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What Is a Good ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)?

A ROAS of around 4:1 — ₹4 in revenue for every ₹1 spent on ads — is a common benchmark for a healthy, profitable campaign. What is 'good' depends on your margins: low-margin businesses need a higher ROAS to profit, while high-margin ones can succeed with less.

By Priya Nair, MBA, Finance & Strategy · Updated Jun 2026 · 1 min read

What is a good return on ad spend? A ROAS of around 4:1 — ₹4 in revenue for every ₹1 spent on ads — is a common benchmark for a healthy, profitable campaign. What is 'good' depends on your margins: low-margin businesses need a higher ROAS to profit, while high-margin ones can succeed with less.

Return on ad spend (ROAS) tells you how much revenue each rupee of advertising generates. It is the clearest signal of whether a campaign is paying for itself, but the right target depends entirely on your profit margins.

ROAS ranges

ROASRatingWhat it means
4:1 and aboveStrongComfortably profitable for most businesses.
3:1–4:1HealthyA widely used target for sustainable campaigns.
2:1–3:1MarginalProfitable only with healthy margins.
Below 2:1WeakOften loss-making once costs are included.

What affects your ROAS

  • Profit margin — thin margins need a higher ROAS to profit
  • Average order value — higher order values lift ROAS
  • Targeting and relevance — better matches convert more
  • Landing-page quality — clicks must turn into sales
  • Customer lifetime value — repeat buyers justify a lower first-sale ROAS

How to improve it

  • Set your ROAS target from your profit margin, not a generic number
  • Improve landing pages to convert more of the clicks you pay for
  • Cut spend on poorly converting keywords or audiences
  • Factor in repeat purchases, not just the first sale

Work out your own numbers — the ROAS Calculator does it instantly, for free, with the formula and a worked example built in.

Continue exploring marketing calculators with these tools: LTV to CAC Ratio Calculator, Conversion Value Calculator, Customer Churn Cost Calculator, Ad Frequency Calculator, Viral Coefficient Calculator.

Calculators in this guide

Frequently asked questions

Yes, 4:1 is a common benchmark for a healthy campaign — ₹4 earned per ₹1 spent. Whether it is profitable for you depends on your margins; low-margin businesses may need more.

ROAS measures revenue per rupee of ad spend, while ROI measures profit relative to total cost. ROAS focuses on advertising efficiency; ROI reflects overall profitability.

What Is a Good Conversion Rate?

For most e-commerce websites, a conversion rate of 2–3% is average and anything above about 5% is considered good. Rates vary widely by industry, traffic source and what counts as a 'conversion', so always compare against your own benchmark.

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What Is a Good Click-Through Rate (CTR)?

A good click-through rate (CTR) depends on the channel: around 2% or higher is solid for Google Search ads, display ads often sit near 0.5%, and email campaigns average 2–5%. CTR is the share of people who click after seeing your ad, link or email.

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Priya Nair · MBA, Finance & Strategy

Priya Nair is a business analyst and MBA who advises small businesses and startups on pricing, unit economics and growth metrics.