How should I allocate my marketing budget across channels?

There's no universal split, but a durable starting framework is 70/20/10: 70% to proven core channels, 20% to growth channels you're scaling, and 10% to experiments. From there, rank channels by ROAS (or CAC for lead-gen) and shift budget toward what performs. This tool lets you start from a business-type preset and adjust.

What percentage of revenue should go to marketing?

Benchmarks vary by model and stage. B2B companies typically spend ~6–10% of revenue (Gartner put the 2025 average near 7.7%), B2C/product brands ~10–15%, DTC ecommerce ~10–20%, and early-stage SaaS often 15–30% while mature SaaS settles to ~5–7%. Use the "% of revenue" method to apply a benchmark to your own revenue.

What is the 70/20/10 marketing budget rule?

It splits spend into 70% Core (proven, scaled channels), 20% Growth (channels showing promise that you're scaling), and 10% Experimental (new platforms, formats, and tests). It balances reliable returns with funded experimentation. The tool shows your live Core/Growth/Experimental split against these targets.

Should I budget on monthly or annual figures?

Plan annually for the big picture, then phase monthly to manage pacing and seasonality. This calculator shows both annual and monthly figures per channel, and the CSV export includes both so you can drop them straight into a tracker.

Is this marketing budget calculator free?

Yes — it runs entirely in your browser, requires no sign-up, and lets you export your allocation to CSV at no cost. Pair it with our downloadable Marketing Budget Template to track planned vs. actual spend.

Marketing Budget Calculator

Allocate your marketing budget across channels, check it against the 70/20/10 framework, and export your plan.

Start from a preset (optional)

Budget method

Total budget (annual)

Annual budget

$120,000

$10,000 / month

100% allocated

Edit Channels & Tiers

Channel	Tier	% of budget	Annual	Monthly	Remove
			$36,000	$3,000
			$30,000	$2,500
			$18,000	$1,500
			$14,400	$1,200
			$9,600	$800
			$12,000	$1,000

Budget Health Check

On track

Core70%60–80%

Growth20%10–30%

Experimental10%5–15%

Want to track planned vs. actual spend?

Export your allocation above, then drop it into our Marketing Budget Template to track pacing, actuals, and ROAS by channel all year.

A budget is only as good as the efficiency metrics that steer it. Use these definitions and calculators to set allocations from real economics — channel returns, blended efficiency, acquisition cost, and lifetime value.

Glossary terms

ROAS — Rank channels by return on ad spend, then shift budget toward the top.
MER — Blended efficiency for judging the whole budget when per-channel ROAS breaks.
CAC — Tie channel budgets to the cost of acquiring a customer.
Customer LTV — LTV:CAC sets how aggressively you can fund acquisition.

Other calculators

ROAS Calculator — Check the return each channel allocation is expected to produce.
MER Calculator — Measure blended efficiency across your whole budget.
LTV Calculator — Size sustainable acquisition spend from lifetime value.
Creative Testing Calculator — Budget the experimental reserve your mix sets aside for testing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Marketing Budget Calculator

Plan and allocate your marketing budget across channels with an interactive builder. Start from a business-type preset, split spend by channel, check it against the 70/20/10 framework, and export your allocation to CSV.

Free Calculator

No sign up required. Use this calculator as much as you need.

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Related Terms

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Churn Rate

Churn rate measures the proportion of customers who discontinue their relationship with a company during a specific timeframe. For subscription businesses, this means cancellations or non-renewals. For non-subscription businesses, churn is often defined as no purchase activity within a set period. It's a critical metric for evaluating customer retention and business health.

glossary-term

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Conversion Rate Optimization

Conversion Rate Optimization is a data-driven methodology for analyzing and improving advertising creative and user experience to increase the percentage of users who take desired actions. CRO involves systematic testing of creative elements, messaging, calls-to-action, and user flows to identify and implement changes that drive higher conversion rates.

glossary-term

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Population Mean

The population mean is the average value of a variable calculated using all members of a population, rather than just a sample. In digital advertising, it represents the true average value of metrics like conversion rate, CTR, or CPC across the entire audience or campaign. Unlike sample means which contain sampling error, the population mean is the actual parameter being estimated in statistical analysis, though it's often impossible to measure directly due to resource constraints.

glossary-term