Ad budget calculator

What your ad money could buy in clicks and sales, or how much you need for a sales goal.

Before you boost a post or run an ad, it helps to know what the money is likely to buy. Plug in your budget and a few rates to see estimated clicks, sales and return, or work backwards from the sales you want.

Why use it

See whether an ad can pay for itself before you spend a kobo, a cent or a penny.
Find the number that matters most: if one sale costs more in ads than it earns you, change the ad, the offer or the price.
Work backwards from a sales goal to a realistic budget, and spot when the goal is not affordable yet.

How it works

Enter your budget and either the cost per thousand views (CPM) or the cost per click (CPC).
Add your click-through rate, conversion rate and average sale value.
Read the estimated impressions, clicks, sales, cost per sale and return on ad spend.
Or switch to reverse mode and enter the number of sales you want to see the budget needed.

Good to know

CPM stands for cost per mille. Mille is Latin for a thousand.
Example: 50,000 at a CPM of 1,000 buys 50,000 views. At 1% click-through that is 500 clicks; at 2% conversion that is 10 sales. At 15,000 a sale, that is 150,000 back: a return on ad spend of 3.
Return on ad spend counts revenue, not profit. A ROAS of 3 can still lose money once you pay for the products, delivery and your time.

Questions

What is a good return on ad spend?

It depends on your margins. If your profit on a sale is small, you need a higher ROAS to come out ahead. Work out your cost per sale and compare it with the profit, not the price, of each sale.

Where do I get the CPM, CTR and conversion figures?

Your ad platform's reports give CPM, CPC and click-through rate once an ad has run. Conversion rate comes from your own sales. If you have no history yet, run a small test ad and use those figures.

Will I really get these results?

Treat them as a rough guide, not a promise. Real results swing with your audience, creative, offer, timing and competition. Start with a small budget, measure, and only scale up what works.

Is my information saved?

Only on your own device, so your rates are there next time. Nothing you type is sent to us.

Please note

Provided free, as is, for general use. It is not marketing, financial or investment advice. Results are estimates based on the rates you enter; real ad performance varies widely and is not guaranteed. Start small, test, and check your actual results before spending more. You are responsible for your ad spend and for following each platform's advertising policies and the consumer rules where you are.