Marketing budget calculator
Determine the optimal marketing budget to hit your revenue target, factoring in your CAC and gross margin.
Enter your data to calculate the budget.
Revenue you want to achieve.
Current average customer acquisition cost.
Gross margin percentage on revenue.
Enter your data and click Calculate to see your results.
Understanding marketing budget
The 30% rule
A healthy e-commerce standard is to allocate roughly 30% of gross profit to marketing. High-growth brands can push to 40-50% to capture market share.
Top-down method
Start from your revenue target, calculate the gross profit generated, then apply a target percentage. This method protects profitability while fueling growth.
Bottom-up method (CAC)
Determine how many customers you need to acquire, multiply by your target CAC. Ideal for pure acquisition budgets with clear volume objectives.
Acquisition and retention balance
Reserve 20-30% of marketing budget for retention (email, loyalty, content). This lever improves LTV and reduces pressure on acquisition CAC.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of revenue should go to marketing?+
For mature e-commerce, 7% to 12% of revenue. During aggressive growth, 15% to 25%. For a launch, it can climb to 30%+ to establish the brand.
How to balance acquisition and retention?+
A simple rule: 70% acquisition / 30% retention during growth, 50/50 at maturity, and the reverse during consolidation when retention becomes priority.
Should salaries be included in the marketing budget?+
Yes for precise steering. A complete marketing budget includes media spend, tools, freelancers and marketing team salaries.
How to adjust the budget in real time?+
Track your weekly ROAS and CAC per channel. Shift budget toward performing channels and cut channels exceeding target CAC for more than two weeks.
What ROAS should I target to be profitable?+
Profitable ROAS depends on your gross margin. Simple rule: Break-even ROAS = 1 / (gross margin - 30% marketing). For example, with 40% margin, aim for at least 2.5 ROAS.
How does Fullmetrix help optimize the budget?+
Fullmetrix shows you real profitability per channel (net profit, not just ROAS) so you can shift budget toward channels that generate profit, not just revenue.
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