What is ROAS, CPL, CTR and CPM in advertising, and how do you calculate them?
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Quick answer
ROAS is how much revenue comes back for every unit of currency spent on ads. CPL is cost per lead: ad spend divided by leads. CTR is click-through rate: clicks divided by impressions. CPM is the cost of a thousand impressions. In LUME Hub, all of them show on the Overview tab of Meta Ads and Google Ads.
ROAS, CPL, CTR and CPM are the acronyms you'll see most in any ad performance report. Each one answers a different question: did the ad make money, what did each contact cost, did people care, and what did it cost to be seen. This article explains each one, shows the math and tells you where it lives in LUME Hub. For the app as a whole, see the Ads app guide.
The Ads screens currently show their labels in Portuguese, so card names are quoted as they appear on screen, followed by their meaning in English.
What is ROAS?
ROAS (return on ad spend) is how much revenue comes back for every unit of currency you spend on ads.
- Formula: purchase value attributed to ads ÷ ad spend.
- Example: you spend 1,000 and the ads record 4,000 in purchases. Your ROAS is 4: every dollar turned into four in sales.
- In LUME Hub: the ROAS card shows on the Overview tab as "4x", with a note on how much came back in purchases per unit spent. It only appears when the account records purchase value. Without it, the same spot shows Custo por clique (cost per click).
What is CPL and cost per result?
CPL (cost per lead) is the average cost of each person who left their contact details.
- Formula: ad spend ÷ number of leads.
- Example: 600 spent and 40 leads give a CPL of 15.
- In LUME Hub: the card is called Custo por (cost per) followed by the period's main result. When the result is "Leads", it's your cost per lead. When it's "Conversas iniciadas" (conversations started) or "Compras" (purchases), it becomes cost per conversation or cost per purchase. That's cost per result: the same math, using whatever result the campaign is optimizing for.
What is CTR?
CTR (click-through rate) tells you how many people clicked out of every 100 who saw the ad.
- Formula: link clicks ÷ impressions × 100.
- Example: 20,000 impressions and 300 link clicks give 1.5 clicks per 100 impressions.
- In LUME Hub: the CTR card sits on the Overview tab, and a CTR column appears on the Campaigns tab. The Diagnostic tab warns you when CTR is very low or below expectations, and also flags when it's healthy.
What is CPM?
CPM (cost per mille) is what it costs for your ad to be shown a thousand times.
- Formula: ad spend ÷ impressions × 1,000.
- Example: 500 spent for 50,000 impressions gives a CPM of 10.
- In LUME Hub: the CPM card notes that it's the cost of appearing a thousand times and that it rises when the auction gets tighter. The Diagnostic tab tells you when CPM went up or down compared with the previous period.
How to read all four together
No metric works alone. A high CPM with a high CTR can be worth it; a high CTR with a high CPL can point to a problem after the click, on the landing page or in the conversation. That's why LUME Hub shows every number next to its change against the previous period: your own history is the best benchmark.
To see where each number lives and how to use the filters, read how to analyze ad performance. For a written read of these metrics with recommendations, see how to get AI insights on your ad results.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between ROAS and ROI?
ROAS only looks at the ad: purchase revenue divided by ad spend. ROI looks at business profit, also subtracting costs like product, shipping and staff. A high ROAS can still mean a low ROI.
Why doesn't the ROAS card show up in LUME Hub?
Because ROAS only appears when the account records purchase value in the period. Without it, the same spot shows cost per click instead.
Are CPL and cost per result the same thing?
CPL is one kind of cost per result, where the result is a lead. If the period's main result is a started conversation or a purchase, the card becomes cost per conversation or cost per purchase.
What's a good CTR or a good CPM?
It depends on your niche, audience, format and platform, so there's no single number. The most useful benchmark is your own history, which LUME Hub already shows next to each metric.
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