What Is a Good ROAS? Industry Benchmarks for 2026

Why "Good" ROAS Is Relative

Before diving into benchmarks, the most important thing to understand: a "good" ROAS for your business is one that's above your break-even point. A 3x ROAS might be excellent for a high-margin digital product and catastrophic for a thin-margin dropshipper. Industry averages are directionally useful but cannot tell you if your specific business is profitable.

Always calculate your own break-even ROAS first using our free calculator. Then use industry benchmarks only to sanity-check whether your campaigns are competitive, not whether they're profitable.

Ecommerce ROAS Benchmarks (2026)

Ecommerce is the most ROAS-obsessed vertical, with benchmarks varying significantly by category, margin structure, and channel.

Notice that electronics has the highest average ROAS benchmarks — but also the thinnest margins. A 6x ROAS on a product with 15% gross margin means you're still losing money relative to that margin. Higher-ROAS industries often have that requirement precisely because their margins demand it.

Lead Generation ROAS Benchmarks

Lead gen ROAS is trickier because "revenue" is often lifetime customer value, not a one-time transaction. Many lead gen advertisers use Cost Per Lead (CPL) or Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) instead of ROAS, but for those who do track it:

• Home services (plumbing, HVAC, roofing): 5x – 15x — high job values, competitive CPCs
• Legal services: 4x – 12x — high LTV offsets expensive clicks
• Financial services: 3x – 8x — high compliance costs compress margins
• Healthcare / med spa: 4x – 10x — repeat visits drive LTV
• Real estate: 3x – 6x — long conversion cycles make attribution difficult

SaaS ROAS Benchmarks

SaaS companies often run paid ads at a deliberate loss in year one, banking on lifetime customer value (LTV) to justify the spend. If you retain customers for 24 months at $100/month, a $500 acquisition cost is profitable even with a sub-1x initial ROAS.

When SaaS companies do target positive ROAS, benchmarks typically look like:

• SMB SaaS (monthly plans): 2x – 4x based on first-year revenue
• Enterprise SaaS: 1x – 3x, with LTV justifying extended payback periods
• Self-serve / product-led: 3x – 6x, lower CAC offsets shorter sales cycles

For SaaS, the more relevant calculation is LTV:CAC ratio rather than ROAS — but break-even ROAS on the initial contract value is still a useful guardrail.

Local Business ROAS Benchmarks

Local businesses advertising on Google Search or Meta often have high margins on services but face high CPCs in competitive markets. Typical ROAS targets:

• Restaurants: 3x – 6x (high frequency, lower ticket size)
• Salons & spas: 4x – 8x (repeat bookings compound value)
• Auto repair: 5x – 12x (high job value, strong urgency)
• Dental & medical: 4x – 10x (long patient LTV)

The Only Benchmark That Really Matters

Industry benchmarks are a starting point, not a strategy. A competitor hitting 4x ROAS may have lower costs than you, a higher AOV, a better return rate, or more efficient fulfillment. Their break-even is different from yours.

The only ROAS benchmark that matters for your business is your own break-even point. Calculate it, set your target 20–50% above it, and use industry data only to identify when something is dramatically out of line — not to judge whether you're profitable.