What this calculator measures
Marketing ROI shows how much revenue a campaign or channel returned for every dollar you invested. Use it to compare channels, quarters or individual campaigns on one simple scale and to build the case for where next quarter’s budget should go.
How to use it
- Total investment: Everything the campaign cost: media spend, tools, agency or partner fees and the share of internal salaries spent on it.
- Revenue generated: Closed revenue attributed to the campaign from your CRM, using one attribution rule consistently.
- Select Calculate to see ROI as a percentage.
Formula
ROI (%) = (Revenue generated minus Total investment) ÷ Total investment × 100
Example: $20,000 invested and $60,000 in attributed revenue gives ($60,000 minus $20,000) ÷ $20,000 × 100 = 200%.
Assumptions
- Revenue is closed revenue, not pipeline. For pipeline, run the same math with pipeline value and label it “pipeline ROI”.
- Revenue is gross. For profit-based ROI, multiply revenue by your gross margin first.
- Attribution follows one rule. Mixing first-touch for one channel and last-touch for another makes comparisons unreliable.
How to read your result
- Above 0%: The campaign returned more than it cost.
- 0%: Break-even.
- Below 0%: It returned less than it cost in the period measured. In long B2B sales cycles, this can simply mean deals have not closed yet. Re-run when the typical sales cycle has passed.
Compare ROI against your own historical channels first. That is the benchmark that matters for your budget decision. For per-customer economics, use the paid search ROI calculator to add CAC, LTV and payback.
Related Tools and Reading
- Check how many leads your budget needs with the marketing budget calculator.
- Find where leads drop off with the conversion rate calculator.
- Model paid channels with the Google Ads ROI calculator.
- Connect ROI to CRM data with marketing engineering and read why marketing attribution breaks.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate marketing ROI?
Subtract total investment from attributed revenue, divide by total investment and multiply by 100.
Should marketing ROI use revenue or profit?
Revenue ROI is simpler and common in marketing reports. Profit-based ROI, using gross margin, is more accurate for budget decisions. Pick one and use it consistently.
Why is my B2B marketing ROI negative?
Usually because deals from the campaign have not closed yet, or attribution is missing touches. Check the time window against your sales cycle and confirm CRM source data.
What costs should I include in marketing investment?
Media, tools, partner or agency fees and a share of internal team time. Leaving out people costs inflates ROI.
