At what ROAS do your ads start making money?
Break-even ROAS is one divided by your margin before ads. In the example the margin is 46.5%, so you break even at a ROAS of 2.15, and can pay up to $23.25 per order. Below that, the ads lose money. Enter your own numbers, with no sign-up.
Your numbers
Break-even ROAS is 2.15. Above that, the ads make money.
| Measure | Result | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| Profit before ads, per order | $23.25 | price − cost − shipping − fees |
| Margin before ads | 46.5% | profit before ads ÷ price |
| Break-even ROAS | 2.15 | 1 ÷ margin before ads |
| Most you can pay per order | $23.25 | profit before ads |
| ROAS for the profit you want | 2.74 | 1 ÷ (margin before ads − profit you want) |
| Sales that earn the budget back | $2,150.54 | budget ÷ margin before ads |
| Orders that earn the budget back | 44 | budget ÷ profit before ads, rounded up |
A worked example
Price $50, cost $20, shipping $5, and a fee of 2.9% plus $0.3, which comes to $1.75. That leaves $23.25 before ads, a 46.5% margin. One divided by that margin gives a ROAS of 2.15. On a $1,000 budget you need $2,150.54 in sales, which is 44 orders.
What this calculator leaves out
Returns, discounts, fixed costs, VAT or sales tax, and the value of a customer who comes back. It also can’t tell which sales really came from the ads: it assumes the ROAS you compare against is accurate.
Who this suits, and who it doesn’t
A good fit
- Anyone running campaigns who needs a clear line: above it, keep going; below it, stop or fix.
Pick something else
- A business that earns mostly from repeat purchases. It should calculate on lifetime value, not the first order.
Questions
What is the break-even ROAS formula?
One divided by your margin before ads. A 50% margin gives a break-even ROAS of 2: every dollar of ads has to bring in two dollars of sales.
Does a ROAS above break-even mean I’m profitable?
It means sales cover the ads and the costs you entered. Fixed costs, returns and wages are not included, so the business as a whole needs a higher ROAS.
Why does the ROAS in my ad report differ from my results?
Each ad platform credits itself with sales by its own rules, and the same sale can be counted twice. Compare real revenue with total spend.
The online store that runs itself, with brakes
- AI that acts, with brakes. Pulse changes orders, prices, discounts and content from one conversation. A sensitive change first shows a before-and-after card and waits for your approval, and almost any change can be undone.
- Your money is protected on the server, not by a promise. Anything touching money needs a confirmation tied to the exact values you saw, and the margin guard blocks a price below your minimum, even when an outside AI asks for it.
- Profit, not just sales. An order counts only once your payment provider confirms the money, and profit is worked out after fees, shipping, cost of goods and refunds.
- Open to your own AI. Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini connect to your store over MCP and pass through exactly the same brakes.
- Five ways to build, one system behind them. A ready theme, designing by chat with Pulse, your own code, outside builders like Lovable or Webflow, or your own AI. Checkout, orders, customers and money stay in one place.
- 0% of your sales. One flat monthly plan. When your store grows, our cut doesn’t, because there isn’t one.
- Built by someone who sold. Or Avrahami, a practical electronics and computer engineer, ran an online store on Shopify and built what that store needed. That became Waise.
Sources
Every competitor figure on this page was checked on its official page, on the date beside the source.
- stripe.com/pricing Stripe’s standard US rate, 2.9% + 30¢, is the example’s default fee. Checked 2026-11-08
Updated
Written and checked by Or Avrahami, Founder of Waise ·
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