Short answer: ROAS, or return on ad spend, is the revenue your ads bring in for each dollar they cost: conversion value divided by ad spend. Google Ads writes a ROAS target as a percentage, so $5.00 in sales for each $1.00 of ads is 500%. Meta’s ROAS goal writes a 110% return as 1.100. A good ROAS is one above the break-even point your profit margin sets.
What ROAS means
ROAS stands for return on ad spend. It compares the value of the sales or other conversions your ads bring with what those ads cost.
In Google Ads, the “Conv. value / cost” column divides your total conversion value by the total cost of all ad interactions. Google says it estimates your return on investment.
Meta reports it for purchases as Purchase ROAS: the purchase conversion value divided by the amount spent.
The ROAS formula, with an example
The formula is the same on both platforms: ROAS equals conversion value divided by ad spend. Multiply the result by 100 to read it as a percentage.
Google’s Target ROAS example: $5.00 in sales for each $1.00 spent on ads is a ROAS of 500%.
Meta’s example: a budget of $100.00 that brings in about $110.00 in purchases is a 110% return, and its ROAS goal writes it as 1.100.
If your ads cost $2,000.00 in a month and brought in $7,000.00 in sales, your ROAS is $7,000.00 divided by $2,000.00: 3.50, or 350%.
Where to see ROAS in Google Ads and Meta
In Google Ads, add the “Conv. value / cost” column to your campaigns. In the new Google Ads experience, the column with the total value of your conversions is called “Conv. value”.
In Meta Ads Manager, the Sales column preset shows purchase return on ad spend among its metrics. To pick columns yourself, click Campaigns, Ad sets or Ads, open the Columns menu and select Customize columns. Our guide to Meta Ads Manager covers columns and presets.
Meta notes that when data is partial or missing, Purchase ROAS may use statistical modeling. In some cases, such as results for ads delivered to iOS 14+ devices, it may not be calculated.
ROAS needs a value on each conversion
ROAS only works when each conversion carries a value. In Google Ads, the “Total conv. value” column adds up those values, and Google notes that you have to enter a value for your conversion actions to make it useful.
With values, Google says you learn the total business value Google Ads generated, rather than only the number of conversions.
You can give each conversion its own value or give them all the same one. Google says a value per transaction is more representative but takes more work to set up, and the same value for all is easier.
If your tag doesn’t pass a value, the default value you enter is used for every conversion. If your values are missing or show $1.00, Google asks you to check that the setting to use different values for each conversion is on.
On Meta, the standard event code of the Meta Pixel starts with a value of $0.00. Meta says setting a specific value and currency helps you measure your return on ad spend.
Our guides to Google Ads conversion tracking and to the Meta Pixel and Conversions API show how to set them up.
If you sell services, give each lead a value
Google’s help says values for each transaction fit a business where each sale or lead has a different conversion value.
For a business that gets leads, calls or bookings, we suggest starting from what a lead is worth on average. If one lead in five becomes a customer and the average sale is $1,200.00, each lead is worth $240.00.
With that value, 20 leads from $1,600.00 of ads are worth $4,800.00: a ROAS of 3.00, or 300%.
Check the value against your real sales from time to time. If fewer leads close, each one is worth less, and the ROAS you read was too high.
What is a good ROAS?
A good ROAS depends on your profit margin. Start from your break-even ROAS: 1 divided by your margin.
At a 40% margin, break-even is 1 divided by 0.40: 2.50, or 250%. Below that line, the ads cost more than the profit their sales leave.
| Profit margin | Break-even ROAS | As a percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 20% | 5.00 | 500% |
| 25% | 4.00 | 400% |
| 40% | 2.50 | 250% |
| 50% | 2.00 | 200% |
| 80% | 1.25 | 125% |
Aim above your line, with room for the costs ROAS leaves out, such as fees and returns.
If your ROAS is below break-even
In our view, check the measurement before you change the ads. A conversion with no value, or with a placeholder value, can make ROAS look lower than your real sales.
Then look for spend that brings no value: searches, audiences or placements with costs and no conversions. Cutting them raises ROAS without losing sales.
After that, work on what each visit is worth: a clearer landing page, a faster reply to every lead or a higher-value offer.
ROAS vs ROI
ROAS compares revenue with ad spend. ROI, return on investment, compares profit with what you spent. Google calls its value per cost column an estimate of ROI, but the column only counts what the ads cost. ROI also takes out what each sale costs you to deliver.
At a 40% margin, the $7,000.00 in sales of the month above leave $2,800.00. After $2,000.00 of ads, $800.00 is profit: an ROI of 40%, against a ROAS of 350%.
At the same margin, $4,000.00 in sales from $2,000.00 of ads is a ROAS of 200% and a loss of $400.00. A ROAS above 100% can still lose money.
Why Google and Meta can both count the same sale
Each platform credits sales to its own ads. In Google Ads, data-driven attribution is the default model for most conversion actions, and it splits the credit across ad interactions based on your past data.
Google still supports the last click model, which gives all the credit to the last-clicked ad.
For website conversions, the attribution settings Meta supports count events up to 7 days after a link click on your ad, or 1 day after it was shown.
Meta also warns that ad sets with different attribution models can’t be compared in its Campaign Overview table.
So one customer who saw your Instagram ad and later clicked your Google ad can show up in both reports. Our advice: add up the sales in your own records for the same dates and compare them with what the platforms claim before you raise a budget.
Setting a ROAS target in Google Ads and Meta
Both platforms can bid toward a ROAS you choose. In Google Ads, you need values on the conversions you track before you can apply a Target ROAS bid strategy.
When you create the strategy, Google recommends a target calculated from your actual ROAS over the last few weeks. Our guide to Smart Bidding explains how Target ROAS compares with the other strategies.
On Meta, the ROAS goal bid strategy keeps your average return on ad spend around the target you set. You first select “Maximize value of conversions” as the performance goal of the ad set.
It needs a working Meta Pixel or Meta SDK, and Meta says it works best when the ad set gets at least 50 to 100 conversions a week.
Meta also advises reading it in weekly averages, because daily ROAS moves, and waiting at least 7 days after a change before you judge it again.
How to calculate your ROAS
- Pick the dates, and add up the conversion value your ads brought in during them.
- Add up what you spent on ads for the same dates.
- Divide the value by the spend, and multiply by 100 to read it as a percentage.
- Work out your break-even ROAS: 1 divided by your profit margin.
- Compare your ROAS with that line and with the sales in your own records.
Steps 1 to 3 follow the formula of Google and Meta. Steps 4 and 5 are our own advice.
Before you trust a ROAS number
- Every conversion you count carries a value, and none shows a default of $1.00 or $0.00.
- The spend and the value cover the same dates.
- Your break-even ROAS is written next to your target.
- The sales Google and Meta claim match the sales in your own records.
- Your lead value matches how many leads became customers.
- No two ad sets with different attribution models are compared side by side.
RememberROAS is conversion value divided by ad spend. It only means something when every conversion carries a real value, and it only shows a profit when it beats the break-even point your margin sets.
Our Google Ads service runs search campaigns in accounts that stay in your name. Our Meta Ads service plans, makes and runs your Facebook and Instagram ads in English and Spanish, built to end in a WhatsApp chat. The ad account stays in your name too.
Questions about ROAS
What is a good ROAS?
It depends on your profit margin. Your break-even ROAS is 1 divided by your margin: 2.50, or 250%, at a 40% margin, and 4.00, or 400%, at a 25% margin. In our view, a good ROAS sits above that line, with room left for fees and returns.
How do you calculate ROAS?
Divide the conversion value your ads brought in by what they cost, for the same dates. $7,000.00 in sales from $2,000.00 in ad spend is a ROAS of 3.50. Multiply by 100 to read it as 350%, the way Google Ads writes a Target ROAS.
What is the difference between ROAS and ROI?
ROAS compares revenue with ad spend. ROI compares profit with what you spent. At a 40% margin, a ROAS of 350% on $2,000.00 of ads leaves $800.00 of profit, an ROI of 40%. At the same margin, a ROAS of 200% loses money.
Why is my ROAS different in Google Ads and Meta?
Each platform credits sales to its own ads, with its own rules. Google uses data-driven attribution by default for most conversion actions. In Meta, the standard attribution settings count conversions up to 7 days after a link click on the ad or 1 day after a view. One sale can appear in both.
Can I use ROAS if I sell services, not products?
Yes, if each lead carries a value. Google says values for each transaction suit a business whose sales or leads differ in value. We suggest dividing your average sale by how many leads it takes to win one: a $1,200.00 sale and one in five gives $240.00 per lead.
Sources
Read on November 7, 2026. From Google Ads Help: Understand your conversion tracking data, About conversion values, About Target ROAS bidding and About attribution models. From the Meta Business Help Center, on ROAS: Purchases ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) and About ROAS goal. On attribution and the pixel: About Attribution Models and Attribution Settings and Set the value and currency of your Meta Pixel standard events. On Ads Manager columns: Customize Columns In Meta Ads Manager and Available Metrics Columns in Ads Reporting in Ads Manager. Also from our site: the Google Ads and Meta Ads service pages, plus the guides on Smart Bidding, Google Ads conversion tracking, the Meta Pixel and Conversions API, and Meta Ads Manager.