Free tool
Marketing ROI Calculator
See whether your marketing actually makes money. Enter your spend, the revenue it generated and your cost of goods to get a true return on investment — profit-based, not just revenue.
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Result
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The marketing ROI formula
Profit = Revenue − Cost of goods − Marketing spendMarketing ROI = (Profit ÷ Marketing spend) × 100Profit relative to what you spent to earn it, as a percentage.
Example calculation
You spend $5,000 on marketing, generate $20,000 in revenue, and your cost of goods is $8,000. Profit is 20,000 − 8,000 − 5,000 = $7,000, so ROI is (7,000 ÷ 5,000) × 100 = 140%.
What this calculator tells you
Marketing ROI is the bottom-line test of a campaign. Because it starts from profit rather than revenue, it tells you whether the money you put into marketing came back with more — the question that actually decides whether to keep spending.
Common mistakes
- Leaving out cost of goods, which turns a losing campaign into a fake win.
- Confusing ROI with ROAS and celebrating revenue that never became profit.
- Measuring too early, before delayed or repeat sales land.
When this number is misleading
ROI can flatter a campaign if you only count first sales and ignore refunds, or if you exclude real costs like your own time, tools and fees. It can also understate long-term campaigns that build repeat customers whose value shows up later. Use a consistent, honest cost base, and for businesses with repeat purchases, judge ROI over a longer window.
How to improve this metric
- Raise conversion so the same spend produces more revenue.
- Increase average order value and repeat purchases.
- Cut wasted spend on channels that do not return profit.
- Protect margin — a stronger margin lifts ROI without any extra spend.
The number tells you where you are. Not what to do next.
Knowing your ROI is step one — deciding where to spend next is where the growth is.
Cleverlio decides what your business should do this week and writes the work — the posts, the messages, the website copy. You review it and publish it yourself.
See what Cleverlio would doCommon questions
What is marketing ROI?
Marketing ROI (return on investment) measures the profit your marketing generates relative to what you spent on it. It answers the question every owner asks: is my marketing actually making money?
How is marketing ROI calculated?
First work out profit: revenue minus cost of goods or service delivery minus marketing spend. Then divide that profit by your marketing spend and multiply by 100 to get a percentage.
What is the difference between marketing ROI and ROAS?
ROAS compares revenue to ad spend and ignores costs. Marketing ROI is based on profit after product and delivery costs, so it tells you whether you actually made money — not just how much revenue came back.
What is a good marketing ROI?
It depends on your margins and model. Negative means you lost money, 0–50% is weak, 50–150% is workable for many businesses, and 150%+ is strong. High-margin businesses can thrive at lower ROI than thin-margin ones.
Why is my ROI negative even though I made sales?
Because ROI counts costs, not just revenue. If your product and delivery costs plus marketing spend exceed the revenue, the campaign lost money even though sales happened. That is exactly why ROI is more honest than revenue alone.