worked example
A $50 product with $15 COGS, $6 shipping and $2 other costs has $27 gross profit per order — a 54.0% pre-ad margin. Breakeven ROAS = 50 ÷ 27 = 1.85x, and the maximum you can pay per sale is $27. Run ads at a 3x ROAS and you clear breakeven comfortably; drop below 1.85x and each sale loses money.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good ROAS?
There is no universal answer — it depends entirely on your margin. A business with a $27 gross profit on a $50 product breaks even at 1.85x, so a 3x ROAS is healthy. A low-margin product might need 4x or 5x just to break even. Always compare your actual ROAS against your breakeven, not a generic benchmark.
How is breakeven ROAS related to max CPA?
They are two views of the same limit. Breakeven ROAS is expressed as a ratio (price ÷ gross profit), while max CPA is a dollar amount (the gross profit itself). If you prefer to think in cost-per-acquisition targets for your ad platform, use the max CPA; if you optimize by ROAS, use the ratio.
Should I include payment and platform fees?
Yes — put transaction fees, packaging and any per-order overhead into the “other” field. Every cost that scales with each sale shrinks the gross profit that funds your ads, which raises your breakeven ROAS. Leaving them out makes campaigns look more profitable than they are.
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Estimate only — real payouts and returns depend on rates, taxes and factors outside this tool. Educational, not financial advice.