Seller profit calculator
Type the selling price of one item, the shipping charged to the buyer, what the item costs to buy or make, to ship, and to pack, and each fee as a percent, a fixed amount per sale, or both. The page shows each fee in dollars, total fees, total costs, profit per sale, profit as a percent of the sale amount (margin) and of total costs, and the break-even price: the lowest selling price at which profit is not below zero. It holds no fee rates of any marketplace or payment company. Every rate is typed by you.
Your numbers stay on this device. Nothing is uploaded. What you type is kept as a draft in this browser only.
Amounts are dollars and cents for one item. A box left blank counts as zero, except the selling price.
This page holds no fee rates of any marketplace or payment company. Every rate is typed by you. A fee line is a percent of the selling price plus shipping charged, a fixed amount per sale, or both. Each percentage fee is rounded to the cent on its own line, and exactly half a cent rounds away from zero.
| Fee | Percent of selling price plus shipping | Fixed amount per sale |
|---|
Profit on this sale
Each fee in dollars
How the profit is worked out
This tool is independent. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, eBay, or any other marketplace or payment company. Marketplace names are used only to describe the kind of selling people do. The page multiplies, adds, subtracts, and checks; it holds no fee rates and does not say what price to charge.
What gets checked
- Every fee line typed is in the result once, in the order typed, with its name, its rate, and its fixed amount.
- Each fee is its own rate times the selling price plus shipping charged, rounded to the cent on its own line, plus its fixed amount. The rounding is tested by multiplying back.
- Total fees equal every fee line worked out a second way and added up.
- Total costs equal the cost of the item, the cost to ship it, the other cost per sale, and advertising, plus total fees.
- Profit per sale equals the selling price plus shipping charged, minus total costs.
- Profit as a percent of the sale amount, and as a percent of total costs, is profit divided by that base to the nearest 0.01%, tested by multiplying back. Each is left blank when its base is zero.
- At the break-even price the profit per sale is zero or more, and at every lower selling price it is below zero. Prices are tried with every fee rounded as above; no formula is trusted.
- With units typed, the sale amount, total fees, total costs, and profit for those units are each the per-sale figure times the units.
- Shown as warnings, never as failures: costs that are more than the sale brings in, and a fee line with no rate and no fixed amount.
How it works
- Type the sale and what it costs. Type the selling price of one item and any shipping charged to the buyer. Then type the cost of the item, the cost to ship it, and any other cost per sale, such as packaging. A box left blank counts as zero. The selling price has to be typed.
- Type each fee at your own rates. A fee line has a name, a percent, and a fixed amount per sale; either figure can be left blank. The percent is taken of the selling price plus the shipping charged. The page starts with two named lines whose rates are blank, because it holds no rates: every rate is typed by you. Lines can be added, renamed, and removed.
- Read profit, margin, and the break-even price. Each fee is shown in dollars, followed by total fees, total costs, profit per sale, and profit as a percent of the sale amount and of total costs. The break-even price is the lowest selling price, in whole cents, at which profit per sale is zero or more with every other figure as typed.
- Add advertising and units, then export. An advertising cost per sale is added to total costs when typed. A number of units sold gives the sale amount, fees, costs, and profit for that many sales. The certificate lists every check. Download Excel or CSV, or print.
Worked example
A made-up seller lists a hand-poured candle at $28.00 and charges the buyer $6.50 for shipping. The candle costs $9.40 to make, $7.85 to ship, and $1.10 to pack, and advertising comes to $1.25 per sale. The three fee lines use made-up rates, which are not any marketplace's or payment company's rates: a selling fee of 7.45%, a payment processing fee of 1.85% plus $0.17, and a listing fee of $0.12. Units sold: 40.
| Figure | With these numbers | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Sale amount | $28.00 selling price + $6.50 shipping charged | $34.50 |
| Selling fee (made-up rate) | $34.50 × 7.45% = $2.57025, rounded to the cent | $2.57 |
| Payment processing fee (made-up rate) | $34.50 × 1.85% = $0.63825, rounded to $0.64, plus $0.17 | $0.81 |
| Listing fee (made-up amount) | $0.12 per sale, with no percent | $0.12 |
| Total fees | $2.57 + $0.81 + $0.12 | $3.50 |
| Total costs | $9.40 + $7.85 + $1.10 + $1.25 advertising + $3.50 fees | $23.10 |
| Profit per sale | $34.50 − $23.10 | $11.40 |
| Profit as a percent of the sale amount (margin) | $11.40 ÷ $34.50 = 33.0434…% | 33.04% |
| Profit as a percent of total costs | $11.40 ÷ $23.10 = 49.3506…% | 49.35% |
| Break-even price | The lowest selling price at which profit is zero or more | $15.43 |
For 40 units the sale amount is $1,380.00, total fees are $140.00, total costs are $924.00, and profit is $456.00. At the break-even price of $15.43 the sale amount is $21.93: the selling fee is $1.63, the payment processing fee is $0.58, and the listing fee is $0.12, so total fees are $2.33. With the other costs of $19.60, total costs are $21.93 and profit is $0.00. One cent lower, at $15.42, the fees are still $2.33 and profit is -$0.01. All 14 checks pass.
The example uses made-up names and numbers.
Questions
Does the calculator know my marketplace's fee rates?
No. It holds no fee rates of any marketplace or payment company and looks none up. Every percent and every fixed amount is typed by you, so the result is only as current as the rates typed.
What is each percent taken of?
Of the selling price plus the shipping charged to the buyer, as typed. Each fee line is worked out on its own and rounded to the cent, with exactly half a cent rounding away from zero, and its fixed amount is then added. A fee that is worked out on some other base can be typed as a fixed amount per sale.
How is the break-even price found?
It is the lowest selling price, in whole cents, at which profit per sale is zero or more, with the shipping charged, the costs, and the fee lines as typed. Each fee is rounded to the cent on its own line, so profit does not always rise by a cent when the price does. The page therefore tries prices and proves that every lower price gives a profit below zero. When the percentage fees add up to 100% or more, no break-even price is shown and the page says so.
What is the difference between the two percents?
Profit as a percent of the sale amount, often called margin, is profit divided by the selling price plus shipping charged. Profit as a percent of total costs is the same profit divided by everything the sale cost, fees included. Both are rounded to two decimals of a percent, and each is left blank when its base is zero.
Is sales tax or income tax included?
No. Tax collected from the buyer is not part of the selling price here, and no tax of any kind is worked out. The page makes no statement about what is taxable or what belongs on any form.
Does it say what price to charge or what margin is good?
No. It multiplies, adds, subtracts, and checks. What the numbers mean for a business is a decision for the seller.
Is this tool connected to Etsy, eBay, or another marketplace?
No. It is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, eBay, or any other marketplace or payment company. It never signs in anywhere, and what is typed stays in this browser.
This tool calculates and checks numbers. It is not legal, tax, or medical advice.