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Paid Ads ROI Calculator

Is running Google or Meta ads worth it for your freelance business? Enter your budget, CPC, close rate, and project value to see funnel metrics, LTV:CAC ratio, break-even, and a verdict.

Where this fits

📦 Business & Seller OpsGoing 1099Cash FlowFreelancersFounders

This tool lives inside Going 1099 + Cash Flow and is most useful for freelancers and founders.

Corp Tax Rate21%
SE Threshold$400
FICA Cap 2024$168,600

Ad Campaign Inputs

Total you plan to spend on Google/Meta ads per month

$

Typical revenue per client project or engagement

$

Estimated CPC for your niche — $2–8 for most freelance services

$

% of ad clicks that submit a lead form or contact you

%

% of ad leads you convert into paying clients

%

How many projects does an average client hire you for over time

🚀

Strong ROI

Excellent ROI. Every $1 in ad spend returns 9.0x in revenue. Your LTV:CAC ratio of 22.5 is well above the 3:1 benchmark — scale this up.

Monthly funnel

125

Clicks

10.0

Leads

1.50

New clients

$50.00

Cost per lead

$333

Cost per client (CPA)

$4,500

Revenue / month

$7,500

Client LTV

22.5x

LTV:CAC ratio

benchmark ≥ 3x

800%

Gross ROI

0.1 mo

CPA payback period

Break-even analysis

Min project value to break even$333
Min close rate to break even2%
1

Estimated clicks per month

monthly ad spend ÷ cost per click

$500 ÷ $4.00

= 125

2

Estimated leads per month

clicks × landing page CTR

125 × 8%

= 10.0

CTR here is the % of ad clicks that submit a lead form or contact you.

3

Estimated clients per month

leads × close rate

10.0 × 15%

= 1.50

4

Cost per lead (CPL)

ad spend ÷ leads

$500 ÷ 10.0

= $50.00

5

Cost per acquisition (CPA)

ad spend ÷ clients

$500 ÷ 1.50

= $333

CPA is what you actually spend to land one client.

6

Revenue per month

clients × avg project value

1.50 × $3,000

= $4,500

7

Client lifetime value (LTV)

avg project value × avg lifetime projects

$3,000 × 2.5

= $7,500

8

LTV:CAC ratio

LTV ÷ CPA

$7,500 ÷ $333

= 22.5x

Benchmark: >3x is healthy. Below 1x means ads lose money even accounting for repeat business.

9

Gross ROI

(revenue − ad spend) ÷ ad spend × 100

($4,500 − $500) ÷ $500 × 100

= 800%

10

Break-even project value

ad spend ÷ clients per month

$500 ÷ 1.50

= $333

Minimum average project value needed to recoup ad spend.

11

Break-even close rate

(ad spend ÷ leads ÷ project value) × 100

($500 ÷ 10.0 ÷ $3,000) × 100

= 2%

Minimum close rate needed to break even at current CPC, CTR, and project value.

Key insight

At $500/mo in ad spend, you generate ~1.5 clients/month at a CPA of $333. Your LTV:CAC ratio is 22.5x and gross ROI is 800%.

#ShowYourWork

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