Ad spend calculator: ROAS, cost per lead & budget
This ad spend calculator follows your budget from clicks to leads to paying customers. Enter your budget, cost per click, the share of clicks that become leads and the share of leads you close. It shows cost per lead, customer acquisition cost, revenue, ROAS, profit after ads, the highest cost per click that still breaks even, and the budget needed for your customer goal.
How to use the ad spend & roas calculator
- Enter your monthly ad budget and your average cost per click from your ad account.
- Enter the percent of clicks that become leads (form fills or calls).
- Enter the percent of leads that become paying customers.
- Enter your average sale and your gross margin on it.
- Add how many customers you want to see the budget it takes.
Formulas
| Cost per lead | cost per click ÷ lead rate |
|---|---|
| Customer acquisition cost (CAC) | cost per click ÷ (lead rate × close rate) |
| ROAS | revenue from ads ÷ ad spend |
| Break-even ROAS | 1 ÷ gross margin At a 50% margin you need $2 back for every $1 of ads to break even on the first sale. |
Questions
What is a good ROAS?
A good ROAS is one above your break-even ROAS, which is 1 divided by your gross margin. At a 50% margin, break-even ROAS is 2, so $2 in sales per $1 of ads. At a 25% margin it's 4. Repeat customers can justify a lower first-sale ROAS.
How do I calculate cost per lead?
Cost per lead is ad spend divided by the number of leads it brought in. From click data it's your cost per click divided by the percent of clicks that become leads: $2 per click at a 10% lead rate is $20 per lead.
What is customer acquisition cost?
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is what you spend in ads to win one paying customer: ad spend divided by new customers. If $1,000 of ads brings 10 customers, CAC is $100. Keep it below the gross profit of a customer's first sale, or their lifetime value if they come back.
How much should I spend on ads?
Ad spend should be set from your goal, not a guess: customers wanted × customer acquisition cost. With a $100 CAC, 20 new customers a month needs about $2,000. Start smaller, measure your real lead and close rates, then raise the budget while ROAS stays above break-even.
See which ads actually bring customers
- Pull leads in from Facebook, Instagram and Google Ads
- Every lead keeps its source through the pipeline
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