PPC Campaign Calculator
What a pay-per-click budget buys, and the budget a conversion target needs.
Try before you buy.
- Free preview: the conversions forecast (or the budget a target needs) in full, with the first rows of the scenario table; every other figure is hidden.
- Locked until you unlock it: download and copy.
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Forecast
Enter your figures to start.
- Budget —
- Impressions —
- Clicks —
- Conversions —
- Revenue —
- Profit after ads —
Scenarios
| Figure | Cautious | Expected | Optimistic |
|---|
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Locked in the free preview. Batch runs unlock with a pass.
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Results are estimates for general information and planning, not financial advice. Banks and institutions may calculate differently (rounding, fees, rate changes). Confirm figures with your lender or a qualified adviser before deciding.
How this tool is checked
- Based on
- the method set out under ‘The formulas’.
- Sources
-
This guide cites 7 sources, among them:
- Tests
- 22 automated tests check its results.
- Found an error?
- Report a problem or write to support@mysmartcopilot.com, with what you entered and the result you expected.
About the PPC Campaign Calculator
Enter what you plan to spend, what a click costs — your average CPC, or the CPM and clickthrough rate if you buy impressions — how many clicks convert and what a conversion is worth. The calculator forecasts the clicks, conversions, cost per conversion (CPA), revenue, ROAS and profit after ads, and puts a cautious and an optimistic scenario beside the expected one, with the spreads you choose. Switch to Budget for a target to work backwards: the budget that reaches a number of conversions, a revenue or a profit after ads.
With your gross margin it also shows the break-even CPA and the highest CPC that still breaks even — the two limits to check before you raise a bid. Every figure comes from your own inputs: nothing is assumed about your market.
Without a pass, you see a free preview: the conversions forecast (or the budget for a target) in full, with the first rows of the scenario table, what each scenario buys; the revenue, ROAS, profit, the break-even limits and every other figure are hidden. All of them, Copy result and the CSV unlock with a Pro pass.
How to use it
- Choose Forecast a budget (what a budget buys) or Budget for a target (what a goal costs), and your currency.
- Enter the budget or the target, and whether it is per day, per month or for the whole campaign. A daily budget is also shown as a month of 30.4 days, as Google Ads counts one.
- Under How you pay, enter the average cost per click — or, if you buy impressions, the CPM and the clickthrough rate. With CPC, an optional CTR adds the impressions.
- Enter the conversion rate (conversions ÷ clicks) and the value per conversion (average order value, or what a lead is worth). Add your gross margin for the profit after ads and the break-even limits.
- Read the forecast, then the Scenarios table; change the spreads under Scenario spreads to test a dearer click or a weaker landing page. With a pass, or after unlocking this result, copy the forecast or download the scenarios as CSV.
Examples
Budget 1,000 a month · CPC 1.20 · conversion rate 5% · order value 90 · gross margin 40%
833 clicks · 41.7 conversions · CPA 24.00 · revenue 3,750 · ROAS 3.75× · profit after ads 500
Clicks = 1,000 ÷ 1.20; conversions = clicks × 5%; CPA = 1.20 ÷ 5%; profit = 3,750 × 40% − 1,000.
Order value 90 · gross margin 40% · conversion rate 5%
Break-even CPA 90 × 40% = 36 · break-even CPC 36 × 5% = 1.80
At 1.20 a click the campaign has room; above 1.80 every conversion costs more than it leaves.
Same campaign · click cost ±20% · conversion rate ±20%
Cautious: CPC 1.44, 4% → 27.8 conversions, CPA 36, profit 0 · Optimistic: CPC 0.96, 6% → 62.5 conversions, CPA 16, profit 1,250
Budget 500 · CPM 8.00 · CTR 1.5% · conversion rate 3%
62,500 impressions · 937.5 clicks (0.53 a click) · 28.1 conversions · CPA 17.78
Cost per click = CPM ÷ (1,000 × CTR) = 8 ÷ 15.
Target 50 conversions · CPC 1.20 · conversion rate 5%
CPA 24 → budget 50 × 24 = 1,200 (1,000 clicks)
Profit after ads 500 · order value 90 · margin 40% · CPA 24
Each conversion leaves 36 − 24 = 12 → 41.7 conversions → budget 1,000
Common uses
- Planning a new search or shopping campaign: what a monthly budget is likely to bring at the CPC your keyword planner shows.
- Setting a bid ceiling: the highest CPC at which conversions still pay for themselves.
- Answering “how much do we need to spend for 100 leads a month?” before a budget meeting.
- Comparing paying per click with paying per 1,000 impressions on the same campaign.
The formulas
- Clicks = budget ÷ CPC; buying impressions, impressions = budget ÷ CPM × 1,000 and clicks = impressions × CTR, so the cost per click is CPM ÷ (1,000 × CTR).
- Conversions = clicks × conversion rate. Cost per conversion (CPA) = budget ÷ conversions = CPC ÷ conversion rate.
- Revenue = conversions × value per conversion. ROAS = revenue ÷ budget (4× is 400%).
- Profit after ads = revenue × gross margin − budget. Without a margin the tool shows revenue after ad spend instead.
- Break-even CPA = value × margin; break-even CPC = break-even CPA × conversion rate; break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ margin.
- Budget for a target: conversions needed × CPA, where a revenue target needs revenue ÷ value conversions and a profit target needs profit ÷ (value × margin − CPA).
Clicks, clickthrough rate, cost per click and cost per conversion are the online advertising metrics of Marketing Metrics (Farris, Bendle, Pfeifer & Reibstein), chapter “Online, Email, and Mobile Metrics”; the profit and break-even figures apply your gross margin as its chapter “Margins and Profits” does.
Where the inputs come from
The definitions match Google Ads Help, so you can copy the columns of your account straight in:
- CTR is “the number of clicks that your ad receives divided by the number of times your ad is shown”: 5 clicks from 100 impressions is 5% (Clickthrough rate (CTR)).
- Conversion rate is conversions divided by the ad interactions that can be tracked to a conversion in the same period: 50 conversions from 1,000 interactions is 5% (Conversion rate).
- Avg. CPC is “calculated by dividing the total cost of your clicks by the total number of clicks” (Average cost-per-click).
- Target CPA is “the average amount you’d like to pay for a conversion” (About Target CPA bidding); target ROAS is conversion value ÷ ad spend × 100% (About Target ROAS bidding).
Use figures from the same period and the same conversion counting: Google Ads’ Every setting counts each conversion after an ad interaction, One only one per click (About conversion counting options), so Every can show a higher conversion rate.
Daily and monthly budgets
Google Ads treats a campaign’s budget as an average: on any one day it may spend up to two times the average daily budget, and in a month up to “30.4 times your average daily budget for most campaigns” (About average daily budgets). So the calculator shows a daily budget as a month of 30.4 days, and a monthly budget as its average day.
Reading the scenarios
A forecast is only as good as its click cost and conversion rate, and both move: bids change with competition, and a landing page converts better or worse than planned. The Cautious column makes a click dearer and the conversion rate lower by the spreads you set (20% each to start); Optimistic does the opposite; you can also move the value per conversion. If the cautious column still makes a profit, the plan has room. If it loses money, check the break-even CPC before you commit the budget.
Limitations
- The forecast is a straight line: twice the budget gives twice the clicks. Real auctions often get dearer as you spend more (higher bids, weaker placements), so treat large budget increases with the cautious column.
- It uses your averages. Click costs, conversion rates and order values differ by keyword, device, audience and season, and conversion tracking decides what counts.
- Profit after ads covers the per-sale costs in your gross margin only: platform and agency fees, taxes on ad spend and fixed costs are not included unless they are in your figures.
- Amounts are in the currency you choose and are not converted. A planning aid, not financial advice.
Privacy
On this device: nothing is sent
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, PPC Campaign Calculator shows the conversions forecast (or the budget a target needs) in full, with the first rows of the scenario table; every other figure is hidden. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be downloaded or copied. A Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment that never renews, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
How many conversions will my PPC budget get?
Divide the budget by the cost per click for the clicks, then multiply by the conversion rate. At 1,000 a month, 1.20 a click and 5% conversion that is 833 clicks and about 42 conversions, a cost per conversion of 24. The calculator does this for you, with a cautious and an optimistic case beside it.
What is the highest CPC I can afford?
The break-even CPC: value per conversion × gross margin × conversion rate. With a 90 order, a 40% margin and a 5% conversion rate it is 90 × 0.40 × 0.05 = 1.80. Above it, every conversion costs more than it leaves before other costs. Bid below it to make a profit.
What is a good conversion rate for a PPC campaign?
There is no single good figure: it depends on what you sell, the keyword, the offer and the landing page. Use your own account’s past results for the same kind of campaign, and use the cautious scenario to see what happens if the rate comes in lower.
What is the difference between CPC and CPA?
CPC is what one click costs; CPA (cost per acquisition, or cost per conversion) is what one conversion costs. CPA = CPC ÷ conversion rate, so at 1.20 a click and a 5% conversion rate each conversion costs 24.
Why is my monthly spend not 30 times my daily budget?
Google Ads uses averages: it can spend up to twice the average daily budget on a busy day, and up to 30.4 times it in a month for most campaigns, the average number of days in a month. The calculator uses 30.4 days when it turns a daily budget into a month.
Should I enter CPC or CPM?
Enter what you pay. Search campaigns usually charge per click (CPC); display, video and social ads are often bought per 1,000 impressions (CPM). For CPM, the clickthrough rate decides the clicks: cost per click = CPM ÷ (1,000 × CTR). The CPM calculator compares placements bought per impression.