Store profit and break-even calculator
One number decides whether a store is a business or a hobby: what is left from an order after the product, the shipping, the fees and the ad that brought it. This works that out, then tells you how many orders a month you need before you keep a cent.
Fill in your numbers to see whether the maths works.
| Per order | Amount |
|---|---|
| Customer pays (products + shipping) | — |
| Product cost | — |
| Shipping you pay | — |
| Payment and platform fees | — |
| Returns, spread over every order | — |
| Cost of getting the order | — |
| Left over | — |
The four numbers that decide it
Contribution margin is what one order leaves behind after the costs that only exist because that order happened:
Margin = (products + shipping charged) − product cost − shipping paid − (rate × what the customer paid + fixed fee) − platform fee
Returns take a bite out of that average. A returned order gives back the sale but usually not the processing fee, and rarely the shipping you already paid:
Margin after returns = (1 − return rate) × margin − return rate × (shipping paid + payment fees)
Break-even is how many of those margins it takes to cover the costs that arrive whether or not you sell:
Break-even orders = monthly fixed costs ÷ margin after returns
Break-even ROAS is the point where advertising pays for itself and nothing else:
Break-even ROAS = what the customer pays ÷ margin after returns
What the answer usually means
A margin under about a fifth of the order value leaves nothing to buy customers with: the store only works if traffic is free, which means content, search or an audience you already have. A margin around half the order value is the range where paid acquisition can work, because you can lose half the margin to an ad and still be ahead. If the break-even order count is higher than the orders you can honestly expect in a month, the problem is the product or the price, and no platform choice will fix it.
The tool assumes returned goods can be resold. If they cannot, add the product cost to your return-rate thinking: at a 10% return rate on unsellable goods, your real product cost is about 11% higher than what you entered.
Where the numbers come from
- Shopify plan prices and the third-party payment provider fee: shopify.com/pricing, checked September 16, 2026.
- Online card processing rates: Shopify does not publish them on its pricing page or on its Shopify Payments page (both checked September 16, 2026), so this tool asks you for your own rate instead of printing one.
- Plus starts at $2,300/month with a 0.2% third-party payment fee; it is not in this comparison because nobody opening their first store needs it.
Prices change and can be localised for your country. If you spot a number that no longer matches Shopify's page, tell us and we will fix it.
Questions
What is contribution margin?
What one order leaves behind after the costs that only exist because that order happened: product cost, the shipping you pay minus the shipping the customer pays, payment processing and any platform fee. Your fixed monthly costs are paid out of the pile of contribution margins, which is why break-even is fixed costs divided by contribution margin.
What is break-even ROAS?
The return on ad spend at which advertising pays for itself and nothing more: average order value divided by contribution margin per order. If a $50 order leaves $20, break-even ROAS is 2.5, and every ad-driven sale below that loses money.
Are returns included?
Yes, as a return rate. A returned order usually keeps its processing fee and often costs you the outbound shipping too, so the calculator treats a return as a lost contribution margin plus the fees already paid.
Which Shopify costs does it use?
The plan price from shopify.com/pricing (checked 16 September 2026) plus whatever you enter for apps and other fixed costs. Card processing is your own rate, because Shopify does not publish it.
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