Email Marketing ROI Calculator
Estimate expected revenue per email campaign from subscribers, open rate, click rate, conversion rate, and average order value.
Email marketing ROI is calculated by comparing the revenue attributed to email campaigns against the total cost of running those campaigns — including platform fees, design, copywriting, and list management.
Email ROI Formula:
ROI = (Revenue Generated − Campaign Cost) / Campaign Cost × 100%
Revenue Generated:
Revenue = Emails Sent × Open Rate × Click Rate × Conversion Rate × Average Order Value
This is the full email marketing funnel:
- Emails Sent → Opens (Open Rate %)
- Opens → Clicks (Click-Through Rate %)
- Clicks → Purchases (Conversion Rate %)
- Purchases × AOV = Revenue
Worked Example — Monthly email campaign:
- List size: 22,000 subscribers
- Open rate: 24% → 5,280 opens
- Click rate: 3.8% → 201 clicks
- Conversion rate (purchase): 4.5% → 9 orders
- AOV: $135
- Revenue = 9 × $135 = $1,215
Campaign costs:
- ESP platform: $99/month
- Design/copywriting: $250
- Total cost: $349
ROI = ($1,215 − $349) / $349 × 100 = $866 / $349 = 248% ROI
Industry Benchmarks (2024):
- Average email ROI: $36–$42 per $1 spent
- Average open rate (all industries): 21.5%
- Average CTR: 2.3%
- Best-performing sectors: eCommerce (45%), Retail (41%), Hospitality (38%)
Improvement Levers: A/B testing subject lines can lift open rates 5–10%. Segmented campaigns deliver 14% higher open rates and 100% higher CTR than broadcast emails. Abandoned cart emails alone average $5.81 revenue per email sent.