A general measure of profitability calculated as the gain from an investment relative to its cost, typically expressed as a percentage: (gain − cost) / cost.
Why it matters
ROI is the broadest, most universally understood measure of whether an investment — a campaign, a tool, a hire — was worth its cost. Unlike channel-specific metrics like ROAS, ROI can, in principle, account for the full cost of an initiative, not just media spend.
In a sentence
"Once we factored in the cost of the creative production, not just the media spend, the campaign's ROI was a lot less impressive than the ROAS number alone suggested."
Related terms
- Antonyms: Loss, negative return.
- Often confused with: ROAS (ROI is a general profitability concept applicable to any investment; ROAS specifically measures revenue relative to ad spend, and doesn't typically account for costs beyond media).
- Synonyms: Return, payback (informally).