Break-Even Calculator
Calculate the minimum sale price and number of units needed to cover all costs — per unit costs, platform fees, payment fees, and monthly fixed costs.
By Marginory team · Online sellers with hands-on experience across Etsy, Shopify & PODUpdated Fee data verified against official platform documentation
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Break-Even Analysis
Break-even price (per unit)$8.00
Contribution margin per unit$17.00
How this is calculated
Break-even price: (Variable cost + Shipping + Packaging + Payment fixed fee) / (1 − Platform fee rate − Payment fee rate)
Contribution margin: Sale price − Variable cost − Platform fee − Payment fee
Break-even units: Fixed costs / Contribution margin per unit
Assumptions:
- Break-even price: zero profit per unit, no fixed costs
- Break-even units: monthly fixed costs divided by per-unit contribution margin
- Ad spend not included — treat it as a variable cost if relevant
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate my break-even price?
Break-even price = (Variable cost + Shipping + Packaging + Fixed payment fee) / (1 − Platform fee rate − Payment fee rate). Example: a $8 product with $2 shipping, $0.50 packaging, a 6.5% platform fee, and a 3% + $0.30 payment fee: ($8 + $2 + $0.50 + $0.30) / (1 − 0.065 − 0.03) = $10.80 / 0.905 = $11.93. Sell above $11.93 to cover costs on that unit.
What's the difference between break-even price and break-even units?
Break-even price is the minimum price for a single sale to cover its own variable costs and fees, with zero profit. Break-even units is different: it's how many units you must sell at your chosen price to cover monthly fixed costs (subscriptions, ad retainers, tools) using the contribution margin each unit generates. You need both numbers — a low break-even price doesn't help if fixed costs require volume you can't hit.
What counts as a fixed cost vs a variable cost?
Fixed costs don't change with sales volume: Shopify's monthly plan, a paid app subscription, rent for a workshop. Variable costs scale per unit: product cost, shipping, packaging, and platform/payment fees (since fees are usually a percentage of the sale price). This calculator treats platform and payment fees as variable because they're rate-based, and everything else you enter as fixed costs is spread across your break-even unit count.
What's a common mistake when calculating break-even?
Leaving out the fixed portion of payment processing fees (e.g., Etsy's $0.25 or Shopify's $0.30 per transaction). On a $10 item, a flat $0.30 fee is 3% of revenue — easy to ignore, but across 500 orders it's $150 that many sellers forget to subtract when estimating their true break-even price.
Should ad spend be included in break-even calculations?
Not by default — this calculator's break-even price assumes organic (non-paid) sales. If you're running ads, treat cost-per-order from ad spend as an additional variable cost and add it to your inputs, or use the ROAS Calculator to find your break-even ROAS, which accounts for ad spend directly.
Does this work for Etsy, Shopify, eBay, or TikTok Shop?
Yes — enter your own platform fee rate and payment fee rate (or their combined equivalent) and the formula applies to any marketplace. Etsy is roughly 6.5% + 3%+$0.25, eBay is around 13.6% (fees included), Shopify Payments is 2.9%+$0.30, and TikTok Shop runs about 6% flat referral fee. Swap in your platform's actual rates for an accurate break-even number.