Shopify Break-Even Calculator
Calculate the minimum price to break even after Shopify fees, COGS, and monthly plan cost. Shows break-even with and without the subscription.
By Marginory team · Online sellers with hands-on experience across Etsy, Shopify & PODUpdated Fee data verified against official platform documentation
Shopify plan
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Break-even results
Break-even sale price (variable costs only)$30.18
Break-even price (incl. $39/mo plan at 30 orders)$31.51
Fees at break-even price$1.18
Monthly plan cost$39.00
How this is calculated
Break-even price (variable) = (Product cost + Shipping + Ad spend + $0.30) / (1 − Transaction% − Payment%)
Break-even price (incl. plan) = (Variable costs + $0.30 + Plan cost / Monthly orders) / (1 − fees%)
Assumptions:
- Plan: Shopify Basic ($39/month)
- Using Shopify Payments — no transaction fee
- Break-even = 0% profit margin
Source: https://www.shopify.com/pricing · Last verified: 2026-07-02
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many Shopify sales do I need to cover the plan cost?
Break-even orders = monthly plan cost / profit per order. With the US monthly Basic plan ($39) and $8 profit per order, you need 5 orders to cover the subscription. Local pricing and annual billing differ, so use the current plan cost in your own estimate.
Is Shopify worth paying for vs. Etsy?
Shopify has a fixed monthly cost while Etsy charges per sale with no standard subscription. Shopify can become cheaper at higher volume when lower payment costs exceed the subscription, but the crossover depends on your country, billing term, average order value, and customer-acquisition cost.
What's the difference between break-even price and break-even order count?
Break-even price is the minimum you can charge per unit and still cover variable costs (product, shipping, ad spend, payment fees) with zero profit. Break-even order count is how many units at your actual price you need to sell to also cover the fixed monthly plan cost. Both numbers matter: price too low and every sale loses money; sell too few and the plan fee alone puts you underwater.
What's a worked break-even example?
Product cost $18, shipping $6, ad spend $5 per order, Shopify Basic with Shopify Payments (2.9% + $0.30): break-even price (variable only) = ($18 + $6 + $5 + $0.30) / (1 − 0.029) ≈ $29.99. At 30 expected monthly orders, adding the US monthly Basic plan ($39) raises the break-even price to roughly $31.29 — about $1.30 per order.
Why does my break-even price change with order volume?
The plan's fixed monthly fee gets divided across however many orders you expect. At 10 orders/month, the US monthly Basic plan ($39) adds $3.90 per order to break-even price; at 100 orders/month, it adds $0.39. This is why low-volume stores are more sensitive to plan choice than high-volume ones.
How does Shopify's break-even model differ from Etsy or eBay?
Etsy and eBay have near-zero fixed costs (Etsy has a small $0.20 listing fee, eBay is free to list on most categories) but higher percentage fees (~6.5–13.6%). Shopify flips this: a real fixed cost (US monthly plans currently $39–399) but lower percentage fees (2.5–2.9% + $0.30). Low-volume sellers often break even faster on marketplaces; high-volume sellers usually do better on Shopify.