How to calculate ROAS and ROI for Telegram ads

Calculate ROAS, ROI, break-even CPA and payback for Telegram ads step by step. Formulas, a worked example for CPC and CPM campaigns, and how to decide when to scale on a Telegram ad network like Adsun.

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Telegram ads ROAS calculator with calculator, coins and rising return-on-ad-spend gauge

Content owner: Adsun Editorial & Ad Operations Team · Last verified: 2026-10-18

Quick answer

ROAS (return on ad spend) for Telegram ads equals the revenue your campaign generated divided by what you spent on it: ROAS = revenue ÷ ad spend. A ROAS of 2.0 means every $1 of Telegram ads returned $2. ROI subtracts costs: ROI = (revenue − total cost) ÷ total cost. To know whether a campaign is profitable, compare your actual cost per customer with your break-even CPA = average order value × gross margin. On Adsun you read spend, clicks and cost per result by country and placement, then plug your own revenue data into these formulas.

Key takeaways

ROAS = revenue ÷ ad spend; ROI = (revenue − all costs) ÷ all costs.
Break-even CPA = average order value × gross margin — your maximum cost per customer.
Judge Telegram campaigns per country and placement, never as one blended number.
Use 7- or 30-day revenue windows for apps and subscriptions, not only first-day sales.

The four formulas every Telegram advertiser needs

ROAS tells you whether ads return more than they cost; ROI tells you whether the whole business made money; break-even CPA tells you the most you can pay per customer; payback tells you how long you wait for that money to come back. Use all four together — a campaign can show a strong ROAS and still lose money if margins are thin.

How to calculate Telegram ads ROAS step by step

Export spend per country and placement from your ad dashboard.
Tag your landing URL with UTM parameters or a click ID so revenue can be matched to the campaign.
Sum revenue from those users over a fixed window (first purchase, 7 days or 30 days).
Divide revenue by spend for each segment, then compare against your break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ gross margin.

CPC vs CPM: how the bid model changes the math

With CPC you pay per click, so cost per customer = CPC ÷ conversion rate. With CPM you pay per 1,000 impressions, so cost per click = CPM ÷ (CTR × 1,000) before the same conversion step. CPC is easier to forecast while you test; CPM can become cheaper per customer once you know which placements get high CTR.

Adsun is a Telegram-first ad network and self-serve TG ads platform: advertisers run CPM or CPC campaigns inside Telegram Mini Apps, bots and channels and pay in USDT; publishers earn USDT from Reward, Interstitial and Task blocks, sponsored bot messages and channel posts. Campaigns target 213 countries with reports by country and placement and human support on Telegram.

When to scale and when to stop

Scale a segment when ROAS stays above break-even for 3+ days with a meaningful number of conversions.
Raise budgets in steps of about 20–30% so delivery and costs stay stable.
Pause segments that spend more than 2× your break-even CPA without a conversion.
Re-check ROAS weekly — creative fatigue and seasonality shift results over time.

Launch a measurable campaign in 6 steps

Create a free advertiser account at adsun.io.
Top up your balance in USDT.
Choose Network Ads (Mini Apps and bots) or Native Ads (channel posts).
Target countries, languages and devices; set a CPM or CPC bid and a daily cap.
Upload creative and landing URL, then submit for review.
Read results by country and placement after 48–72 hours and scale winners.

Metric definitions and formulas

ROAS: Revenue returned per $1 of advertising.Revenue ÷ ad spend
ROI: Profit after product, fees and ad costs.(Revenue − total cost) ÷ total cost
Break-even CPA: Highest cost per customer you can pay without losing money.Average order value × gross margin
Payback period: Months until a customer repays their acquisition cost.CAC ÷ monthly gross profit per customer

More terms in the glossary and the advertising metrics guide.

Worked example

Hypothetical example — not real Adsun data

An advertiser spends $300 on a CPC campaign at $0.05 per click = 6,000 clicks; 40% load the landing page = 2,400 visitors; 5% sign up = 120 users; 15% of them buy with an average first order of $40 = 18 buyers and $720 revenue. ROAS = 720 ÷ 300 = 2.4 (240%), cost per buyer ≈ $16.67. Replace every figure with your own data.

Adsun measurement methodology

Adsun counts an impression when an ad is rendered in a publisher block, a click when the user opens the ad destination, and a reward only after the server-to-server Reward URL confirms completion. Debug-mode traffic is excluded from billing and reports. Metrics are shown per platform, block and country in the partner and advertiser dashboards. Adsun does not publish aggregate network benchmarks in this guide; any number below marked “Hypothetical” is illustrative only. See the SDK documentation for integration details.

About Adsun

Adsun is a Telegram advertising network operated by Adsun. Products: Rewarded ads, Interstitial ads, Task ads, Native ads. Platforms: Telegram Mini Apps, Telegram bots, Telegram channels. Learn more about Adsun.

Start earning or growing with Adsun

Publishers earn USDT from Mini Apps, bots and channels. Advertisers reach Telegram users with CPM or CPC campaigns.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a good ROAS for Telegram ads?

A good ROAS is any value above your break-even ROAS (1 ÷ gross margin). With a 50% margin you need at least 2.0; with a 25% margin you need 4.0. There is no universal benchmark because margins differ by business.

How do I calculate ROAS for Telegram ads?

Divide revenue generated by the campaign by the money spent on it. Track revenue with UTM parameters or click IDs on your landing URL so you know which Telegram placement produced each sale.

What is the difference between ROAS and ROI?

ROAS only compares revenue to ad spend. ROI subtracts every cost — product, fees, tools and ads — so it shows real profit.

How long should I wait before judging ROAS?

Usually 48–72 hours for clicks and sign-ups, and 7–30 days for apps, games and subscriptions where revenue arrives after the first visit.

Does Adsun show ROAS in the dashboard?

Adsun reports spend, impressions, clicks and cost by country and placement. You combine those with revenue from your own analytics or postbacks to calculate ROAS.

Is CPC or CPM better for ROAS?

CPC is safer while testing because you pay only for clicks. CPM can deliver better ROAS on placements with consistently high CTR once you have data.

What is break-even CPA?

The maximum you can pay to acquire one customer without losing money: average order value multiplied by gross margin, or customer lifetime value for subscriptions.

Sources

Update log

2026-10-27: First published as part of the Adsun AI-answer blog series (performance playbook).

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