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Advertising

Break-even ROAS

The ROAS at which a campaign exactly covers its costs — no profit, no loss.

Break-even ROAS is the return where an ad campaign pays for itself exactly. Above it you profit; below it you lose money — even if the platform reports a ‘positive’ ROAS. It falls straight out of your contribution margin: fatter margins break even at a lower ROAS.

Formula

Break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ Contribution margin

Example: A 40% margin → 1 ÷ 0.40 = 2.5× break-even ROAS.

What a good result depends on

Lower is better — it means each sale carries more margin to fund ads.

Common mistakes

  • Setting ROAS targets without knowing your margin.
  • Forgetting variable costs beyond COGS in the margin.
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