How to calculate CPM, CPC, CTR, CPA and ROAS
- Enter your campaign numbers from Google Ads, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn or any ad platform: spend, impressions, clicks, conversions and revenue.
- Every metric that your numbers allow is calculated at once. Leave a box empty if you do not track it.
- Add your gross margin to see profit after ad spend and your break-even ROAS. Use the planner to estimate the budget needed for a target number of conversions.
The formulas
CPM (cost per mille) = spend ÷ impressions × 1,000. CPC = spend ÷ clicks. CTR = clicks ÷ impressions. Conversion rate = conversions ÷ clicks. CPA (cost per acquisition) = spend ÷ conversions. ROAS (return on ad spend) = revenue ÷ spend, so a ROAS of 4× means 4 in revenue for every 1 spent.
ROAS looks at revenue, not profit, and that is where many campaigns that look successful lose money. If your gross margin is 40%, every sale keeps only 40% of its price after the cost of goods, so you need a ROAS of 1 ÷ 0.4 = 2.5× just to break even on ad spend. The break-even ROAS card shows this, and profit after ads turns red when a campaign is losing money. Benchmarks vary enormously by platform, industry and country: search ads often have CTRs of 3–6%, display ads well under 1%. Compare a campaign with its own history first. Everything runs in your browser.
What is a good ROAS?
Anything above your break-even ROAS is profitable. Many e-commerce businesses aim for 3–4× or more, depending on margins.
What is the difference between CPA and CPC?
CPC is what you pay for each click. CPA is what you pay for each sale or lead, so it also depends on your conversion rate.
What does CPM stand for?
Cost per mille: the cost of 1,000 ad impressions. "Mille" is Latin for thousand.