Marketing ROI Calculator
Enter what a campaign cost and the revenue it brought in. You get the return on investment as a percentage, the net return in money and the revenue-to-cost ratio, instantly.
Enter your numbers
Your result
Enter a campaign cost and the revenue it brought in to see your ROI.
How the Marketing ROI calculation works
Marketing ROI compares what a campaign earned with what it cost. The calculator uses three simple formulas:
An ROI of 100% means the campaign earned back its cost and the same amount again. An ROI of 0% means break-even: revenue equals cost. A negative ROI means the campaign brought in less than it cost.
Worked example
These figures are made up to show the arithmetic. They are not a benchmark.
- Campaign cost: 2,000. Revenue attributed to it: 5,000.
- Net return = 5,000 - 2,000 = 3,000.
- ROI = (3,000 / 2,000) x 100 = 150%.
- Revenue-to-cost ratio = 5,000 / 2,000 = 2.5 : 1.
A campaign that cost 1,000 and is credited with 400 of revenue has a net return of -600 and an ROI of -60%.
What your result means
Positive ROI
The campaign earned more than it cost. That is encouraging, but check two things before you scale it: whether the revenue really came from the campaign, and whether your profit on those sales still leaves something after the other costs of doing business.
Zero ROI
Revenue matched cost. You covered the spend and gained nothing more on paper. This can still be a good result if the campaign built an email list, reviews or awareness that will pay off later.
Negative ROI
The campaign brought in less revenue than it cost, at least so far. Before you cancel it, look at whether sales may still be coming, whether some sales were not attributed to it, and what the customers it did win may be worth over time.
What this calculator cannot tell you
- Attribution. Customers often meet a business several times before they buy. Deciding which sales to credit to one campaign is a judgment call, and different choices give different ROI figures.
- Revenue is not profit. This calculator uses revenue, as most simple ROI formulas do. If you want a more cautious view, enter your gross profit from those sales instead of revenue, so that the cost of what you sold is already taken out.
- Timing. Some campaigns pay back over months. Measuring too early makes them look worse than they are.
- Missing costs. Include everything that belongs to the campaign: ad spend, software, design and content work, and paid help. Leaving costs out makes ROI look better than it is.
- Repeat purchases. A customer who buys again and again is worth more than their first order. A first-sale ROI can understate that. Our guide to customer retention explains why.
Ways to improve marketing ROI
There are only two levers: spend less for the same result, or earn more from the same spend. In practice that means testing your messages before you scale them (see how to run an A/B test), offering something people genuinely want (lead magnets that solve a real problem), and removing friction between interest and purchase (simplifying checkout).
Planning your next campaign? Use the free 30-Day Marketing Planner to set goals, pick channels and track results week by week.
Related tools and reading
Frequently asked questions
What is a good marketing ROI?
There is no single number that is good for every business. It depends on your profit margins, your other costs and what the campaign is for. At a minimum, a campaign that is meant to make money should earn back more than it costs. Compare results with your own past campaigns rather than with figures from other businesses.
Is marketing ROI the same as profit?
No. ROI here compares revenue with the cost of the campaign. Profit also depends on the cost of what you sold and your other expenses. For a more cautious view, enter gross profit instead of revenue.
What costs should I include?
Include everything you spent to run the campaign: advertising spend, software and tools used for it, design, writing or video production, and any agency or freelancer fees. If you want to be thorough, you can also include the value of your own time.
How do I measure ROI when a campaign does not sell directly?
Pick a measurable result that stands in for sales, such as leads or sign-ups, and give it a value based on how many become customers and what they spend. Treat that value as an estimate and label it as one.
Why is my ROI negative when the campaign felt successful?
Possibly because the benefits are not in the revenue yet: awareness, an email list, reviews or sales that will arrive later. Decide in advance how you will value those results, and measure over a long enough period.