Free Website ROI Calculator

How do you calculate website ROI?

Website ROI is the extra profit a website investment brings in, minus what it costs, divided by what it costs. Work out the extra profit from more visitors, a better conversion rate or both, at your average order value and profit margin. Then take off what you spend, including any monthly fees, and divide by that spend. Use profit rather than revenue, or ROI comes out far too high.

The calculator above does this for a new website, a redesign, SEO or speed work, using only the numbers you give it. How to calculate website ROI walks through the formula by hand.

Worked example: a redesign

For this example, assume an $8,000 redesign on a site with 5,000 visitors a month, a 2% conversion rate, a $150 average order and a 40% profit margin. You expect 10% more traffic and a 25% relative lift in conversion rate, reached over three months.

Step	Result
Revenue today (5,000 × 2% × $150)	$15,000 a month
After the redesign (5,500 visitors at 2.5%)	$20,625 a month
Extra revenue	$5,625 a month
Extra profit at a 40% margin	$2,250 a month
Extra profit in year one, after a 3-month ramp-up	$24,750
First-year ROI (($24,750 − $8,000) ÷ $8,000)	About 209%
Payback	About 5 months

The inputs are the part to be honest about. A 25% conversion lift is a target, not a promise, so run the calculator again at 10% and at 0% to see how much of the case rests on it.

What's a good ROI for a website?

Any first-year ROI above 0% means the investment paid for itself within a year, and the gains usually keep coming after that. What counts as good depends on the risk: a speed fix with a clear bottleneck is a safer bet than a redesign built on a hoped-for conversion lift. What's a good ROI for a website redesign? shows how to set your own target, and website investments with the fastest payback compares the options.

Should you spend on traffic or conversions?

It depends on where you're weakest. More traffic multiplies whatever conversion rate you already have, so a site that converts poorly gets little from more visitors. A conversion lift makes every existing visitor worth more, with no new traffic needed. CRO vs traffic growth ROI compares their cost, speed and ceiling, and website redesign vs SEO investment compares the two most common choices.

Why do monthly costs matter so much?

A one-off project gets cheaper over time; a retainer doesn't. In the calculator, an SEO retainer's monthly fee comes off the gain every month, so a campaign that looks strong on revenue can lose money in year one once 12 months of fees are counted. Enter the monthly cost and a realistic ramp-up rather than assuming full results from month one.

Where do the numbers come from?

Everything in the result is built from your inputs; the calculator doesn't add industry averages. For your current conversion rate and traffic, use your analytics. For the expected lift, use your own past results or a cautious figure, then test the range. If you're weighing a speed project, the site speed audit estimates what your current load time may be costing, and the website cost calculator gives you the investment side.

How this works

Built entirely from your inputs: extra visitors and conversions at your order value and margin, with gains building up over the ramp-up you choose and any monthly cost taken off. ROI compares year one's extra profit with what you spend in year one.

Last reviewed September 25, 2026

FAQ

It's a projection built entirely from your own inputs — traffic, conversion rate, order value, profit margin and the improvements you expect. ROI and payback are calculated on profit, not revenue, because only profit pays back the investment. Actual results depend on execution and your market, so use it to test a business case, not as a guarantee.

There's no universal benchmark — it depends on your margins and how long the site will serve you before its next rebuild. The practical test is whether the extra profit repays the investment well within that lifespan. This calculator shows first-year ROI on profit and the month the investment pays for itself, so you can judge that directly.

In this calculator a 10% lift in conversion rate is worth exactly as much as a 10% lift in traffic, so the question is which is cheaper for you to achieve. Conversion work often is, because it earns more from visitors you already have. Enter your email and we'll look at your site's biggest opportunities.

It varies too much by starting point, competition and content output to promise a number. Run the calculator with the most conservative option first, including "No change" for any lever the project won't move — if the investment still pays back, the case is strong. Gains from SEO and content tend to build over months rather than arriving at launch.

If your site converts visitors poorly, a redesign focused on UX and conversion paths usually gives the faster return. If your site converts well but doesn't get enough traffic, SEO and content investment is the better bet. Many businesses benefit from both, sequenced redesign-first.