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Free operator tool

Breakeven ROAS Calculator

Breakeven ROAS is the return on ad spend where an order makes exactly zero profit: AOV divided by contribution margin per order. This calculator computes yours the way an operator has to: VAT off the top, payment and COD fees priced in, rejected parcels charged for round-trip shipping, and a launch planner that turns a profit goal into required spend, orders per day, and revenue.

Your numbers

What the customer pays per order, after discounts, incl. any shipping you charge

Landed COGS, blended across bundles

Pick, pack + outbound shipping

Card processing or COD collection

Enter costs net of VAT (you reclaim input VAT). Mixed-rate basket? Use your revenue-weighted average rate.

+ Operator mode: COD, returns, fixed costs

Refused + returned parcels, % of orders

Courier both ways; add product cost if returns can't be resold

SMS fee, COD minimum, per-order charges

Packaging, inserts, shrinkage allowance

Tools, team, warehouse. Not your salary? Add it.

Save this scenario

Every change is encoded in the URL. Copy it to share exact numbers with a partner, or email yourself the full breakdown.

Your breakeven

Breakeven ROAS
2.33x
Below this, every order loses money
Breakeven CPA
€17.19
Max ad cost per order at zero profit

As your ads dashboard reports it (VAT-inclusive conversion value). On net revenue the same breakeven reads 1.94x. Contribution margin per order: €17.19 (€18.73 delivered, minus rejection drag).

Where one order goes

  • VAT€6.67
  • Product (COGS)€8
  • Fulfillment€5.5
  • Fees + other€1.1
  • Rejection drag€1.54
  • Your margin€17.19

Margin planner

target 15% net
ROAS for 15% net
3.57x
Run ads at or above this blended ROAS
Allowable CPA
€11.19
What you can pay per order and still hit target

Launch planner: monthly P&L

Revenue€30,000
Orders (€13.33 CPA)750
Contribution after product, shipping, fees€12,892
Ad spend- €10,000
Fixed costs- €1,500
Net profit (4.6% of revenue)€1,392

To bank €5,000/mo at 3.00x you need 1,686 orders (55.5/day), €22,476 ad spend and €67,427 revenue. Each order nets €3.86 after ads.

The math, honestly

How breakeven ROAS is actually calculated

Net AOV = AOV / (1 + VAT rate)
Contribution margin = Net AOV - COGS - fulfillment - fees - other variable costs
Real margin = margin x delivery rate - rejection rate x round-trip shipping
Breakeven ROAS = AOV / real margin per order
Breakeven CPA = real margin per order

Worked example with the calculator's starting numbers: a €40 AOV at 20% VAT is €33.33 net. Take away €8 product cost, €5.5 fulfillment, €0.6 payment fees and €0.5 packaging, and a delivered order carries €18.73 of margin. At a 6% COD rejection rate with €7 round-trip shipping on every refusal, the expected margin per placed order drops to €17.19. Breakeven ROAS: 2.33x. Breakeven CPA: €17.19.

The VAT trap in every US-made calculator

Ignore VAT and rejections on those same numbers and you get a breakeven of 1.54x: it looks like anything above 1.54x prints money. The honest number is 2.33x. That gap is where EU and COD-heavy stores quietly bleed: the dashboard says profitable while the bank account disagrees. Your ads dashboard reports conversion value with VAT inside, but VAT was never yours, and refused parcels bill you twice for shipping before producing zero revenue.

Planning a launch with it

The launch planner inverts the same math. Set the net profit you want per month, the blended ROAS you believe your ads can hold, and your fixed costs. It returns the ad spend, order volume per day, and revenue that plan requires. If the profit target is not reachable at your expected ROAS, it says so directly instead of showing a pretty chart: that is the moment to fix AOV, costs, or offer before spending a single euro or dollar on ads.

The same model runs our own planning: it is how we pressure-test client accounts and new product launches before a campaign goes live, and it pairs with the Meta ads system and CRO work that move the inputs this calculator measures.

Questions operators ask

Breakeven ROAS, answered

What is breakeven ROAS?
Breakeven ROAS is the return on ad spend at which an order produces exactly zero profit: revenue covers product cost, shipping, fees, VAT, and the ad cost itself, with nothing left over. The formula is AOV divided by contribution margin per order. Run ads below it and every sale loses money; everything above it is margin.
How do I calculate breakeven ROAS?
Start from your VAT-inclusive AOV, remove VAT to get net revenue, then subtract product cost, fulfillment, payment fees, and other variable costs per order. That remainder is your contribution margin. Breakeven ROAS = AOV / contribution margin. This calculator runs the same math live, including COD rejection losses that most calculators skip.
Does VAT count in ROAS?
Your ads dashboard reports conversion value with VAT included, but VAT is never your money. A 20% VAT rate means one sixth of reported revenue goes to the state before any cost is paid. If you compute breakeven from dashboard revenue without removing VAT, your real breakeven is meaningfully higher than you think. Enter your costs net of VAT, since a registered business reclaims input VAT, and if your basket mixes VAT rates, use a revenue-weighted average rate.
How do COD rejections change my breakeven ROAS?
A refused cash-on-delivery parcel produces zero revenue but still costs courier shipping both ways. At a 6% rejection rate, the margin from delivered orders has to carry those losses, which raises the breakeven ROAS for the whole account. The operator mode in this calculator prices that in explicitly. If returned goods cannot be resold, add the product cost to the round-trip shipping figure and the model absorbs the write-off too.
What is a good target ROAS above breakeven?
Set the target from the net margin you want, not from a generic benchmark. Pick a margin percentage in the margin planner and the calculator returns the exact blended ROAS and allowable CPA that produce it at your cost structure. Most healthy DTC accounts plan 10-20% net after ad spend and fixed costs.
Is this calculator free and can I save my numbers?
Yes, free and no signup. Every input is encoded in the page URL, so copying the link saves the exact scenario. You can also email yourself the full breakdown, or send the link to a partner and they will see your numbers.

When the math says go

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