Turn a percentage-of-revenue rule into a concrete monthly marketing budget.
How much should you spend on marketing?
The most common starting point is the percentage-of-revenue method: pick a share of revenue to reinvest in marketing, and let that scale with the business.
Marketing budget = Annual revenue × Marketing %
At $500,000 in revenue and a 10% allocation, your annual budget is $50,000 — about $4,167 per month. This calculator breaks that down into annual, monthly, and weekly figures so you can plan campaigns against it.
What percentage is right?
There's no one answer, but well-known rules of thumb help. Established B2B companies often spend a smaller share of revenue on marketing than B2C, because their deal sizes are larger and sales cycles longer. Younger or growth-stage companies typically spend a higher percentage to buy market share, while mature businesses optimize toward efficiency. Use the benchmarks below as a sanity check, then adjust based on your margins and growth goals.
Use it as a ceiling, not a target
A budget is a constraint that forces prioritization — not a number you must exhaust. Once you've set it, allocate against your most efficient channels first (check your ROAS and blended ROAS before pouring budget into any single platform), and keep a test pool of 10–20% for new channels and creative.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a small business spend on marketing?
A common rule of thumb is 5–10% of revenue for established businesses, and more during a growth phase. The right figure depends on your margins, industry, and goals — use the percentage-of-revenue method as a starting point, then adjust based on what your channels return.
How do you calculate a marketing budget?
Multiply your annual revenue by the percentage you want to allocate to marketing. For example, $500,000 in revenue at 10% gives a $50,000 annual budget, or about $4,167 per month.
Should I budget based on revenue or profit?
Percentage-of-revenue is the most common and simplest approach. If your margins are thin, sanity-check the number against profit so marketing spend does not outrun what the business can sustain.
How should I split my marketing budget?
Fund your most efficient, proven channels first based on their ROAS, then keep roughly 10–20% as a test pool for new channels and creative. Review the split regularly as performance data comes in.
What percentage of revenue do startups spend on marketing?
Growth-stage startups and ecommerce brands often spend 10–20% or more of revenue on marketing to buy market share. Established businesses typically spend less as a percentage because revenue is larger and efficiency matters more than raw growth.
Is there a rule of thumb for marketing budget?
Yes — the most common is the percentage-of-revenue method used by this calculator. B2B companies often start around 2–5%; B2C around 5–10%; high-growth brands often go higher. Always sanity-check against profit so spend does not outrun margins.