What is social media ROI?
Social media ROI shows whether the money and time you put into social channels earn more than they cost. Unlike ROAS, it includes every cost, not just ad spend.
Social media ROI formula
ROI = (revenue − total costs) ÷ total costs × 100
Example: 5,000 revenue, 2,000 ads and 1,000 for tools and content: (5,000 − 3,000) ÷ 3,000 = 66.7%.
How to track revenue from social
Use UTM tags on every link, track sales in your analytics or store, and give each campaign its own discount code. Without tracking, social revenue is easy to undercount.
Social media ROI examples
A brand earning 2 for every 1 spent has 100% ROI. If ad platforms report a strong ROAS but ROI is low, your other costs are eating the profit. Read ROAS vs ROI for the full difference.
What is social media ROI and why measure it?
Social media ROI is the return you get from social activity compared with what it costs. It answers the question managers ask most: is social worth the money? Unlike ROAS, which only covers ad spend, ROI counts every cost: ads, tools, content production and people's time.
Social media ROI formula step by step
- Add up revenue you can trace to social (tracked links, promo codes, platform conversions).
- Add up all costs for the same period: ad spend, tools, freelancers and team hours × hourly cost.
- Subtract costs from revenue to get profit.
- Divide profit by costs and multiply by 100.
ROI = (revenue − cost) ÷ cost × 100
Marketing ROI beyond sales
Not every goal is revenue. If social drives leads, sign-ups or support savings, give each a value (for example, average lead value × close rate) and use that as the return. Write down the values you choose so the figure can be repeated each month.
How to use this calculator
Enter revenue from social media, ad spend and tools, content & staff costs. The result updates as you type, so you do not need to press Calculate after each change. Use Copy result to paste the figure into a report, or Share link to send the calculator with your numbers already filled in.
Related calculators
You may also want the CTR Calculator (Click-Through Rate), Email CTR and Click-to-Open Rate Calculator, CPM Calculator. Browse everything in ad cost metrics calculators.
Frequently asked questions
What costs should I include?
Ad spend, scheduling and design tools, content production and the time your team spends.
Can ROI be negative?
Yes. It means social cost more than it brought in over the period.
What is a good social media ROI?
Any ROI above 0% means social earned more than it cost. Many marketers look for at least 100% (doubling the money), but compare it with your other channels.
Results are estimates based on the numbers you enter and are not financial advice.