Localization ROI Calculator
What is translating your site into new languages worth?
Inputs
Results
Adjust the inputs to see your forecast.
What this number means
Revenue per locale per month is what one translated version earns: 8,000 searches × 5.9% CTR × 2% conversion × $120 = $1,132.80/month at the defaults. At 40% gross margin that is $453.12/month of gross profit per locale.
Total investment is 5 locales × $1,500 = $7,500 one-time. Payback is investment ÷ monthly profit: $7,500 ÷ $2,265.60 = 3.3 months. 12-month ROI compares a full year of profit ($27,187) against the investment: 262.5%.
The formula
In plain English: each locale is modeled identically — traffic becomes conversions, conversions become revenue, revenue becomes gross profit — and the one-time translation cost is weighed against the recurring profit.
- Clicks per locale = Monthly searches x Target CTR
- Conversions per locale = Clicks x Conversion rate
- Revenue per locale = Conversions x Average order value
- Gross profit per locale = Revenue x Gross margin
- Total investment = Locales x Translation cost per locale
- Payback months = Investment / (Gross profit per locale x Locales)
- 12-month ROI = (Annual gross profit − Investment) / Investment x 100
Worked example
A SaaS company plans 5 new locales at $1,500 each ($7,500 total). Each locale has 8,000 monthly searches; ranking in positions 4–7 earns a 5.9% CTR (472 clicks), a 2% conversion rate yields 9.44 customers, and a $120 order value produces $1,132.80/month per locale.
At 40% margin, monthly gross profit is $2,265.60 across all five locales — the $7,500 investment pays back in 3.3 months, and the first year returns 262.5% ROI. The chart shows why the fifth locale is pure upside: the investment is fixed, but every locale stacks the same revenue.
Assumptions and limitations
- Every locale is modeled identically. Real markets differ in search volume, competition, purchasing power, and payment behavior — validate per-locale inputs for big bets.
- Translation is not the whole cost. Ongoing maintenance, localized link building, hreflang implementation, and customer support in each language are excluded.
- No ranking ramp. New locale versions start with no authority; this models steady-state value, not the months needed to get there.
- Currency and tax differences ignored. Order values and margins are assumed constant across markets.
- All figures are planning estimates.