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Blended ROAS calculator

All the revenue your store took in, over all the marketing it took: the one return figure no ad platform can double count. Add your margin to see the line it has to clear.

Every sale in the period, from every channel, including sales no ad touched.

Every channel added up for the same period: ads, plus fees and tools if you count them.

Shows the blended ROAS at which the marketing pays for itself.

First orders only, same period. Shows how much of the return new customers bring.

Result

Fill in total store revenue, total marketing spend to see the result.

How it works

Blended ROAS divides your store's total revenue by your total marketing spend, every channel added up. It is also called MER, the marketing efficiency ratio. The store counts each order once, so no platform can inflate it by claiming a sale that another platform also claims.

It is a top-down figure: it tells you whether the marketing as a whole is efficient, not which channel earned what. For the profit a campaign or a channel returned, use the marketing ROI calculator.

blended ROAS (MER) =
  total revenue ÷ total marketing spend

marketing cost share =
  total marketing spend ÷ total revenue

break-even blended ROAS = 1 ÷ gross margin

first-time customer ROAS =
  first-time customer revenue
  ÷ total marketing spend

What each term means

Total store revenue
Every sale in the period, from every channel, including sales no ad touched. Use the same basis each time: before or after refunds, with or without tax.
Total marketing spend
All channels together for the same period: ad spend only for a strict figure, plus fees, tools and creative for a fully loaded one.
Blended ROAS (MER)
Revenue per unit of total marketing spend. GA4 defines its own ROAS the same way: total revenue divided by ad cost.
Marketing cost share
The same ratio turned over: marketing as a share of revenue. A 4.00x blended ROAS is a 25% cost share.
Break-even blended ROAS
The blended ROAS at which the gross profit on all revenue exactly pays for all the marketing: 1 divided by the gross margin.
First-time customer ROAS
Revenue from first orders only, over the same spend; some teams call it acquisition MER. It shows how much of the return comes from winning new customers rather than from customers you already had.

What blended ROAS hides

  • Sales the marketing did not cause. Total revenue includes returning customers, word of mouth and people who searched for your name. Blended ROAS gives all of it to the marketing, so it can overstate what the marketing did while never double counting.
  • Which channel is working. A healthy blended figure can hide one channel losing money while another carries it.
  • Timing. Spend this month can bring sales next month, so one month's figure mixes the two. Compare periods of the same length and read the trend.

Worked example

Example numbers, round on purpose. They are not a real store.

Total store revenue
€200,000
Total marketing spend
€50,000
Gross margin
50%
Revenue from first-time customers
€120,000
  1. 1Blended ROAS: €200,000 ÷ €50,000 = 4.00x
  2. 2Marketing cost share: €50,000 ÷ €200,000 = 25.0%
  3. 3Break-even blended ROAS: 1 ÷ 50% = 2.00x
  4. 4Gross profit after marketing: €200,000 × 50% - €50,000 = €50,000
  5. 5First-time customer ROAS: €120,000 ÷ €50,000 = 2.40x
  6. 6First-time customers' share: €120,000 ÷ €200,000 = 60.0%

At 4.00x the example store clears its 2.00x line with room to spare. On first orders alone the same spend returns 2.40x, much closer to that line: if returning customers slowed down, the blended figure would fall towards it.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is blended ROAS?
    Total store revenue divided by total marketing spend, across every channel, for one period. It is also called MER, the marketing efficiency ratio. Because the store counts each order once, it cannot be inflated by two platforms claiming the same sale.
  • Is MER the same as blended ROAS?
    In practice, yes: both names mean total revenue over total marketing spend. Some teams put only ad spend in the denominator, others add fees, tools and creative. Either works if you keep one definition from month to month.
  • Why does my blended ROAS disagree with my platform ROAS?
    They count different things. Each platform reports the revenue it can tie to its own ads, inside its own window, and a sale that touched two platforms can be claimed by both. Blended ROAS starts from the store's total, where each order counts once, but that total also holds sales no ad touched. The platforms can over-count; blended ROAS over-credits.
  • What is a good blended ROAS?
    One above your break-even blended ROAS, which is 1 divided by your gross margin: 2.00x at a 50% margin, 4.00x at a 25% margin. Above that line the gross profit pays for the marketing. How far above it you need to be depends on your fixed costs and your profit goal, so another store's figure, with other margins, tells you little.
  • Should blended ROAS include returning customers?
    The standard figure does, because it uses all revenue. That is why it pays to track first-time customer revenue beside it: blended ROAS can hold steady on returning customers' orders while each new customer costs more to win.
  • What spend goes into blended ROAS?
    Every channel, for the same period as the revenue. For a strict figure, ad spend only; for a fully loaded one, add agency fees, tools, creative and your email or SMS platform. Keep the same choice every month so the trend means something.

Related terms: MER vs ROAS, ROAS, customer acquisition cost and incrementality.

Related calculators

Next: what did each channel add to that total?

Blended ROAS tells you the marketing as a whole is efficient, not which channel earned it. Your GA4 export already holds how long your buyers take and which channels they touch. First finding free, in your browser; the full read is €99.

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