ScaleyROAS Calculator for Google Ads
ROAS (return on ad spend) is the revenue your ads bring in divided by what they cost. Spend $1,000 and make $4,000 in sales, and your ROAS is 4x, or 400%. A ROAS is only good if it beats your break-even ROAS, and that comes from your margin.
The ROAS Formula
- ROAS
- revenue from ads / ad spend
- ROAS as a percent
- ROAS x 100
- ACoS
- ad spend / revenue x 100
- Most you can spend
- revenue / target ROAS
- Revenue you need
- ad spend x target ROAS
ROAS tells you how many dollars of sales came back for every dollar you put into ads. 3x means $3 back for $1.
Google shows ROAS in two ways. The Conv. value / cost column is the ratio, like 3. The Target ROAS bid strategy takes a percent, like 300%. They mean the same thing. Google's own help page uses this sum: $5 in sales for $1 of ad spend is a 500% target ROAS.
ACoS (advertising cost of sale) is the same number turned upside down. Amazon sellers use it. 25% ACoS is 4x ROAS.
Three Worked Examples
A Skincare Store That Is Winning
Last month: $3,200 on Google Ads, $9,600 in sales from those ads. Break-even ROAS is 2.5x.
- ROAS: $9,600 / $3,200 = 3x (300%)
- Break-even: 2.5x
- Gap: +0.5x
Above break-even, so on average, sales make money. This store can push budget up in small steps and watch that ROAS hold.
A Gadget Store That Only Looks Fine
$3,000 spend, $5,400 in sales. The owner is happy with "almost 2x". Break-even ROAS is 2.2x.
- ROAS: $5,400 / $3,000 = 1.8x
- Break-even: 2.2x
- Gap: -0.4x
1.8x sounds fine. It is under break-even, so this store pays to sell. Fix the leaks or the margin before spending one more dollar.
Planning a Month from a Target
You need a 3.5x ROAS to keep your profit, and you want $14,000 in ad sales next month.
- Most you can spend: $14,000 / 3.5 = $4,000
- Or flip it: $4,000 spend x 3.5 = $14,000 in sales
If $4,000 won't buy enough clicks to get those sales, the target is not real yet. Our budget calculator tells you how many clicks you need.
Judge Your ROAS Against Break-Even
It depends on your margin. There is no honest single number. A 4x ROAS is great for a store with a 50% margin and a loss for a store with a 20% margin.
The test is simple. A good ROAS is one above your break-even ROAS, with room for the profit you want to keep. Work out your break-even first, then judge your ROAS against it. The margin table is in what is a good ROAS.
Also look at what ROAS you are reading. Google's ROAS only counts sales Google tracked, which is why enhanced conversions matter. Your store-wide number (blended ROAS) counts all sales against all ad spend, and it is the one your bank account agrees with.
ACoS to ROAS, and Back
They are two ways to say the same thing. ROAS = 100 / ACoS. ACoS = 100 / ROAS. So 25% ACoS is 4x ROAS, and 2x ROAS is 50% ACoS.
Selling on Amazon and Google at once? Convert one into the other before you compare. Use the third tab in the calculator.
Common Mistakes
Calling a ROAS good without a break-even
3x means nothing on its own. Compare it to your break-even ROAS every time.
Mixing up 3 and 300%
Google's Target ROAS box takes a percent. Type 3 there and you asked for 3%, which tells Google to spend almost anything.
Reading ROAS with broken tracking
If every sale is counted twice, ROAS doubles on paper. Check Google's sales against your store's sales for the same week.
Letting brand searches prop it up
People who type your store name were going to buy anyway. Their sales make ROAS look better than the ads really are.
Judging on a few days
Small stores swing a lot day to day. Look at a full week or longer before you change a target.
Questions People Ask
Divide the revenue from your ads by what the ads cost. $4,000 in sales from $1,000 of spend is a ROAS of 4, often written 4x or 400%.
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