Marketing ROI Calculator: Which Channels Actually Make You Money?
Add each channel you pay for. See cost per lead, cost per customer, return on ad spend and ROI side by side, from your real numbers. Free, instant and no signup needed.
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Your channels (per month)
EXAMPLE channels Replace the names and numbers with yours. Leave a channel at $0 to skip it.
Blended return on investment
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Every $1 you spend brings back about — in revenue, across — a month.
— Return on ad spend
| Channel | Spend | Cost per lead | Cost per customer | ROAS | ROI |
|---|
Your best performer is —. Your most expensive customers come from —.
Add a second channel to see which one earns its keep.
Enter spend and results for at least one channel to see your return.
The dashed mark on the dial is your break-even return: the revenue per $1 of spend you need just to cover it at your gross margin.
Your full breakdown
Blended return on investment—
Your Channels Are Ranked. Want to Know Why?
Your free Butter Report compares each channel's cost per lead with industry benchmarks and adds a checklist of the tracking and follow-up leaks that make good channels look bad.
- Your channel table, saved
- Benchmark cost-per-lead comparison
- Tracking and follow-up leak checklist
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Your full breakdown
Where the budget goes
Your next 12 months
- Net return as-is
- —
- Extra if you shift budget
- —
What-if: move —'s budget to —. ASSUMPTION: the extra budget earns half of —'s current return, because returns usually fall as spend grows. Test the shift in steps.
Your leak checklist
- Track calls and forms by channel. If a phone lead isn't credited, its channel looks worse than it is.
- Check speed to lead before cutting a channel. Companies that contacted a lead within an hour were nearly 7 times as likely to qualify it as companies that waited even one hour longer (HBR, 2011).
- Judge channels on cost per customer, not just cost per lead.
- Send paid traffic to a page with one offer and one clear next step.
- Review search terms and ad placements every month and cut the waste.
Know which dollars are working
We manage ads for cost per lead, not clicks, with conversion tracking and lead follow-up included.
How we calculated this
The formula, in plain words
Per channel: cost per lead = spend ÷ leads. Cost per customer = spend ÷ new customers. ROAS = (customers × revenue per customer) ÷ spend. ROI = (customers × revenue per customer × margin − spend) ÷ spend.
Example: one Google Ads channel
- Monthly spend
- $2,000
- Leads
- 40
- New customers
- 8
- Revenue per customer
- $1,200
- Gross margin
- 50%
- Cost per lead = $2,000 ÷ 40 = $50
- Cost per customer = $2,000 ÷ 8 = $250
- ROAS = (8 × $1,200) ÷ $2,000 = 4.8x
- ROI = (8 × $1,200 × 50% − $2,000) ÷ $2,000 = ($4,800 − $2,000) ÷ $2,000 = 140%
This channel returns 4.8x in revenue and 140% in gross-profit ROI. It's earning its keep.
Example inputs, not benchmarks.
Estimates for planning only; based on cited industry benchmarks. This is an estimate based on the numbers you entered. It's not a guarantee of results.
Quick answer
How do you calculate marketing ROI?
Marketing ROI = (gross profit from new customers − marketing spend) ÷ marketing spend. Gross profit is customers × revenue per customer × gross margin. ROAS is simpler: revenue ÷ ad spend. Calculate both for each channel to see which ones earn their keep and which ones just make noise.
Four Quick Steps to Your Number
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Add a row for each channel you pay for, up to six.
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Enter monthly spend, leads, new customers and average revenue per customer.
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Enter your gross margin once, or leave it at 100% for revenue-based ROI.
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See every channel ranked by ROI, with your best and most expensive channels called out.
How This Tool Does the Math
How the Marketing ROI Calculator works
Add one row for each channel you pay for: Google Ads, Facebook, SEO, direct mail and so on. For each, enter monthly spend, leads, new customers and average revenue per customer. Add your gross margin once. The calculator lines up five numbers per channel.
- Cost per lead (CPL) = spend ÷ leads
- Cost per customer (CPA) = spend ÷ new customers
- Lead-to-customer rate = customers ÷ leads
- Return on ad spend (ROAS) = (customers × revenue per customer) ÷ spend
- Return on investment (ROI) = (customers × revenue per customer × margin − spend) ÷ spend
ROAS vs. ROI
ROAS uses revenue. ROI uses profit. A channel with a 3x ROAS can still lose money when margins are thin: at a 30% margin, every $1 spent brings back $3 in revenue but only $0.90 in gross profit. That's why we ask for your margin. If you leave it at 100%, you'll see revenue-based ROI, which flatters every channel.
Reading your results
Channels sort from best ROI to worst. ROI below 0% means the channel costs more than it brings in on first-sale revenue. Check your tracking before you cut it, because untracked phone calls and repeat purchases can hide real value. ROI from 0% to 100% is profitable but tight. Above 100%, the channel is earning its keep.
Benchmarks, used carefully
Your full report compares each paid search channel's cost per lead with WordStream by LocaliQ's 2026 search advertising benchmarks. Legal search ads, for example, run about $130 per lead. Benchmarks are averages for search ads across many advertisers. Your market, offer and landing page can push your numbers up or down.
What it doesn't count
This calculator uses first-sale revenue. Customers who buy again or refer friends are worth more, and the Lead Value Calculator shows that lifetime value. It also can't fix missing data. If you don't know your leads per channel, start by tracking calls and forms by source. That one change makes every marketing decision easier.
Questions About This Tool
How the numbers work and what to do with them.
Still chewing on something?
Ask a real human. We answer in plain English and never send you down a jargon rabbit hole.
What's the difference between ROI and ROAS?
ROAS is revenue divided by ad spend. ROI subtracts your costs: it uses gross profit, so it tells you whether a channel actually makes money. A high ROAS can still mean a loss when margins are thin.
What gross margin should I use?
The share of revenue you keep after the direct cost of delivering the job or product: materials, direct labor and similar costs. If you're not sure, leave it at 100% and read the result as revenue-based ROI.
Why does the calculator use first-sale revenue?
To keep the comparison fair and conservative. Repeat purchases and referrals make customers worth more, and the Lead Value Calculator shows that lifetime value.
What's a good marketing ROI?
Any ROI above 0% means the channel pays for itself on first-sale profit. Above 100% means it more than doubles what you put in. What's "good" depends on your cash flow and how much lifetime value each customer adds.
What if I don't know my leads per channel?
Use your best estimate for now, then start tracking. Call tracking numbers and form source fields make leads per channel visible within a few weeks.
Can I compare my numbers with industry benchmarks?
Yes. Your full report compares each paid search channel's cost per lead with WordStream by LocaliQ's 2026 search advertising benchmarks. Legal search ads, for example, run about $130 per lead.
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Turn Your Number Into a Plan
Your result is an estimate from your own inputs. The fastest way to act on it is a free website audit, or a free 15-minute call where we look at your numbers together.
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P.S. Every tool shows its formula and sources, so you can check our math before you trust it.