Free tool
Share Of Voice Calculator
Your share of voice is your place in your market’s ad spend. Compared with your market share, it tells you whether your brand is investing to grow or to hold its position.
Share of voice (SOV) is a brand’s media spend, expressed as a percentage of all media spend in its category, in a given market, channel and period. The gap between share of voice and market share is called ESOV (excess share of voice): it is positive when the brand invests more than its weight in the market.
Is Your Brand Investing Enough To Grow?
Share of voice tells you where you stand. Campaigns decide what each extra euro buys in presence against your competitors.
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How share of voice and ESOV are calculated
Share of voice = Your spend ÷ Total spend × 100 ESOV = Share of voice − Market share
300,000 € in a market that spends 1.5 million gives a share of voice of 20 %. With a 15 % market share, ESOV is +5 points: your brand invests more than its weight. For a 15 % share of voice, 211,764.71 € would be enough, with competitor spend unchanged.
The benchmark comes from the work of Les Binet and Peter Field: across 171 campaigns studied between 1980 and 2010, a brand’s market share gained on average 0.5 points for every 10 points of ESOV, according to the summary published by Nielsen in 2025. It is an average, which varies with the channel, the industry and the size of the brand.
Always compare on the same scope: the same market, channel and period for your spend and the category’s, so the number stays comparable from one measurement to the next.
What the calculation helps you decide
- This year’s investment level: growing usually takes a share of voice above your market share.
- Your response to a competitor who raises their spend: the calculation tells you what you need to keep your share of voice.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate share of voice?
Divide your media spend by your category’s total spend over the same period, including you, then multiply by 100. 300,000 € out of 1.5 million: 20 %.
What is ESOV?
Excess share of voice is the gap between your share of voice and your market share. A brand with a 20 % share of voice and a 15 % market share has an ESOV of +5 points.
Where do I find my competitors’ spend?
From ad spend measurement companies, in industry studies, or by estimating it from competitors’ presence in auctions. In Google Ads, the Auction insights report shows your competitors’ impression share on your keywords.
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