Break-Even ROAS Calculator

Find your break-even ROAS, maximum CPA and target ROAS from price, costs and fees.

Your numbers, per order

Break-even ROAS 2.13× · target 3.13×

Selling price

What the customer pays for one order, before tax.

Product cost (COGS)

What the item costs you, landed.

Shipping and packing

Your cost per order, minus any shipping the customer pays.

Platform fees

Marketplace or app fees as % of price.

Payment fees

Card processing as % of price.

Other variable costs

Per order: fixed card fee, inserts, returns allowance.

Profit you want to keep

% of price left after ad spend.

Result

Every $1 of ads must bring in $2.13 in sales to break even.

Break-even ROAS

2.13×

Break-even ACoS 47.0%

Contribution margin: $28.20; 47.0% of price
Max cost per acquisition: $28.20; Ad spend per order at break-even
Target ROAS at 15% profit: 3.13×; $1 of ads → $3.13 of sales
Target CPA: $19.20; Keeps $9.00 per order

Where each sale goes

Selling price	$60.00
Product cost	−$18.00
Shipping and packing	−$7.00
Fees (8.0% of price)	−$4.80
Other variable costs	−$2.00
Contribution margin (before ads)	$28.20

Break-even ROAS if price or product cost changes

Price ↓ · COGS →	−10% ($16.20)	$18.00	+10% ($19.80)
−10% ($54.00)	2.21×	2.38×	2.59×
$60.00	2.00×	2.13×	2.27×
+10% ($66.00)	1.86×	1.96×	2.07×

Fees move with price, because they’re a percentage of it.

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How it works

Enter the numbers for one typical order. The example values are there so you can see a result straight away; replace them with yours. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Fees are your platform and payment percentages applied to the selling price. Contribution margin is what’s left of the price after product cost, shipping, fees and other variable costs. It’s the money each order has to pay for advertising and profit.

Break-even ROAS is the selling price divided by the contribution margin. At that ROAS your ad spend per order equals your margin, so profit is zero. Break-even ACoS is the same point written the way Amazon Ads reports it: margin as a percentage of price. Max CPA, the most you can pay in ads to win one order, is the contribution margin itself.

Target ROAS answers a different question: what ROAS do you need to keep a chosen profit, as a percentage of the selling price, after ads? The tool sets that profit aside, treats the rest of the margin as your ad budget per order, and divides the price by it. If the profit you want is larger than the margin, no ROAS can reach it and the result says so.

The sensitivity table repeats the break-even calculation with the price and the product cost each moved down and up by 10%. Fees move with the price, because they’re a percentage of it. Use it to see which lever matters more for your product. Copy the link to share the exact numbers.

Example

A product sells for $60.00. Say your fees are 5% to the platform and 3% for card payments.

Selling price	$60.00
Product cost	−$18.00
Shipping and packing	−$7.00
Fees (8% of $60.00)	−$4.80
Other variable costs	−$2.00
Contribution margin	$28.20 (47%)

Break-even ROAS is 60.00 ÷ 28.20 = 2.13×, break-even ACoS is 47%, and you can spend up to $28.20 in ads per order before losing money. To keep 15% of the price ($9.00) as profit, the ad budget per order drops to $19.20, so the target ROAS is 60.00 ÷ 19.20 = 3.13×. If the product cost rose 10% to $19.80, break-even ROAS would move to 2.27×.

FAQ

What is break-even ROAS?

ROAS is return on ad spend: sales from ads divided by what the ads cost. Break-even ROAS is the point where the margin left on those sales exactly pays for the ads, so you make no profit and no loss. Below it, every ad-driven order costs you money; above it, you keep the difference.

How is break-even ROAS calculated?

Subtract product cost, shipping, fees and other per-order costs from the selling price to get the contribution margin. Break-even ROAS is the selling price divided by that margin. With a 60.00 price and a 28.20 margin, break-even ROAS is 60 ÷ 28.20 = 2.13, so each dollar of ads needs 2.13 dollars of sales.

What is the difference between ROAS and ACoS?

They measure the same thing from opposite sides. ROAS divides sales by ad spend; ACoS, the figure Amazon Ads reports, divides ad spend by sales and shows it as a percentage. Break-even ACoS equals your contribution margin as a percentage of price, and it is 1 divided by break-even ROAS.

What should I count as other variable costs?

Anything you pay again for every order that isn’t already in the other fields: a fixed per-transaction card fee, packaging inserts, a returns allowance, pick-and-pack charges or an app fee per order. Leave out fixed monthly costs like rent, software subscriptions and salaries; they don’t change with each extra sale.

Why is my target ROAS “not reachable”?

The profit you asked to keep is larger than your contribution margin, so even with zero ad spend you wouldn’t reach it. For example, a 47% margin can’t also leave a 50% profit. Lower the target, raise the price or reduce costs; the table below the result shows how much price and product cost changes help.

Do ROAS figures in ad platforms match this?

Ad platforms usually count revenue including tax and sometimes shipping, and attribute sales using their own rules. Enter the selling price the same way your platform reports revenue, so the comparison is like for like. The calculator only uses the numbers you type; it doesn’t connect to any ad account.