Shopify Break-Even ROAS & Profit per Order

Shopify break-even ROAS and profit per order in USD

Step 1 · Price and product costs
Step 2 · Fees, ads, and conversion rate
ROAS & profit summary
Enter Shopify pricing and costs, then tap “Calculate” · USD

We’ll estimate break-even ROAS, target CPA and CPC, contribution margin, and profit after ads per order. Add a what-if discount to see how a deeper promo tightens your ad targets.

Assumptions: All amounts are in USD. Subtotal = price × (1 − discount%). Fees: platform fee = subtotal × platform%, payment fee = subtotal × payment% + fixed fee per order. Variable costs = COGS + shipping/packaging. Contribution dollars = subtotal − fees − variable costs. Contribution margin = contribution ÷ subtotal. Break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ contribution margin. CPA target (break-even) ≈ contribution dollars per order. CPC target = CPA × conversion rate. Profit after ads = contribution − subtotal × ad spend%. Taxes, refunds, chargebacks, and fixed overhead are not included.
Updated: September 23, 2025

ROAS calculator FAQs

What if my average order value changes a lot?

Use your median order value or a representative product bundle for more stable targets, and revisit weekly as your mix or discounts shift.

Should I include returns and refunds?

If returns are frequent, subtract your average return and processing cost inside COGS or shipping so your contribution margin reflects reality.

How do bundles and upsells affect my targets?

Bundles and post-purchase upsells that lift average order value increase contribution dollars per order, which improves break-even ROAS and CPA headroom.

Shopify ROAS and profit guide

1. Start from the real checkout subtotal, not the list price

The Shopify Break-Even ROAS & Profit per Order calculator turns pricing and costs into clear ad targets in USD. Start with your product price, then apply the current discount rate to get the working subtotal this customer actually pays. Fees are taken on that discounted subtotal, not on the list price, so promos reduce both revenue and fee amounts at the same time. Add COGS and shipping plus packaging to capture all variable costs that move when you sell one more unit.

2. Model platform and payment fees accurately

Most ecommerce stacks combine a percentage fee with a fixed processing charge. Use the platform fee % field for app and store fees charged on revenue, and the payment fee % and fixed fee for your card or wallet provider. Entering both the percent and the fixed fee keeps your break-even ROAS honest, especially on lower-priced products where the fixed fee eats a bigger share of the order. If you absorb taxes or duties, you can fold an average amount into COGS or shipping to avoid overestimating margin.

3. Translate ROAS into CPA and CPC you can actually buy

Media platforms often optimise toward CPA or CPC more directly than ROAS, especially at smaller budgets. Once the calculator knows your contribution per order, it can show a target CPA that keeps you at break-even and a target CPC based on your site conversion rate. Small changes in conversion move the CPC ceiling more than most people expect, so it is worth validating your rate by device and channel before scaling spend. A CPA that looks healthy on one funnel can be unprofitable if conversion slips on a new landing page or ad set.

4. Use ad spend % to read true profit after ads

Many brands run with a steady share of revenue earmarked for advertising. The ad spend % of revenue field lets you see how that policy flows through to profit after ads in dollars per order. If that number ends up thin or negative, you can react in several ways: raise price, trim shipping weight, negotiate packaging, reduce discounts, or look for better-performing ad channels. When testing new creatives, start with campaigns that aim slightly below your calculated break-even CPA, then adjust once conversion and order values stabilise.

5. Pressure-test discounts and bundles before launching promos

The what-if discount field compares your current offer to a deeper promo and shows how the new discount changes break-even ROAS and CPA. If the adjusted CPA is lower than the typical CPA you see in your ad accounts, the promo may only work for short bursts or in campaigns with highly qualified traffic. Bundles and post-purchase offers that lift average order value raise contribution dollars, making it easier to afford acquisition. Use the calculator to test scenarios such as “10 percent off with no bundle” versus “smaller discount plus a bundle” and choose the one that leaves more profit after ads.

6. Keep the model realistic and refresh it with live data

This calculator is an educational planning tool. It does not fetch live fee tables or tax rules, and it assumes your fees, costs, and conversion rate stay steady. In practice, payment statements, carrier surcharges, and conversion will move over time. Re-run the numbers every time you renegotiate rates, change fulfilment, introduce new upsells, or see a sustained shift in your analytics. That way your ROAS, CPA, and CPC targets stay tied to the real unit economics of your store instead of rough rules of thumb.

How the ROAS math works

The calculator builds per-order unit economics in USD. Let P be the list price, d the discount rate as a decimal, and S = P × (1 − d) the discounted subtotal. Platform fees are S × platform%. Payment fees are S × payment% + fixed fee. Variable costs combine COGS and shipping/packaging. That gives contribution dollars = S − platform fees − payment fees − variable costs, and contribution margin = contribution ÷ S. Break-even ROAS is 1 ÷ contribution margin. At a 40 percent contribution margin, break-even ROAS is 2.5. The CPA ceiling is approximately your contribution dollars per order, and with a conversion rate c, the CPC target is CPA × c. If ad spend is a share a of revenue, then profit after ads = contribution − S × a.