Break-even calculator
How many sales cover your monthly fixed costs: your platform plan, apps, tools and subscriptions.
How it works
- Step 1
Enter your cost
What one unit costs you: product, packaging and shipping to you.
- Step 2
Add a price or a target
Type your selling price, or the margin or markup you want, and the calculator does the rest.
- Step 3
Check your break-even
Add your monthly fixed costs to see how many sales it takes before you make a profit.
The profit margin formula
Profit margin = (selling price − cost) ÷ selling price × 100. It tells you how much of every sale you keep after paying for the product itself.
Worked example
You buy a candle for $12 and sell it for $30. The profit is $30 − $12 = $18, so the margin is 18 ÷ 30 = 60%. Out of every $30 sale, $18 is left to pay for ads, payment fees, shipping and your time.
Gross margin vs. net margin
This calculator gives the gross margin: price minus the cost of the product. Your net margin is what is left after every other cost too: platform and app subscriptions, ads, payment processing, shipping and returns. A healthy gross margin is what makes a healthy net margin possible.
Margin to markup conversion
Suppliers and wholesalers often talk in markup, while your accounts use margin. Use this table to switch between them, or the markup calculator.
| Margin | Markup |
|---|---|
| 10% | 11.1% |
| 20% | 25% |
| 25% | 33.3% |
| 30% | 42.9% |
| 40% | 66.7% |
| 50% | 100% |
| 60% | 150% |
| 70% | 233.3% |
| 75% | 300% |
| 80% | 400% |
Keep more of each sale
Monthly app subscriptions and transaction fees quietly eat into margin. Count them in your fixed costs above: they decide how many sales you need before the month is profitable.
Frequently asked questions
Subtract the cost from the selling price to get the profit, then divide the profit by the selling price and multiply by 100. A product that costs $12 and sells for $30 makes $18 profit, a 60% margin.
Both use the same profit, but margin divides it by the selling price and markup divides it by the cost. That is why a 60% margin equals a 150% markup: $18 profit is 60% of a $30 price and 150% of a $12 cost.
It depends on the category, but many ecommerce stores aim for a gross margin of 40% to 60% so there is room left for ads, payment fees, shipping and returns. Low-margin products need high volume to be worth it.
Divide the cost by one minus the margin. For a 60% margin on a $12 cost: 12 ÷ (1 − 0.60) = $30. Choose "Target margin" in the calculator to do it automatically.
No. Margin is profit as a share of the price, so it is always below 100%. Markup has no upper limit: selling a $10 item for $50 is a 400% markup but an 80% margin.
It is the number of sales that covers your fixed costs, such as your platform plan, apps and tools. Divide fixed costs by the profit each sale makes, then round up. Every sale after that is profit.
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