Break Even ROAS & Target CPA Calculator.
Break even ROAS is your average order value divided by the gross profit that order leaves behind, so a 30% margin needs roughly a 3.33x return before advertising has paid for itself. Your target CPA is that gross profit less whatever share of it you want to keep. Both numbers come out of your margin, which is why a ROAS target quoted without one is guesswork.
Free, no sign up, no email. It runs in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to us or to anyone else.
2.56x
Return on ad spend you need before advertising has paid for itself.
₱975.00
The most you can pay for an order and still not lose money.
Keeping 30% of the profit
3.66x
Target ROAS. This is the number worth putting in a bidding strategy.
₱682.50
Target cost per acquisition.
At a 2% conversion rate, the most you can pay for a click is ₱13.65. Pay more than that consistently and the account loses money however good the ads are.
Gross profit per order: ₱975.00. Every figure here is worked out in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.
How this works.
Break even is decided by profit, not revenue
A campaign does not break even when it returns what it cost. It breaks even when the profit on what it sold covers what it cost to sell. Those are very different numbers, and mixing them up is the single most common reason an account looks healthy in the platform and hollow in the bank.
So the calculation starts from gross profit per order: your average order value, less the cost of the goods, less the costs that only exist because the order happened. Shipping, payment fees, packaging and the returns you know you will get. Whatever survives that is the most you could ever pay to acquire the order.
Which makes break even ROAS a margin question
If an order worth 2,500 leaves 975 behind, you can spend up to 975 to win it, and 2,500 divided by 975 is 2.56. That is your break even ROAS. Nothing about the platform, the creative or the bidding strategy changes it.
This is why the ROAS targets people quote to each other are close to useless. A 4x return is comfortable on a 40% margin and loss making on a 15% one. The only defensible target is the one your own margin produces.
Target CPA is what you actually bid to
Break even is a floor, not a plan. If you want the advertising to make money rather than wash its face, you decide what share of each order's profit stays in the business and spend the rest. Keep 30% and your target CPA is 70% of gross profit.
That target CPA is the number worth putting into a bidding strategy, and the number to judge a campaign against. Divide it by your conversion rate and you also have the most you can pay for a click, which is the figure that tells you immediately whether a keyword is affordable at all.
Where this calculation stops
It assumes the sale it counts is the whole relationship. For a business where customers come back, the honest ceiling is higher, because the first order is buying a customer rather than a transaction. If you know your repeat rate, work from lifetime gross profit instead and every figure here moves in your favour.
It also assumes your tracking is telling the truth. A conversion count that is double counting, or missing a third of orders, will produce a confident target that is quietly wrong. Fixing the measurement comes before optimizing against it.
Questions we get asked.
What is a good ROAS?
- There is no such number in the abstract. Good is anything above the break even ROAS your own margin produces, and a 4x return that sounds strong is a loss on a 15% margin. Work out break even first, then set a target above it that leaves you the profit you actually want.
How do I calculate break even ROAS?
- Divide your average order value by the gross profit that order leaves behind. Gross profit is the order value less the cost of goods and less the variable costs the order causes, such as shipping, payment fees and packaging. If an order worth 2,500 leaves 975, break even ROAS is 2,500 divided by 975, or 2.56.
What is the difference between break even CPA and target CPA?
- Break even CPA is the entire gross profit on an order: pay that and you have made nothing. Target CPA is the part of it you are willing to spend, after setting aside the profit you want to keep. Break even is a limit, target is a plan.
Should I use lifetime value instead of order value?
- If customers reliably come back, yes, and it will raise every ceiling here. Use lifetime gross profit rather than lifetime revenue, and be conservative about the repeat rate. Bidding against a lifetime value that has not happened yet is how accounts run out of cash while the dashboard looks fine.
Is this calculator free?
- Yes, with no sign up and no email. It runs entirely in your browser, so the figures you enter are never sent to us or stored anywhere.
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