What Is ROAS (and Break-Even ROAS)?
Revenue earned per dollar of ad spend, and the minimum ratio at which you're not losing money.
What it means
ROAS (return on ad spend) is the revenue you earn for every dollar spent on ads — a ROAS of 4 means $4 back for every $1 spent. Break-even ROAS is the minimum ratio where you're covering your costs, based on your profit margin, not just your ad spend.
Why it matters
A ROAS that sounds impressive can still be a loss if your margins are thin. Knowing your break-even ROAS — not just the raw number — is what tells you whether a campaign is actually profitable or just generating revenue that costs more than it returns.
ask datanephew
What's my break-even ROAS?
Tell datanephew your typical profit margin and it can work out the ROAS you need just to cover costs, so you know what "good" actually looks like for your business.
Is this campaign's ROAS actually profitable?
Ask datanephew to compare the campaign's ROAS against your break-even number — a high-looking ROAS can still fall short once margin is factored in.