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Break-even ROAS calculator

Your break-even ROAS is decided by your margin, not by your ad account. Enter what an order is actually worth after goods, shipping, fees and returns, and this says the return you have to clear — and the most you can pay for a customer.

Average order value, netExcluding VAT — the ad platform reports gross, your margin does not.€Cost of goods per orderWhat the goods in an average basket cost you to buy or make.€Shipping & packaging per orderCarrier cost plus packaging, net of any shipping the customer pays.€Payment & platform feesAs a percentage of order value. Marketplaces are far higher than cards.%Return rateThe share of orders that come back. Peak months are usually double.%

Break-even ROAS

2.34×

Anything below this and the order loses money before it ships.

Payment fees per order: €1.89
Contribution before returns: €27.91
Contribution after returns: €25.26
Maximum you can pay per order: €25.26
Contribution margin: 42.8%

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The number

Why break-even ROAS is a margin question

Break-even ROAS is simply order value divided by what an order contributes. A shop with a 30% contribution margin has to clear 3.3×; a shop at 50% clears 2×. Nothing you do in the ad account changes that — only your prices and your costs do.

Break-even ROAS = order value ÷ contribution per order

Getting it right

Ad platforms report revenue gross and before returns — both make the reported ROAS look better than the real one.
This is a break-even, not a target. Fixed costs still have to be paid out of what is left above it.
Repeat customers change the maths entirely — see the LTV calculator before setting a ceiling.

LTV & LTV:CAC calculator CAC payback calculator Selling price calculator

Templates that go further

Change the ad budget

Move the spend and watch margin, cash and the runway date move with it, before you change anything in the ad account.

Shop revenue forecastSessions × conversion × basket, down to the contribution margin and the ROAS you need.Contribution margin per productWhat each product leaves behind once the costs that follow it are paid.Returns & shipping costsWhat a parcel out and a parcel back really cost you — per order, per month.

Change the ad budget All Excel templates

Questions

Break-even ROAS calculator — What people ask about it

Should I use gross or net order value?

Net. VAT is never yours, so counting it inflates both the order value and the ROAS. If your ad platform reports gross, divide by 1.19 before comparing.

Can I run below break-even ROAS?

Only if customers come back. A first order at break-even is fine when the second and third are profitable — which means you need a repeat rate you have measured, not one you assume.

One number is an average. Your cash moves day by day.

Connect your accounting data and Foreqast keeps this calculation live — with every committed cost on the date it actually lands.

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