Return on ad spend (ROAS)
Monetisation metric. Do they pay, and is it worth what they cost?
What is return on ad spend?
Return on ad spend (ROAS) is the revenue attributed to advertising divided by what that advertising cost, shown as a percentage or a multiple.
D7 ROAS: revenue in the first 7 days from one day's installs divided by that day's spend.
Break-even ROAS: the ROAS needed for gross margin to equal ad spend.
How to calculate ROAS
ROAS = Attributed revenue ÷ Ad spend × 100- Attributed revenue
- revenue from users credited to the campaign, within the ROAS window
- Ad spend
- media cost for the same campaign and period
Where definitions differ
| Variant | Formula | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Cohort ROAS (D0, D7, D30) | Revenue by day n from one day's installs ÷ That day's spend | The standard for UA; each day is compared at the same age. |
| Period ROAS | Revenue in the period ÷ Spend in the period | Simple, but mixes revenue from older installs. |
| Marketing ROI | (Revenue × Gross margin − Spend) ÷ Spend × 100 | Uses profit, not revenue; can be negative while ROAS looks fine. |
| Break-even ROAS | 100 ÷ Gross margin (%) × 100 | The ROAS at which margin covers spend. |
By channel: ROAS by channel and creative depends on revenue events tied to the campaign that drove the install; MMPs such as Linkrunner, AppsFlyer and Adjust join spend, installs and revenue for this.
ROAS calculator
Example inputs: change them to your own numbers. The examples only make the calculator show a worked answer; they are not benchmarks or targets. Runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.
- ROAS
- 80%
- ROAS as a multiple
- 0.8x
- Break-even ROAS
- 142.9%
- Marketing ROI (on gross margin)
- -44%
How do you calculate mobile marketing ROI?
Take the gross profit your attributed revenue produced (revenue times gross margin), subtract the ad spend, and divide by the ad spend. ROAS uses revenue alone, so an app can show ROAS above 100% and still lose money.
How ROAS differs by vertical
| EdTech | Early ROAS is low when payment follows a trial; track D30 and D90. |
|---|---|
| Fintech | Revenue arrives slowly, so ROAS on a proxy event (first deposit value) is common. |
| OTT and streaming | Subscription revenue makes D30 ROAS the first meaningful read. |
| Gaming | D0, D7 and D30 ROAS are the core bidding signals. |
Common mistakes
- Comparing a D7 ROAS with a D30 ROAS.
- Using gross revenue when margin is low.
- Trusting ad platform ROAS and MMP ROAS as the same number; they attribute differently.
Questions
How is ROAS calculated?
Divide attributed revenue by ad spend and multiply by 100. $16k of revenue on $20k of spend is 80% ROAS, or 0.8x.
What is break-even ROAS?
It is the ROAS at which gross profit equals ad spend: 100 divided by your gross margin. At a 70% margin, break-even ROAS is about 143%.
Why do Meta and my MMP show different ROAS?
They use different attribution windows and rules, and an MMP deduplicates installs that several networks claim, so revenue is credited differently.
Are the calculator's example inputs benchmarks?
No. The example inputs only make the calculator show a worked answer when the page loads; they are not typical, good or target values. Replace them with your own numbers.
Does the calculator send my numbers anywhere?
No. It runs entirely in your browser, and nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.
Why do tools report different values for the same metric?
Because definitions differ: what counts as active, which attribution window applies, whether organic users are included and how days are cut by timezone. Align the definition before comparing numbers.