ROAS is revenue from ads divided by ad spend: $60,000 of revenue from $20,000 of ads is a 3x ROAS. Break-even ROAS is 1 divided by your gross margin, so a 75% margin breaks even at 1.33x. For B2B, where deals close months after the click, the calculator below also gives ROAS on pipeline and the pipeline per $1 your win rate needs to break even.
B2B reference points (two sources, two methods)
What is the ROAS formula?
Return on ad spend is revenue divided by ad spend. The same inputs give you break-even ROAS and, for B2B, the pipeline target that break-even implies:
| To find | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ROAS | Revenue from ads / ad spend | $60,000 / $20,000 = 3.0x |
| Pipeline ROAS | Pipeline created / ad spend | $204,000 / $20,000 = 10.2x |
| Projected closed-won ROAS | Pipeline ROAS x win rate x years counted | 10.2 x 19.5% x 1 = 1.99x |
| Break-even ROAS | 1 / gross margin | 1 / 75% = 1.33x |
| Break-even pipeline ROAS | 1 / (gross margin x win rate x years counted) | 1 / (75% x 19.5% x 1) = 6.84x |
| Gross profit after ads | Revenue x gross margin - ad spend | $39,780 x 75% - $20,000 = $9,835 |
ROAS can be written as a ratio (3:1), a multiple (3x) or a percentage (300%). They are the same number. For the definition and how ROAS fits next to other paid metrics, see our glossary entry on ROAS.
How do you work out break-even ROAS?
At break-even, the gross profit on the revenue the ads brought in equals what the ads cost. Gross profit is revenue x margin, so revenue x margin = spend, and revenue / spend = 1 / margin. Higher margins mean a lower bar, which is why software can live with ROAS numbers that would sink a retailer.
| Gross margin | Break-even ROAS | Break-even pipeline ROAS at a 20% win rate | At a 30% win rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80% | 1.25x | 6.25x | 4.17x |
| 75% | 1.33x | 6.67x | 4.44x |
| 60% | 1.67x | 8.33x | 5.56x |
| 40% | 2.50x | 12.50x | 8.33x |
| 25% | 4.00x | 20.00x | 13.33x |
These are first-year figures (years counted = 1). If customers renew, counting more years of revenue lowers the bar, but only count renewals you can see in your own retention data. Break-even here means the ads pay for themselves at gross margin. It leaves out sales salaries, tools and agency fees; our CAC calculator adds those to show what each customer costs in full.
Why should B2B teams measure ROAS on pipeline?
Because closed-won revenue shows up too late to steer the budget. Dreamdata's 2026 LinkedIn Ads Benchmarks Report found that the average time from first signal to closed revenue is 281 days for journeys that start with an impression and 214 days for those that start with a conversion. A campaign judged on 30 days of closed-won revenue will look like a loss almost every time.
Pipeline ROAS is available within weeks, as soon as opportunities are created in your CRM. The calculator turns it into a forecast with your win rate, which gives you a pipeline target to manage against now:
- Weekly: watch pipeline ROAS by campaign and move spend toward the campaigns above your break-even pipeline ROAS.
- Each quarter: check closed-won ROAS for the cohort of opportunities that has had time to close, and correct your win rate input if it was too hopeful.
- Before scaling a channel: make sure the opportunities are real. Pipeline that never reaches a second meeting inflates pipeline ROAS and the forecast built on it.
What ROAS do B2B ads get on LinkedIn, Google and Meta?
Two recent public datasets report B2B returns, and they measure different things. Read each one on its own terms.
| Measure | Google Search | Meta | Method | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closed-won ROAS (Dreamdata) | 121% | 67% | 51% | Data-driven attribution on closed-won deals over 12 months, impressions excluded |
| Closed-won ROAS, top performers (Dreamdata) | 279% | 138% | 133% | Same model, Dreamdata's top performers (75th percentile cut) |
| Sourced pipeline per $1 (Metadata) | 10.2x | 7.97x across all CRM-connected advertisers | Metadata customer table, 2025 campaigns (94 LinkedIn and 90 CRM-connected advertisers) | |
| Close rate (Metadata) | 19.5% | 22.3% across all CRM-connected advertisers | Metadata customer table, 2025 campaigns (94 LinkedIn and 90 CRM-connected advertisers) | |
Sources: Dreamdata, LinkedIn Ads Benchmarks Report 2026 (press release, 10 March 2026), 2025 data from 3.5 million customer journeys (top-performer figures from Dreamdata's report announcement); Metadata, "What LinkedIn Ads Cost in 2025", 2026 B2B Paid Media Benchmark (153 advertisers, $57.6 million of 2025 spend; the pipeline and close rate rows cover 94 LinkedIn and 90 CRM-connected advertisers). All figures re-checked on 30 October 2026.
The gap between 10.2x and 1.21x is mostly method. Metadata counts all the pipeline a campaign sourced. Dreamdata credits each ad with a share of the revenue that actually closed, spread across every touch in the journey, so a single channel gets a fraction of each deal. Neither dataset is your business. Use them to sense-check your own numbers, then set targets from your margin and win rate.
How do you use ROAS to plan a B2B ad budget?
Illustrative, not a benchmark. Fernway, a fictional fleet maintenance software company, plans $30,000 a quarter on LinkedIn. Its gross margin is 78%, its win rate on ad-sourced opportunities is 22% and its average contract is $24,000 a year.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Break-even ROAS on first-year revenue | 1 / 78% | 1.28x |
| Break-even pipeline ROAS | 1 / (78% x 22%) | 5.83x |
| Pipeline needed from $30,000 to break even | $30,000 x 5.83 | $174,825 |
| Opportunities that pipeline represents | $174,825 / $24,000 | about 7.3 opportunities |
| Deals it should close | 7.3 x 22% | about 1.6 deals a quarter |
Fernway now has a weekly number to manage: just over 7 new ad-sourced opportunities a quarter is break-even on year-one revenue, and anything above it is profit. If the campaign creates 5 opportunities in its first quarter, the team knows it is short before a single deal closes, and can change the audience or the offer instead of waiting nine months for the answer.
Where does ROAS mislead?
- Branded search. People searching your company name were already looking for you, so branded campaigns show high ROAS that the ads did not create.
- Attribution windows. A 7-day or 30-day click window in an ad platform misses most B2B revenue. Measure from your CRM, on the opportunity's full history.
- Double counting. LinkedIn, Google and Meta can each claim the same deal. Add up channel-reported revenue and it will exceed what you closed.
- Cheap clicks. A lower CPM or cost per click often comes from a looser audience. Check pipeline ROAS before you call it an improvement.
Our guide to B2B paid media covers how to split budget between LinkedIn, Google and Meta. If you want the campaigns run for you, our paid ads service builds the campaigns and landing pages, reads results in your CRM each week and moves spend to the campaigns that book calls.
Frequently asked
How do you calculate ROAS?
Divide the revenue that came from your ads by what you spent on them. ROAS = revenue / ad spend. $60,000 of closed-won revenue from $20,000 of ads is a ROAS of 3.0, also written 3:1, 3x or 300%. In B2B, run the same division on pipeline created as well, because closed-won revenue arrives months after the spend.
How do you calculate break-even ROAS?
Break-even ROAS = 1 / gross margin. At a 75% gross margin you need $1.33 of revenue for every $1 of ads before the ads pay for themselves; at a 40% margin you need $2.50. For a pipeline target, divide again by your win rate: at a 75% margin and a 20% win rate, the ads have to create $6.67 of pipeline per $1 to break even.
What is a good ROAS for B2B?
Anything comfortably above your own break-even ROAS. For reference, Dreamdata measured a 121% ROAS for LinkedIn (about 1.21x) on closed-won deals over 12 months, against 67% for Google Search and 51% for Meta. Metadata's 2025 benchmark found $10.20 of sourced pipeline per $1 on LinkedIn across 94 advertisers. The two numbers measure different things, so compare your result with the one that matches your method.
What ROAS is 25% ACoS?
A 4x ROAS. ACoS (advertising cost of sales) is the inverse of ROAS: ACoS = ad spend / revenue, so ROAS = 1 / ACoS. 25% ACoS means $0.25 of ads per $1 of sales, which is $4 of sales per $1 of ads. ACoS is mostly used on Amazon; B2B teams rarely report it.
Should B2B teams measure ROAS on pipeline or closed-won revenue?
Both, for different jobs. Pipeline ROAS shows within weeks whether a campaign creates real opportunities, so use it to move budget. Closed-won ROAS shows whether the ads paid for themselves, but only after the sales cycle ends. The calculator links the two with your win rate, so you can see the pipeline ROAS you need today to reach break-even later.
Is ROAS the same as ROI?
No. ROAS compares revenue with ad spend only. ROI compares profit with the total investment, so it subtracts cost of goods, agency fees, tools and often sales time. A campaign can show a 2x ROAS and still lose money if your gross margin is under 50%. The profit after ads line in the calculator is the closer measure to ROI.
