ROAS & Marketing ROI Calculator
Work out Return on Ad Spend and true ROI in AED — with an optional 5% VAT view for UAE-registered businesses.
Include an agency / management fee
Estimate only. ROAS uses revenue ÷ ad spend; ROI additionally deducts cost of goods sold (via your margin) and any agency/management fee. The VAT view is illustrative — confirm your specific input-tax-recovery position with your accountant. Not tax or financial advice.
ROAS vs ROI: two different questions
| Metric | Formula | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| ROAS | Revenue ÷ Ad spend | "How much revenue per AED of media spend?" |
| ROI | (Revenue − COGS − Spend − Fees) ÷ (Spend + Fees) × 100 | "Am I actually making money?" |
| Break-even ROAS | 1 ÷ Gross margin | "What ROAS do I need just to cover product cost?" |
A campaign can post an impressive 5x ROAS and still lose money once product cost and agency fees are factored in — that gap is exactly what the ROI figure above is built to catch.
The UAE VAT angle
UAE ad platform invoices and agency fees typically carry 5% VAT. For a VAT-registered business, that VAT is usually recoverable as input tax — so it isn't a real cost for a profitability view, even though it is real cash leaving your account this month before the recovery lands on your VAT return. Tick the VAT box above to see both the true-cost and cash-outlay figures side by side.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good ROAS in the UAE?
It depends heavily on your margin, not a fixed universal number. A retailer running on thin 15-20% margins typically needs a ROAS of 5x or higher just to be profitable after product cost, while a services or SaaS business with 70%+ margins can be comfortably profitable at 2x-3x. Rather than chasing a generic benchmark, use this calculator's break-even ROAS figure, which is derived from your own cost structure.
What is the difference between ROAS and ROI?
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) is a simple ratio: revenue divided by ad spend, e.g. "4.2x" meaning AED 4.20 back for every AED 1 spent. It ignores everything except media cost. ROI (Return on Investment) is a percentage that also factors in cost of goods sold and any agency or management fees, so it reflects actual profit rather than top-line revenue. Two campaigns can show an identical ROAS but very different ROI once product cost and fees are included.
Should VAT be included in ad spend when calculating ROI?
For most VAT-registered UAE businesses, the 5% VAT charged on ad platform invoices and agency fees is recoverable as input VAT, so it is not a true cost and arguably shouldn't be included in a profitability calculation. It is, however, real cash that leaves your account this month before the recovery comes through on your VAT return. This calculator shows both the VAT-exclusive (true cost) and VAT-inclusive (cash outlay) figures side by side rather than assuming one applies to your situation \u2014 confirm your own VAT registration and input-tax-recovery position with your accountant.
What counts as "cost" beyond the ad spend itself?
For an accurate ROI, cost should include the ad platform spend, any agency or management retainer, and the cost of goods sold (COGS) on whatever was sold as a result of the campaign \u2014 not just the media buy. Leaving out COGS is the most common reason a campaign looks profitable on ROAS alone but is actually losing money once the product cost is accounted for.
What is break-even ROAS and how is it calculated?
Break-even ROAS is the minimum ROAS at which you neither gain nor lose money, calculated as 1 divided by your gross margin (as a decimal). At a 25% margin, break-even ROAS is 4.0x \u2014 meaning every AED 1 of ad spend needs to generate at least AED 4 in revenue just to cover the cost of what was sold. Any ROAS above that is genuinely profitable; anything below it is losing money even though the campaign appears to be "working" by revenue alone.