How it's calculated
Revenue is price × items, minus the discount, plus the shipping you charge. The card fee is a percentage of that revenue plus a fixed amount per order. Everything else is subtracted as entered. What's left is your profit per order before your own time, returns and taxes.
The break-even price is the price per item where profit is exactly zero, with the same discount, shipping and costs. Selling below it loses money on every order, however many you sell.
Where the money usually goes
For small orders, postage and packaging are the surprise. A $25 item with $6.80 postage hands over a quarter of the sale before the product is paid for. That's why the cheapest fixes are often about order size, not price: a second item shares the same box and postage. See quantity breaks and minimum order amounts.
Questions people ask
What card fee should I use?
Your own, from Settings > Payments in your Shopify admin. In the US, Shopify Payments on the Basic plan charges 2.9% + 30¢ for online cards (checked November 2026); other plans and countries differ, and international cards cost more.
Should I include ad spend?
Yes, if you pay for ads. Divide last month's ad spend by last month's orders and enter it as ad cost per order. Many stores look profitable until this line is added.
What's a healthy profit per order?
There's no single number, but if what's left can't cover your own time, returns and the odd lost parcel, the order isn't really profitable. A margin under 10% after all costs leaves no room for mistakes.
Is my data saved?
No. The calculation runs in your browser. The numbers are kept in the page address so you can bookmark or share a result; nothing is sent to us.