Marketing ROI Calculator
Whether your marketing makes money — measured on gross profit, not revenue.
Your numbers
Your result
- Total spend (including fees)
- $14,500
- Gross profit generated
- $40,320
- Marketing ROI (on gross profit)
- 178.1%
- ROI if you (wrongly) use revenueShown to illustrate how revenue-based ROI overstates results.
- 562.1%
- ROAS (revenue ÷ spend)
- 6.62
- Break-even ROAS at your marginBelow this, the campaign loses money.
- 2.38
- Gross profit per $1 spent
- $2.78
- Cost to acquire a customer
- $453
- Lifetime gross profit per customer
- $1,848
- LTV : CAC ratio
- 4.1:1
- Spend ceiling at break-even
- $40,320
178% ROI — this is working.
Every dollar returns $2.78 in gross profit. Scale it while the numbers hold, and re-check monthly — channels degrade as you spend more.
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What this number actually tells you
Almost every marketing report you'll ever be shown measures return on revenue. That's the number that makes agencies look good and owners feel confused. Revenue isn't yours — the margin on it is. A 4× return on revenue at a 25% gross margin is break-even, not success.
This calculator measures ROI on gross profit and gives you your break-even ROAS: the minimum revenue-per-dollar your margin requires. Anything below that line loses money no matter how good the dashboard looks.
It also includes agency fees in spend, which most reports quietly exclude. If you pay $2,500 a month to manage $10,000 in ads, your spend is $12,500.
How the math works
- 01Total spend = ad spend + agency and management fees + production costs.
- 02Gross profit generated = attributed revenue × gross margin %.
- 03Marketing ROI % = (gross profit − total spend) ÷ total spend × 100.
- 04ROAS = attributed revenue ÷ total spend. Break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ gross margin %.
- 05CAC = total spend ÷ new customers. LTV:CAC = lifetime gross profit per customer ÷ CAC.
What to do with the answer
- Ask your agency for revenue and closed jobs, not impressions, clicks and 'engagement'. If they can't produce closed revenue, you can't measure them.
- Compare each channel against your break-even ROAS individually. Blended numbers hide the channel that's carrying the loser.
- Check answer rate and follow-up speed before killing a campaign. Unanswered leads look identical to bad leads in a report.
- Target an LTV:CAC ratio of at least 3:1 for a healthy acquisition engine.
Want someone to read these numbers with you?
The Growth Assessment is a 30-minute conversation about what your numbers are telling you and what to fix first. No pitch deck, no PDF.
Schedule Your Growth Assessment Or call (737) 888-0415Questions owners ask about this
What is a good marketing ROI for a small business?
Measured on gross profit, 100% ROI (two dollars of gross profit per dollar spent) is a solid working channel and 200%+ is strong. Anything near 0% means marketing is buying you activity, not profit.
How do I know if my marketing agency is ripping me off?
Ask three questions: how many leads did you generate, how many became customers, and what revenue did those customers produce. An agency that answers with impressions, clicks, rankings or 'brand awareness' either can't measure results or doesn't want to.
Should I measure marketing ROI on revenue or profit?
Gross profit, always. Revenue-based ROI overstates performance by the inverse of your margin. At a 40% margin, a campaign showing 150% revenue ROI is actually near break-even.
Use these next
Marketing & Sales
CAC Calculator
What a customer costs you across marketing, sales and fees — and your payback period.
Marketing & Sales
Customer Lifetime Value Calculator
The gross profit a customer produces over their life — and what you can pay to get one.
Marketing & Sales
Lead Value Calculator
What one lead is worth in gross profit — and the most you should ever pay for one.
Marketing & Sales
Conversion Rate Calculator
Stage-by-stage funnel conversion, plus what a few points are worth in dollars.