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Paid media planning: from budget to sales

Simulate a campaign on Google, Meta, TikTok or any paid media: how many impressions, clicks and sales the budget buys, the cost per sale, ROAS and profit. Also find the most it is worth paying per click and per sale with your margin.

Educational simulation. Not investment advice. Results are estimates based on the data you enter and do not replace advice from a qualified professional.

Reviewed on Oct 31, 2026

Example values for an online store. Use the average numbers from your previous campaigns.

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—Campaign profit for the month
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From budget to sales

Impressions, clicks and sales the budget buys, on a log scale.

Tap the chart to see the values.

Profit by cost per click

Monthly profit at each CPC, with budget, conversion and order value unchanged. The dot marks the maximum CPC, where profit hits zero.

Tap the chart to see the values.

Profit by website conversion and cost per click

Improving the sales page is often worth more than making clicks cheaper.

Campaign result

Next step

Take this page’s results to another calculator with the fields already filled in.

Compare ROI and ROAS by channel →

The summary lists your inputs, results, formulas, assumptions and sources. The full report also includes the charts and interpretations, in color. In the print dialog, choose Save as PDF.

Method, assumptions and sources

Formulas

Clicks = budget ÷ CPC; impressions = clicks ÷ CTR; sales = clicks × conversion; revenue = sales × order value
Profit = revenue × margin − budget − campaign fixed costs
CPM = cost per thousand impressions; maximum CPC = order value × margin × conversion; maximum CPA = order value × margin

Assumptions and limits

  • Educational simulation. In practice, raising the budget a lot tends to make clicks more expensive and lower conversion; test gradual increases.
  • CPC and conversion change with competition, seasonality and ad quality; scale does not keep the same costs.

Official sources and references

Frequently asked questions

What does this calculator do?

It turns a monthly media budget into impressions, clicks, sales, revenue and profit using your average CPC, CTR, conversion rate and order value. It also shows the maximum you can pay per click and per sale with your margin.

Where do I find CPC, CTR and conversion?

CPC and CTR are in your ad platforms’ dashboards (Google Ads, Meta, TikTok), by campaign. Website conversion comes from your analytics tool or store platform: sales ÷ visits from ads. Use averages of at least a month to avoid distortions.

How do I read the default example?

With a $5,000 media budget at $0.80 per click, the campaign buys about 6,250 clicks and 416,667 impressions. At a 2.5% conversion rate, that is 156 sales and $17,188 in revenue (ROAS of 3.44). With a 40% margin and $800 of fixed costs, profit is $1,075 a month. The maximum CPC is $1.10, and each sale costs $37.12 against a $44 maximum.

What is the maximum CPC?

The most you can pay per click before the sales margin stops covering media: average order value × contribution margin × conversion rate. Bidding above it buys sales that lose money on average.

Why does conversion matter so much?

Because it multiplies every click you buy. Raising conversion by 30% has a similar effect to cutting CPC by about 23%, and it is usually within your control: landing page, price, reviews, checkout and shipping all affect it.

Does a bigger budget bring proportionally more sales?

Rarely. With more spend, platforms must reach less interested audiences and auctions get more expensive: CPC rises and conversion drops. Increase the budget in steps of 20% to 30% and check CPA before the next step.

What does the calculator leave out?

Repeat purchases and customer lifetime value, the effect of ads on other channels, seasonality and auction changes. A campaign that loses money on the first sale may still pay off if customers buy again; see the CAC and LTV calculator.

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How to plan a paid media budget

Before spending on Google, Meta, TikTok or any other paid media, it helps to know what the budget can buy and how much each sale may cost. A few averages from previous campaigns are enough to turn a budget into a sales forecast.

From budget to sales

  • Clicks = budget ÷ cost per click (CPC).
  • Impressions = clicks ÷ click-through rate (CTR).
  • Sales = clicks × website conversion rate.
  • Revenue = sales × average order value.

How much you can pay

Maximum CPA = average order value × contribution margin: the most a sale can cost before it stops paying for itself. Maximum CPC = maximum CPA × conversion rate: the most it is worth bidding per click. With a $90 order value, a 40% margin and 2.5% conversion, the maximum CPC is $0.90.

The lever that is in your hands

CPC depends on the auction and on competitors; conversion depends on your page, price and offer. Raising conversion from 2.5% to 3.25% has the same effect as cutting CPC by almost a quarter, and it improves every channel at once.

Scale carefully

Increasing the budget does not keep the same averages: the platform has to reach less interested people and the click gets more expensive. Raise spend in steps and watch CPA and ROAS week by week.