Quick answer. The ROI of RCS is the incremental revenue it drives minus its all-in cost, divided by that cost — and for fitting use cases it's typically strong, because RCS's much higher click-through and conversion outweigh its modest per-message premium. The way to size it is cost per outcome, not cost per message: a rich RCS message may cost 2–3x an SMS but convert several times better, lowering the effective cost per click, per conversion, or per redemption. Add SMS fallback and the downside is limited, which tightens the ROI case further.
To estimate your own ROI, model audience × delivery rate × click-through × conversion × average order value for revenue, then subtract the itemized all-in cost (messages, carrier fees, platform fee, taxes). The Cost & Pricing cluster has a worked example and the formula.
The biggest ROI levers are the engagement and conversion lift (RCS's strength) and, for offers and loyalty, redemption — putting the action one tap away in a channel people actually open.
Key facts
- ROI = (incremental revenue − all-in cost) / all-in cost; judge on cost per outcome, not per message.
- Higher CTR/conversion (15–30% CTR) usually offsets the rich-message premium.
- Itemize every cost layer for an honest figure — see Cost & Pricing and Billing Transparency.