This calculator is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Results are estimates based on inputs you provide. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making financial decisions.
ROI / ROAS Calculator
Analyze the profitability of your investments or marketing campaigns.
Your Details
Total cost (e.g. ad spend, stock purchase).
Total revenue or current value.
Profit Breakdown
ROI (Return on Investment) measures the gain or loss generated on an investment relative to the amount of money invested.
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) is a marketing metric that measures the efficacy of a digital advertising campaign.
Return on investment (ROI) and return on ad spend (ROAS) answer the same question from two angles: for every dollar you put in, what came back? ROI measures net profit against total cost and applies to any investment; ROAS measures revenue against advertising spend and is the everyday metric for paid marketing.
The two formulas
ROI = (gain − cost) ÷ cost × 100, so a $10,000 investment that returns $12,500 has an ROI of 25%. ROAS = revenue ÷ ad spend, expressed as a ratio: $5,000 of sales from $1,000 of ads is a ROAS of 5, or 500%. The difference matters — ROAS ignores the cost of the goods sold, so a 3× ROAS on a product with a 30% gross margin is actually a loss once you account for what the product cost you. The calculator shows both, plus the annualised ROI when you enter a holding period, so a 25% return over three years is not mistaken for 25% a year.
When to use this calculator
Use ROI to compare unlike investments — a piece of equipment, a course, a property, a marketing campaign — on the same footing. Use ROAS to decide whether to scale a specific ad campaign, and pair it with your gross margin to find the break-even ROAS: 1 ÷ margin. A store with a 40% margin breaks even at a ROAS of 2.5; anything below that loses money regardless of how healthy the ratio looks on the dashboard.
Worked example
A campaign spends $2,000 and produces $7,000 in sales: ROAS is 3.5. If the goods sold cost $4,200, the campaign's net gain is $7,000 − $4,200 − $2,000 = $800, an ROI of 40% on the ad spend. Now suppose the same $2,000 bought a used espresso machine that adds $300 of profit a month; after a year the gain is $3,600 and the ROI is 80%, which is why comparing the two on ROI rather than on revenue gives the honest answer.