How do I calculate a break-even CPC?

Take contribution per sale after fees and refunds, then multiply by your landing page conversion rate. That's the most one click can cost before you lose money.

Break-even ROAS is your price divided by the contribution per sale. For a digital product with ~90% margin, break-even ROAS is close to 1.1x.

Should I bid to break even?

Only if you monetise afterwards — bundles, upgrades or a membership. Otherwise target 1.5-2x break-even so ads still fund the rest of the business.

Ad break-even calculator

Before you run traffic, work out the most a click can cost. Enter price, landing page conversion rate, platform fees and refund rate to get max CPC, max CPA and break-even ROAS.

Product price

USD

Landing page conversion

Platform + processing fees

Refund rate

Your current CPC

USD

Max CPC

$0.73

Break-even bid per click

Max CPA

$36.32

Contribution per sale

Break-even ROAS

1.07x

At $0.60 per click your cost per sale is $30.00, leaving $6.32 profit per sale. You have headroom up to $0.73 per click.

Keep these numbers

Export the result, send it to whoever needs to approve the price, or get the next calculator and pricing playbook by email.

How to use it

1Enter product price, landing page conversion rate, fees and refund rate.
2Enter the cost per click you are currently paying.
3Compare your cost per sale against maximum CPC, CPA and break-even ROAS.

Questions

How do I calculate a break-even CPC?: Take contribution per sale after fees and refunds, then multiply by your landing page conversion rate. That's the most one click can cost before you lose money.
What ROAS do I need?: Break-even ROAS is your price divided by the contribution per sale. For a digital product with ~90% margin, break-even ROAS is close to 1.1x.
Should I bid to break even?: Only if you monetise afterwards — bundles, upgrades or a membership. Otherwise target 1.5-2x break-even so ads still fund the rest of the business.

Answered with this calculator

Ad break-even for digital productsAt a $39 price, 96% margin and a 2% landing page conversion rate, you can pay up to about $0.75 per click or $37 per acquisition and still break even. Break-even ROAS is roughly 1.04x.

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