Break-even ROAS
Break-even point
The point where what you earn from an order equals what you paid to win it: below it you profit, above it you spend more than comes back.
Formula
Break-even ROAS = order value ÷ contribution per order
How to read it
- Contribution is what is left of an order after product cost, shipping, collection fees and the return rate — and before ad cost.
- The result is really two numbers: the highest cost you can pay per order, and the return that matches it as the dashboard reports it.
- Every change in price, shipping cost or cancellation rate moves the point, so it is recalculated — not set once a year.
The common mistake
Judging a campaign before calculating this point at all: budget goes up because sales go up, and sales genuinely do go up, but each extra order comes out of profit instead of adding to it. The number belongs before the spend, not after it.