How is paid ads ROI calculated?

Subtract ad spend from the revenue it produced, divide by ad spend, and multiply by 100. For $40,000 on $20,000 spend it is 100%.

What is a good paid ads ROI?

It varies by platform and funnel stage, so the figure here is orientation. Retargeting usually returns more than cold prospecting.

How is paid ads ROI different from ROAS?

ROI nets out spend and reflects profit on the spend; ROAS shows gross revenue per dollar. A 100% ROI equals a 2:1 ROAS before other costs.

How do I raise paid ads ROI?

Cut poor campaigns, improve targeting and creative, and lift post-click conversion. Watch saturation as spend scales.

Calculator · 061

Paid Ads ROI Calculator

Measure the net return on paid advertising — and decide whether to scale the spend, fix efficiency, or pull back.

Revenue

Ad spend

Paid ads ROI

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Average

Scenario lens Current · Benchmark · Optimized

Leverage

Formula

ROI = (Revenue − Ad spend) / Ad spend × 100

Understanding paid ads ROI

Reference material — the calculator above stays the primary tool.

What paid ads ROI measures measures

Paid ads ROI is the net return on advertising spend across platforms — revenue earned beyond the cost of the ads themselves. It is return on investment: the gain produced for every dollar spent, expressed as a percentage. A positive figure means the spend earned more than it cost; a negative one means it lost money.

Because it is a ratio, ROI lets you compare very different investments on equal footing — a small efficient spend and a large one resolve to the same scale.

How to read your result

The result is labelled against an orientation benchmark so the number resolves into a decision:

Low — well under the benchmark; the spend barely returns its cost. Average — near the benchmark; efficiency work pays off. Strong — at or above; the spend earns well and scaling compounds.

paid ads ROI benchmarks

Returns vary by channel, offer, and maturity. Treat these as orientation, not targets.

Context	Typical median
Strong	150%+
Healthy	75–150%
Marginal	0–75%
Losing	Below 0%

Levers that raise return

Cut spend on poor-performing campaigns, improve targeting and creative, and raise post-click conversion so each dollar of spend returns more. Watch frequency and audience saturation as spend scales. Model a higher return as a scenario above to see the additional gain it implies at the same spend.

Return in context

Read paid ads ROI alongside the platform-specific ROI tools and ROAS, which the related tools cover. ROI nets out spend while ROAS shows gross return; use both to confirm scaling stays profitable as costs rise.