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Free tools/Campaigns

Ad metrics and break-even ROAS calculator

Turn a campaign's spend, impressions, clicks and sales into CPM, CPC, CTR, CPA and ROAS, find the return you need to break even at your margin, and plan a budget across Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Google. In AED, SAR or USD.

Free, no sign-up, and it runs in your browser

What do you want to do
Currency
Return on ad spend
3.17x
Above break-even by 0.67x: at this margin the campaign makes money after paying for the ads and the goods.
AED 25.00
CPM
Cost per 1,000 impressions
AED 1.94
CPC
Cost per click
1.29%
CTR
Clicks per impression
AED 85.71
CPA
Cost per conversion
2.26%
Conversion rate
Conversions per click
2.50x
Break-even ROAS
The return that pays for the ads
  • AED 3,200 profit

    Revenue × your margin, less what was spent on the ads.

Every figure is one number divided by another, with the formulas below. Nothing here is compared with an industry average: what counts as a good CPM depends on the market, the audience and the season, so compare with your own past campaigns.

What it does

Every figure is one of your numbers divided by another. CPM is spend divided by impressions, times 1,000. CPC is spend over clicks, CTR is clicks over impressions, CPA is spend over conversions, conversion rate is conversions over clicks, and ROAS is revenue over spend. Nothing is graded against an industry average, because a sensible CPM depends on the market, the audience and the season. It is all worked out in your browser as you type.

What the calculator asks for instead is your profit margin. Break-even ROAS is one divided by that margin, and it is the line that matters: above it the ads pay for themselves, below it more budget simply loses more money. The planner runs the same sums forwards, from budget to impressions, clicks and conversions, so you can see what a change in one rate does to the cost per result before a budget is agreed rather than after.

How to use it

  1. Choose AED, SAR or USD and enter spend, impressions, clicks, conversions and revenue.
  2. Add your profit margin to see break-even ROAS and profit.
  3. For a forward plan, put in a budget along with the CPM, click-through and conversion rates your recent campaigns achieved.
  4. Split the budget across Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and Google and compare the cost per result.

Questions, answered

How is CPM calculated?

Take the spend, divide it by impressions and multiply by 1,000. Spending AED 12,000 to get 480,000 impressions works out at AED 25 per thousand. CPM is effectively the price of attention, and most platforms bid and report on it.

What is a good ROAS?

One that clears your break-even point, which comes from your own margin, not from other people's campaigns. With a 40% margin, 2.5x only covers the ads and the goods; with 20%, you need 5x. That is why the calculator asks for your margin rather than scoring you against an average.

How is break-even ROAS worked out?

Divide one by your profit margin. Keep AED 40 from each AED 100 sale after product costs and your margin is 40%, so break-even is 1 divided by 0.4, or 2.5x. Anything under that and each sale the ads generate costs you money.

What is the difference between CPA and CPC?

CPC is the price of a click. CPA is the price of an outcome, such as a sale or a lead. A cheap click that never converts can end up more expensive per sale than a costly one that does, so where you can track results, judge on CPA and ROAS.

Which numbers should I plan a budget with?

Your own history: CPM, click-through rate and conversion rate from recent campaigns in the same market and on the same platform, aimed at a similar audience. Costs move with the calendar (Ramadan and White Friday both push them up), so the same period last year is the best reference when you have it.

What does a low CPC with few sales tell me?

Usually that the ad and the landing page promise different things. By contrast, a high CPM with a strong CTR can still be a good buy, because you are paying more to reach people who act. Always compare like with like: the same platform, market and season.

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