Email ROI Calculator — Find Out If Your Campaigns Are Actually Profitable
Most marketers underestimate their true campaign cost. Include everything — platform fees, copywriting, design time, tools. See your real return in 30 seconds.
Before you calculate
Most marketers only count their ESP subscription cost. Your true campaign cost includes copywriting time, design hours, list management, testing tools, and any paid acquisition. Missing these inflates your ROI.
Email Marketing ROI Benchmarks
Email marketing delivers an average ROI of £36–£42 for every £1 spent (3600–4200% ROI), making it one of the highest-ROI digital channels. See full 2026 benchmarks by industry →
Average ROI
3,600%+
Avg Revenue/Email
£0.08–£0.10
Break-Even Typical
£0.01/email
How Email ROI is Calculated
ROI = ((Revenue − Campaign Cost) ÷ Campaign Cost) × 100
Net Profit = Revenue Generated − Total Campaign Cost
Revenue per Email = Total Revenue ÷ Emails Sent
Break-Even Orders = Campaign Cost ÷ Average Order Value (rounded up)
Campaign cost should include all costs associated with producing and sending the campaign: email platform fees, list management, copywriting, design, and any paid promotion.
Compare Your ROI
How does your ROI stack up against industry averages?
Not sure what good looks like for your industry? See 2026 benchmarks by industry & list size →
Email ROI: Why Email Remains the Highest-Return Marketing Channel
Email marketing consistently delivers the highest return on investment of any digital marketing channel. Industry research puts the average return at £36–£42 for every £1 spent, though results vary considerably by sector, list quality, and campaign strategy. Understanding your own ROI — rather than relying on averages — is essential for making informed decisions about budget allocation, platform investment, and the time you spend on each campaign.
Calculating email ROI accurately requires accounting for all associated costs, not just your email platform subscription. Design time, copywriting, list management, testing, and any paid acquisition costs used to build the list should all factor in. When you capture total cost alongside total attributed revenue, you get a genuine picture of profitability — one that holds up to scrutiny from stakeholders and justifies further investment in the channel.
Revenue Attribution and What Counts
Attribution is the thorniest part of measuring email ROI. Most email platforms attribute a conversion to a campaign if a subscriber clicks through and converts within a defined window — typically 5–7 days. This can overcount revenue if the subscriber would have purchased anyway. For a conservative view, use last-click attribution with a short window, and treat the result as a floor rather than a ceiling. For a fuller picture, cross-reference with your analytics platform to see how email-touched revenue compares to direct email click revenue.
Improving Email ROI Over Time
The two biggest levers on ROI are revenue per email and cost per email. Revenue per email is lifted by segmentation, personalisation, and triggered automations — particularly welcome series, abandoned cart, and post-purchase flows, which typically yield far higher ROI than one-off broadcast campaigns. Cost per email falls naturally as your list grows, but can also be reduced by consolidating platforms or moving volume tiers strategically.
Track your ROI campaign by campaign using this calculator to build a clear picture of which sends perform best, and use that data to guide where you focus creative and budget in future campaigns.