Margin calculator
Runs locallyAdd marketplace and payment fees (optional, but this is where most sellers lose money)
Price needed for common margins
Given your current cost and fee settings, this is what you would need to charge to hit each net margin. Useful when comparing a low-volume, high-margin strategy against a high-volume, low-margin one.
| Target net margin | Price needed | Profit per unit |
|---|
Ready. Every calculation runs in this browser.
What this calculator does
There are three questions sellers ask about pricing, and they are all the same equation rearranged. This tool lets you work any of them from any two knowns.
Find my margin
You know what the product costs and what you sell it for. The tool tells you the gross profit, the gross margin (profit divided by price), the markup (profit divided by cost), and — once you enter your fee settings — the net profit and net margin after everything comes out.
Find my price
You know what the product costs and what margin you want. The tool tells you what you need to charge. This is the mode you use before you launch, when a supplier has quoted you a landed cost and you need to know whether the product is viable at the price the market will bear.
Find my max cost
You know what the market will pay and what margin you want. The tool tells you the highest cost you can afford. This is the mode you use when negotiating with a supplier: it gives you a hard ceiling to walk away from.
Margin versus markup
These two words are used interchangeably in casual conversation and should not be. They measure the same dollar profit against different bases, so the percentages are always different — and the gap grows as margin rises.
- Margin = profit ÷ selling price. "What percentage of each sale is profit?"
- Markup = profit ÷ cost. "How much did I add to the cost?"
A $10 item sold for $25 has $15 of profit. That is a 60% margin ($15 ÷ $25) and a 150% markup ($15 ÷ $10). Same $15, two very different-looking numbers.
| Cost | Price | Profit | Margin | Markup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | $12 | $2 | 16.7% | 20% |
| $10 | $15 | $5 | 33.3% | 50% |
| $10 | $20 | $10 | 50% | 100% |
| $10 | $25 | $15 | 60% | 150% |
| $10 | $30 | $20 | 66.7% | 200% |
The practical consequence is the one most sellers learn the hard way: if you aim for a 40% markup and think you have a 40% margin, you are pricing $1.67 too low on a $10 cost. A 40% margin on $10 requires a $16.67 price, not $14. Multiply that across a thousand units and it is a five-figure mistake.
What marketplaces actually charge
Fees are the second-largest line on most sellers' P&L, after cost of goods. They vary by category, seller tier, region and program, and they change. The table below shows the typical structure so you know what to look for, not the exact rate — always verify against your own seller dashboard.
| Platform | Referral / final value fee | Payment processing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon (FBM) | ~8–15% by category | Included in referral fee | FBA adds a separate fulfilment fee based on size and weight, plus monthly storage. |
| Etsy | ~6.5% transaction fee | ~3% + fixed fee per order | Plus a listing fee per item and a payment processing fee that varies by country. |
| eBay | ~13% final value fee (most categories) | Included | Store subscribers pay a lower rate on some categories. Promoted listings are extra. |
| Walmart Marketplace | ~6–15% by category | Included | WFS fulfilment fees are separate if you use Walmart fulfilment. |
| Shopify (own site) | 0% platform referral | ~2.9% + $0.30 | Monthly subscription cost is not per-order and does not appear here. |
Two things these percentages hide:
1. Fees apply to the price, not the profit
A 15% referral fee on a $100 product is $15. If your cost is $80, that $15 is almost your entire profit. This is why a low-margin product can be profitable on your own site and loss-making on a marketplace, even though the price is the same.
2. Fixed fees punish low prices
A $0.30 payment fee on a $5 product is 6% of the price, on top of the percentage fee. On a $50 product it is 0.6%. If you sell a range of prices, the cheapest items often have the worst net margin. This tool shows the fixed fee separately so you can see it.
Worked example
A seller sources a small kitchen item for $10 per unit and plans to list it at $25 on a marketplace that charges a 15% referral fee and 2.9% + $0.30 payment processing. They ship it themselves and absorb $3 of shipping cost per order.
Selling price: $25.00 Cost of goods: $10.00 Shipping absorbed: $3.00 Platform fee (15%): $3.75 Payment fee (2.9%): $0.73 Payment fixed fee: $0.30 Total deductions: $17.78 Gross profit (price − COGS): $15.00 Gross margin ($15 ÷ $25): 60.0% Net profit (price − all deductions): $7.22 Net margin ($7.22 ÷ $25): 28.9% Markup on COGS ($15 ÷ $10): 150.0% Break-even price (net profit = $0): $16.20
Three things to notice.
The gross margin is impressive and the net margin is not. 60% sounds like a healthy product. 28.9% is the number that actually funds the business. Both are true — they just describe different things, and the fees are what separate them.
The markup is not useful for planning. 150% markup sounds enormous, but the business is only keeping 28.9% of each sale after everything is paid. When a supplier asks "what markup do you need?", the honest answer is a margin, converted into a markup if they insist on the other number.
Break-even is $16.20, not $10. If the seller runs a sale that drops the price to $16, they lose money on every unit — even though the price is still well above the cost of goods. This is the trap that discount campaigns fall into. A 35% off coupon on a $25 product brings the price to $16.25, which looks like a promotion and is actually a subsidy.
Break-even and discount pricing
The break-even price is the price at which you make exactly zero. Below it, every sale loses money. Above it, every sale contributes something.
Break-even is not just cost of goods, because fees scale with the price. At a 15% platform fee and 2.9% payment fee, 17.9% of every dollar you charge disappears immediately. On a $10 cost with $3 shipping and a $0.30 fixed fee, the price where the fee percentage exactly cancels the remaining amount is:
Break-even price = (COGS + shipping + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − platform % − payment %)
= ($10 + $3 + $0.30) ÷ (1 − 0.15 − 0.029)
= $13.30 ÷ 0.821
= $16.20
This is why a 40% off coupon on a $25 product is worse than it looks. It brings the price to $15.00, which is below the $16.20 break-even. The seller is now paying customers to take the product. That may be a deliberate loss-leader strategy, but it should be a decision, not an accident.
Before you discount, check three numbers
- Break-even price. If the discounted price is below it, you are subsidising each sale.
- Net margin at the discounted price. If it is still positive, you are choosing to earn less. If it is negative, you are choosing to lose money.
- Volume needed. If a 40% discount halves your margin per unit, you need to more than double the units to make the same profit. This is the arithmetic that most discount campaigns skip.
What this calculator does not do
- It does not know your actual fee rate. It uses whatever you enter. Fees vary by category, seller tier, region and program, and they change. Verify against your own dashboard before treating any number here as a forecast.
- It does not include fixed costs. Software subscriptions, storage, insurance, advertising spend and your own time are not part of a per-unit calculation. Those are covered by your total volume, not by a single product.
- It does not include returns and refunds. A 5% return rate on a 30% margin product wipes out about 17% of your profit. If you know your return rate, you can model it by adding the return cost per unit to your COGS, but the tool does not do it for you.
- It does not include advertising cost per acquisition. For most marketplaces, ad spend is the largest variable cost after COGS. If you know your CPA, add it to the shipping cost field — the maths is identical, it is just a per-order cost that you pay.
- It does not handle VAT or sales tax. Those are collected from the buyer and remitted; they should not appear in your price or your cost. If you are VAT-registered, exclude VAT from both figures.
- It assumes a single product. Bundles, kits and multi-packs need the combined cost of all components, calculated separately.
- It does not do currency conversion. Enter everything in the same currency. If your supplier quotes in one currency and you sell in another, convert first.
- It does not predict the future. Costs and fees change. The numbers are correct for the inputs you provide today, not for the inputs you will provide in six months.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Margin is profit divided by selling price. Markup is profit divided by cost. If you buy for $10 and sell for $25, your profit is $15, so your margin is 60% ($15 ÷ $25) and your markup is 150% ($15 ÷ $10). The two numbers describe the same $15, but from opposite directions. Confusing them is one of the most common costing mistakes in ecommerce: a 40% markup on a $10 item gives a $14 price, while a 40% margin on the same item needs a $16.67 price.
Why does this calculator show two margins?
Gross margin subtracts only the cost of goods, which is the number accounting reports and marketplaces sometimes quote. Net margin also subtracts the fees you actually pay: the marketplace referral fee, the payment processing percentage and fixed fee, and any shipping you absorb. On a $25 product with a 15% marketplace fee and 2.9% + $0.30 processing, gross margin can be 60% while net margin is closer to 29%. A calculator that shows only gross margin is not showing the money you keep.
Should I aim for a specific margin?
There is no universal target. Low-cost, high-volume products often work on 10 to 20 percent net margin because the absolute profit per unit is small but the volume is large. Higher-touch products, custom items and handmade goods typically need 30 to 50 percent to absorb returns, customer service and waste. The important test is whether the absolute profit per unit covers your fixed costs and leaves something for you after everything else, not whether the percentage looks impressive.
Does the calculator include Amazon or Etsy fees?
It includes any percentage and fixed fees you enter. The presets fill in typical values for Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Walmart and Shopify, but marketplace rates vary by category, seller tier, region and program, and they change. Always verify the current rate from your own seller dashboard or the platform's fee page, and enter the number that applies to your specific listing rather than trusting a preset.
What is break-even price?
The price at which your profit is exactly zero, after cost of goods, shipping you absorb, and all fees. Below this price, every sale loses money. It is calculated by solving for the price where net profit equals zero, accounting for the fact that percentage fees scale with the price itself. Knowing your break-even price is essential before a discount: a sale that takes the price below break-even is not a promotion, it is a subsidy.
Why does the calculator need my shipping cost separately?
If you offer free shipping, or if you ship at a flat rate that is below your actual cost, the difference comes out of your margin. Entering shipping separately lets the calculator show that. If the buyer pays the exact shipping cost, leave it at zero — the shipping is revenue and expense in equal measure and cancels out of your profit.
Can I use this for a product I have not launched yet?
Yes, and that is where it is most useful. Use the find-price tab to work out what you need to charge for a target margin, given the cost your supplier quoted and the fees you know you will pay. If the resulting price is higher than what the market will bear, the answer is usually to find a cheaper supplier or a higher-value product, not to lower the margin to a number that does not cover your overhead.
Does this handle quantity discounts and bulk orders?
Not directly. It calculates per-unit figures. For a bulk order, calculate the per-unit cost at the discounted price, enter that as the cost, and the results describe one unit of the bulk order. A separate quantity field would be needed to see cumulative profit across an order, and that is not part of this tool.
Is any of my data sent anywhere?
No. Every calculation runs in JavaScript on your device. There is no API call, no analytics event containing your figures, and no server-side logging. You can confirm this in the Network tab: enter a cost and a price, then check that no request was made. The page also works with the network disconnected after it loads.
Can I save or share the calculation?
Yes. The Copy result button puts a plain-text summary on your clipboard, which you can paste into a spreadsheet, a supplier email or a listing draft. The Download button saves the same summary as a text file. The Share button uses your device's native share sheet where available. Nothing is saved on our side, and the summary is not stored anywhere on the site itself.
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