Etsy Ads Break-even ROAS Calculator
Free toolOne sale from an ad
Break-even ROAS
1.66x
Break-even ACoS
60.1%
At your ROAS
Enter the ROAS from your Etsy Ads page to see what each ad sale makes or loses.
Profit per sale before ads
- Revenue
- $110.00
- Item price
- $100.00
- Shipping charge
- $10.00
- Your costs
- -$33.00
- Item cost
- -$25.00
- Shipping label
- -$8.00
- Etsy fees
- -$10.90
- Listing ($0.20)
- -$0.20
- Transaction (6.5%)
- -$7.15
- Payment processing (3% + $0.25)
- -$3.55
- Profit before ads
- $66.10
- Max ad spend per sale
- $66.10
How it's worked out
- Break-even ROAS = revenue ÷ profit before ads
- $110.00 ÷ $66.10 = 1.66x
- Break-even ACoS = profit before ads ÷ revenue
- $66.10 ÷ $110.00 = 60.1%
- Profit at your ROAS = profit before ads − revenue ÷ ROAS
- Enter your ROAS to fill this in.
Uses the same fee rates as our Etsy Profit Calculator, checked against Etsy's Help Center on Oct 14, 2026. ROAS follows Etsy's definition: revenue from ads divided by ad spend. Etsy's Ads metrics
What is break-even ROAS?
Break-even ROAS is the lowest return on ad spend where an ad sale neither makes nor loses money. Above it, your Etsy Ads pay for themselves. Below it, each sale from an ad costs you more than it earns.
The formula is simple: revenue ÷ profit before ads. Profit before ads is what you keep after your costs and Etsy's fees. It is also the most you can spend on ads to win one sale.
How Etsy calculates ROAS
Your Etsy Ads page shows ROAS for your whole campaign and for each advertised listing. Etsy describes it as ad-attributed revenue compared to ad cost:
- ROAS = revenue from ads ÷ budget spent. A ROAS of 4 means $4 of sales for every $1 of ads.
- Revenue from ads counts orders where the buyer clicked one of your ads and then bought anything in your shop within 30 days.
- Budget spent is what you paid for clicks. Etsy Ads charge per click, not per sale.
The calculator uses the same definition, so you can compare its break-even number straight against the ROAS Etsy shows you.
Worked example: a $100 sale
A US seller sells one item for $100 and charges $10 for shipping. The item costs $25 to make and the label costs $8.
| Line | How it's worked out | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $100 item + $10 shipping | $110.00 |
| Your costs | $25 item + $8 label | -$33.00 |
| Etsy fees | Listing, transaction, payment processing | -$10.90 |
| Profit before ads | Also your max ad spend | $66.10 |
| Break-even ROAS | $110.00 ÷ $66.10 | 1.66x |
At a 4x ROAS this seller spends $27.50 on ads per sale and keeps $38.60. At 1.5x the ads cost $73.33 per sale and each sale loses $7.23.
How to use it with your Etsy Ads dashboard
- In Shop Manager, choose Marketing, then Etsy Ads.
- Pick a time frame of at least 30 days. Etsy recommends this because daily numbers move around a lot.
- Find the ROAS for your campaign, or for one listing under the advertised listings section.
- Enter that listing's price, shipping and costs here, then type the ROAS into Your Etsy Ads ROAS.
- If Etsy's ROAS is higher than your break-even ROAS, the ads are making money on that listing. If it is lower, they are losing money.
Check listing by listing when you can. A campaign ROAS can look fine while a low-margin listing quietly loses money on every ad sale.
Break-even ROAS by profit margin
Break-even ROAS only depends on how much of each sale is profit before ads. The thinner your margin, the higher the ROAS you need.
| Profit before ads, % of revenue | Break-even ROAS | Break-even ACoS |
|---|---|---|
| 20.0% | 5.00x | 20.0% |
| 30.0% | 3.33x | 30.0% |
| 40.0% | 2.50x | 40.0% |
| 50.0% | 2.00x | 50.0% |
| 60.0% | 1.67x | 60.0% |
| 70.0% | 1.43x | 70.0% |
ROAS vs ACoS
ACoS (advertising cost of sale) is ROAS flipped: ad spend ÷ revenue. A ROAS of 4 is an ACoS of 25%. Etsy shows ROAS, while Amazon sellers usually talk in ACoS, so the calculator gives you both.
Your break-even ACoS equals your profit margin before ads. If 50.0% of each sale is profit, you can spend up to 50.0% of revenue on ads before you start losing money.
How to know if your Etsy Ads are profitable
- Compare, don't guess. A ROAS of 2 is great for a high-margin digital download and a loss for a low-margin item. Only your break-even ROAS tells you which.
- Give it 30 days. Etsy suggests running an ad for 30 days before you judge it.
- Leave some room. Etsy counts any purchase within 30 days of an ad click, so some of that revenue might have come anyway. Aim a little above break-even, not right on it.
- Cut the losers, keep the winners. Stop advertising listings that stay below break-even and put the budget behind the ones above it.
- Fix the margin, not only the ads. A higher price or lower costs drop your break-even ROAS for every ad you run.
For the full fee picture, including discounts, sales tax and VAT, use the Etsy Profit Calculator.
Go further with Alura
This calculator checks one sale. Alura brings in your Etsy orders and fees automatically, so you can see what each listing really earns before you decide where to spend on ads.
