How is ROI calculated?

Subtract cost from gain, divide by cost, and multiply by 100. For a $40,000 gain on $20,000 cost it is 100%.

It depends on the investment and risk, so the 100% (2:1) figure here is orientation. Higher-risk spend should clear a higher bar; compare to alternatives.

What is the difference between ROI and ROAS?

ROI uses net gain over cost and reflects profit; ROAS uses gross revenue over ad spend. ROI is stricter because it nets out the cost.

How do I improve ROI?

Raise the gain a spend produces or lower its cost. Reallocating budget from low-return to high-return spend usually moves it most.

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ROI Calculator

Measure the return on any investment — and decide whether the economics justify scaling it or call for correction.

Gain

Cost

Return on investment

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Average

Scenario lens Current · Benchmark · Optimized

Leverage

Formula

ROI = (Gain − Cost) / Cost × 100

Understanding ROI

Reference material — the calculator above stays the primary tool.

What ROI measures measures

ROI is the most general profitability ratio there is, applied to any spend — a campaign, a hire, a tool, a project. 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.

ROI benchmarks

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

Context	Typical median
Strong investment	100%+ (2:1 and up)
Healthy	50–100%
Marginal	0–50%
Losing	Below 0%

Levers that raise return

Raise the gain a spend produces, or lower the cost to produce it. Because ROI is a ratio, improving either side moves it; the largest gains usually come from cutting waste in low-return spend and reallocating to high-return spend. Model a higher return as a scenario above to see the additional gain it implies at the same spend.

Return in context

Read ROI alongside ROAS and profit margin, which the related tools cover. ROI uses net gain over cost, while ROAS uses gross revenue over ad spend; pair them so a strong ratio is not hiding thin margin.