Break-Even Price with Platform Fee
Find your minimum break-even selling price after fees
Break-even price with platform fee calculator FAQs
What does this break-even pricing calculator do?
This tool helps you find the lowest price you can charge without losing money once platform and payment fees are added. You enter a unit cost and fee pattern, and it calculates the break-even price where net after fees equals your cost.
What should I include in total unit cost?
For a realistic break-even, roll in all variable costs per sale: product or manufacturing cost, packaging, pick & pack, shipping you cover, and any per-order software or fulfillment charges. Fixed overhead (rent, salaries) can be handled separately in your margin targets.
How do I set the platform + payment fee %?
Combine every percentage charge on revenue for this channel: marketplace commission, app store cut, and payment processor fee. For example, a 12% marketplace fee plus a 3% card fee would be entered as 15%, with the per-transaction card fee in the fixed box.
What does the fixed fee per order represent?
Many gateways charge a flat amount per transaction on top of the percentage. Use this input for things like $0.30 card fees, fixed PayPal charges, or a small per-order platform fee. It matters a lot for low ticket prices and micro-transactions.
How should I use the current selling price field?
Enter your existing price to see the net after fees and margin above cost with your current setup. If the calculator shows a negative margin, you’re selling below break-even once fees are considered and should adjust price, costs, or channel.
Can I treat ad spend or fixed costs as part of this break-even?
This calculator focuses on per-order economics. You can fold an average ad cost per order into “Total unit cost” to model performance marketing, but fixed costs like software subscriptions or salaries usually belong in a separate profit target, not the pure fee break-even.
How to use this break-even price with fees calculator
This break-even price calculator is built for ecommerce founders, indie sellers, and course creators who want to stop guessing their minimum viable price. Instead of eyeballing platform fees and card charges, you can plug in your cost and fee pattern and instantly see the price where you break even — plus the margin on your current price.
1. Enter your total unit cost to cover
Start with Total unit cost to cover. Think beyond product cost: include packaging, pick & pack, shipping you pay, and any per-order fulfillment or software fees. This is the amount you want to get back once platform and payment providers have taken their share.
2. Add your current selling price (optional)
If you already have a live price, put it in Current selling price. The calculator will show how much you net per sale after fees and whether that’s above or below break-even. That’s the fastest way to spot “hero” products and silent money-losers.
3. Set your blended platform and payment fee %
In Platform + payment fee (%), combine marketplace commission, app store share, and processor fees into one rate. Use recent payouts or fee tables to estimate a realistic blended percentage for this channel, not just the headline rate in a marketing page.
4. Add the fixed fee per order
Use Fixed fee per order for card charges like $0.30 per transaction or similar flat fees. For low price points, this fixed fee can eat a big chunk of your margin, so it’s helpful to see it explicitly in the calculation, alongside the percentage.
5. Read the break-even summary and tweak your pricing
Hit Calculate and the summary shows your minimum break-even price, total fees at that price, and the effective fee percentage. If you entered a current price, you’ll also see net after fees and the margin above cost. Use this to justify price changes, decide whether to absorb or pass on platform fees, and choose which channels can support discounts.
Treat this as your quick, per-product “sanity check” before launching new SKUs, running promos, or expanding to another marketplace. Once you know where break-even sits, it’s much easier to layer on target profit margins and marketing budgets without drifting into hidden losses.
How the break-even price with fee math works
The calculator uses a simple contribution-style break-even formula. Let C be your total unit cost in USD, P the price you charge, r the blended fee rate as a decimal (for example 0.15 for 15%), and f the fixed fee per order.
Modeled fees on a sale are:
Fees = P × r + f
Net you keep after these fees is:
Net after fees = P − (P × r + f)
Break-even is when this net equals your unit cost C, so:
C = P × (1 − r) − f
Rearranging for the price P gives the break-even price:
Break-even price = (C + f) ÷ (1 − r)
When you provide a current selling price, the calculator plugs it into the same equations to show net after fees and the margin above cost. The effective fee percentage in the results is:
Effective fee % = modeled fees ÷ price × 100
Outputs are rounded to two decimals and meant for planning. Real platforms may use tiered or capped fees, separate ad costs, and additional adjustments, so always sanity-check big decisions against your ecommerce platform and payment provider’s live pricing.
Break-even pricing and fee modeling references
- Investopedia: Break-Even Analysis – Classic overview of break-even concepts, contribution margin, and unit vs revenue break-even.
- Corporate Finance Institute: Break-Even Analysis – Step-by-step guide to calculating break-even and interpreting it for business decisions.
- Shopify Profit Margin Calculator – Companion tool for checking margins once you’re above break-even on ecommerce products.
- Stripe: Payment Gateway Fees – Current examples of card and local payment processing fees to plug into the % and fixed inputs.
- Investopedia: Break-Even Price – Definition of break-even price and how it relates to covering costs before profit.