How do I calculate break-even ROAS for Etsy Ads?
Divide what the buyer pays by what one sale keeps after Etsy’s fees and your own costs.
Start with the price plus any shipping you charge. Take off Etsy’s 6.5% transaction fee, 3% + $0.25 payment processing and the $0.20 listing renewal, then your materials, packaging and postage. What’s left is what one sale keeps. For a $30 item with free shipping and $14.50 of costs, that’s $12.20, and $30 ÷ $12.20 is a break-even ROAS of about 2.46.
What is a good ROAS on Etsy Ads?
Any ROAS comfortably above your own break-even. There is no single good number for every shop.
An item that keeps a small share of its price needs a much higher ROAS than a pricier piece that keeps a bigger share. Work it out per listing. The calculator treats anything within 20% above break-even as break-even, because Etsy’s count of ad orders is generous.
Why can a high ROAS still lose money?
ROAS compares ad revenue to ad cost. It leaves out Etsy’s other fees and everything you spent to make and ship the item.
Etsy describes ROAS as a measure of how profitable an ad is, but by its own definition it compares ad-attributed revenue to ad cost. Revenue isn’t what you keep. At a ROAS of 2.25, $40 of ads brought in $90, yet 3 sales kept $36.60, which is $3.40 less than the ads cost.
How does Etsy decide an order came from an ad?
A shopper clicks your ad, then buys any item in your shop within 30 days.
It doesn’t have to be the item they clicked, and some of those shoppers may have bought anyway. That’s why the calculator lets you count fewer ad orders than Etsy does. Ad views are free: you pay only when a shopper clicks.
How much can I afford to pay per click?
No more than what one sale keeps, multiplied by the share of clicks that turn into orders.
You don’t set a bid on Etsy Ads: Etsy calculates it, and your daily budget caps the spend. Your average cost per click is budget spent divided by clicks. If 3 of 120 clicks became orders and each keeps $12.20, a click is worth about $0.31 to you. Paying $0.33 a click means every click costs a little more than it earns.
Should I turn off Etsy Ads when ROAS drops?
Not after one slow week. Look at 30 days, then pause the listings that stay below break-even rather than the whole campaign.
Etsy suggests running an ad for 30 days before turning it off, and daily numbers jump around. You can stop advertising any single listing at any time.
Frequently asked questions
Do Etsy Ads cost money if nobody clicks?
No. Etsy Ads charge only when a shopper clicks an ad. Your daily budget is the most you can spend in a day, and the minimum budget is $1.
Are Offsite Ads part of this calculator?
No. Offsite Ads are a separate program that charges a percentage of the orders they bring in. If a buyer’s last click before ordering was an Etsy Ad, only the Etsy Ads cost applies.
Do Etsy Ads improve my listing’s normal search ranking?
Etsy says Etsy Ads do not directly change organic search placement.
Which listings does Etsy advertise when I start?
All current listings, by default. You can choose which listings to advertise, pause any one of them, or turn Etsy Ads off at any time.
Can I use the same break-even for every listing?
No. Each listing has its own price and costs, so each has its own break-even. Check the listings with the most budget spent first.
Related guides and tools
Sources
Every Etsy rule and rate on this page comes from Etsy’s own policy and help pages, checked on the dates shown.
- Etsy Fees & Payments Policy checked September 30, 2026
- Etsy Help: How to Review the Performance of Your Etsy Ads checked September 30, 2026
- Etsy Help: How to Set Up and Manage an Etsy Ads Campaign (Etsy Help; en-in edition, en-us edition has the same text but collapsed step lists) checked September 29, 2026
- Etsy Help: How to Set Up and Manage an Etsy Ads Campaign (Etsy Help) checked September 26, 2026
- How Etsy Search Works (Seller Handbook, dated August 26, 2025) checked September 29, 2026
Last reviewed by the mySHOP team. Estimates for US sellers paid in US dollars. Your Etsy Ads page and Payment account show the exact amounts. mySHOP is independent and not affiliated with Etsy, Inc.