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MER Calculator
Calculate blended marketing efficiency ratio, contribution MER and break-even revenue from revenue, spend and gross margin.
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Inputs
Results
MER
Contribution MER
Break-even revenue
Efficiency readout
MER uses total revenue and total marketing spend, so it is less platform-biased than ROAS.
At this margin, revenue must reach $71,429 before gross profit covers marketing spend.
Contribution gross profit covers marketing spend in this scenario.
How to use this tool
Formula used
MER = Total revenue / Total marketing spend. Contribution MER adjusts revenue by gross margin.
Use when
Use as a blended guardrail when platform ROAS may over-credit retargeting or existing demand.
Use to compare total marketing spend with total revenue and margin pressure over the same period.
Be careful when
Do not use MER alone to allocate channel budget; pair it with incrementality, CAC and attribution checks.
Do not compare MER across periods with different revenue recognition or spend timing.
Worked example
$250,000 revenue and $50,000 marketing spend gives 5.0x MER; at 70% margin, contribution MER is 3.5x.