“Is 3× good?” The answer depends on a number most dashboards never show you.
A good ROAS is one that sits 20 to 30% above your break-even ROAS.
Good ROAS = break-even ROAS × 1.2 to 1.3
Break-even of 3.0 → a good ROAS is 3.6 to 3.9.
2 shops, both at 3×
Every £1 on ads brings in £3 of sales. What each shop keeps of that £3 is different.
Shop A sells skincare and keeps 58% of each sale after product, shipping, fees and returns.
Pay back the £1 of ads and 74p is left.
Shop B sells phone accessories and keeps 22%.
The ad cost £1 and the sale left 66p. That is 34p short for every £1 of ads.
Same 3×. One shop grows and the other pays to sell. So “what is the benchmark?” is the wrong first question.
Find your break-even first
Break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ the share of each sale you keep. Shop A: 1 ÷ 0.58 = 1.72. Shop B: 1 ÷ 0.22 = 4.55.
Find your row:
| Share you keep | Break-even ROAS | Good ROAS (20 to 30% above) |
|---|---|---|
| 20% | 5.0 | 6.0 to 6.5 |
| 25% | 4.0 | 4.8 to 5.2 |
| 30% | 3.3 | 4.0 to 4.3 |
| 35% | 2.9 | 3.4 to 3.7 |
| 40% | 2.5 | 3.0 to 3.3 |
| 50% | 2.0 | 2.4 to 2.6 |
| 60% | 1.7 | 2.0 to 2.2 |
Or move the sliders:
Try it with your numbers
Your break-even ROAS
Where each order goes
- Product
- Shipping
- Fees
- Returns
- Left for marketing
Left for marketing: £ an order
Aim for a target ROAS of ×, 20 to 30% above the floor.
Add your fixed costs (monthly view)
Staff, rent and software don't rise with each sale, so they stay out of the floor. To see the MER you need to cover them too in a month, add them here.
To cover fixed costs as well, this month needs an MER of ×.
What you keep is what is left after the costs that rise with every sale: product, shipping and packing, payment fees, returns. Staff, rent and software stay out. Check them in the calculator’s monthly view.
Read your own ROAS against it
Say you keep 35%. Break-even is 2.9 and a good ROAS is 3.4 to 3.7.
- At 4.2, you are above target. You can probably spend more.
- At 3.1, you cover costs and make little. One soft week tips you under.
- At 2.7, you are below break-even. Every sale costs you money, whatever the dashboard says.
Above target is good news. Here is how to use it without raising the budget and learning nothing.
Measure it on real sales
Hold the target against your Shopify sales. Meta and Google can both claim the same order, so their figures added together can show more sales than Shopify took.
Use blended ROAS: Shopify sales ÷ total ad spend across every channel. Platform ROAS still has a job: picking the better campaign, ad or audience inside one platform.
When a high ROAS is a warning
Say platform ROAS climbs from 5× to 8× in a month while blended ROAS stays at 3.2×. The extra is retargeting taking credit for sales that were coming anyway. Check how much is going on new customers.
Related reading
- Break-even ROAS: the full worked example, line by line
- Blended ROAS explained and Platform ROAS is a lie: why the dashboards disagree
- Easier Ads Budgeting: how much a new channel needs to spend for a fair test
A 3× that looks fine can lose money once peak brings heavier discounts and returns. Let's check yours.
Want a target built on your own numbers? Book a free call and we’ll set it with you.
Quick answers
What is a good ROAS for ecommerce?
A good ROAS is 20 to 30% above your break-even ROAS. There is no single number for every shop, because break-even depends on how much of each order you keep after product, shipping, payment fees and returns.
Is 3× a good ROAS?
It depends on your costs. If you keep 58% of each sale after variable costs, your break-even is 1.72 and 3× makes good money. If you keep 22%, your break-even is 4.55 and 3× loses money on every sale.
Should I judge ROAS on what Meta or Google reports?
Use platform ROAS to compare campaigns inside one platform. For the big decisions, use blended ROAS or MER: your real sales from Shopify divided by your total spend, because each platform can count the same sale.
Can my ROAS be too high?
Often, yes. A very high platform ROAS usually means most of the budget is going on retargeting people who were already about to buy. If you're well above target on your real sales too, you can probably spend more and grow.
