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Ecommerce Profit Calculator with Fees, Returns and GST / VAT / Sales Tax

Enter your selling price, product cost, platform fee, shipping and return rate to see profit per order, margin, markup and the price at which you break even.

Calculator

Amounts are in USD. Change currency in the header.

Pick a platform to fill in its typical fee. You can change the numbers.

$
$
$
%

PLACEHOLDER: 10% is not any marketplace's real fee. Enter your platform's current fee.

%
%
More costs (ads, packaging, fixed fee)
$

Total ad spend divided by orders. Counted on every order, even returned ones.

$
$

Flat charges such as a payment fee or listing fee. Not refunded on returns.

%

Shows the price to list at.

US sales tax varies by state/local rules and is added at checkout; the seller collects and remits it, so it is not seller revenue. Default 0%; enter your rate if tax is included in your price.

Expected profit per order$8.26$826 per month at 100 units
35.9%Margin
89.8%Markup
$15.02Break-even price
Price excl. Sales tax
$25.00
Sales tax collected
$0.00
Platform fee (10%, placeholder)
− $2.50
Product cost
− $10.00
Shipping
− $3.00
Profit per kept (not returned) order
$9.50
List price for a 20% margin
$19.32

Amounts are in USD (United States selected). Change country or currency in the header. Exchange rates are approximate, from a static table updated 2026-10-25 — not live and not for transactions.

Estimates for planning only. Not tax or financial advice. Last verified: 2026-10-25

Ecommerce profit calculator: how it works

Selling online leaves you with far less than the price on the listing. Tax belongs to the government, the marketplace takes a fee, and shipping, returns and the cost of the goods all come out of what remains. This calculator walks through those steps for one order and then adjusts for the share of orders that are returned.

First it removes consumption tax (GST, VAT or sales tax) if your listed price includes it, to get the net price you actually keep. The platform fee is charged on that net price. Subtracting the product cost and shipping gives the profit on a kept order. Returned orders are assumed to refund the fee and restock the item, but you still pay shipping twice, and the expected profit blends the two outcomes. The tool also shows margin, markup and the lowest listed price at which you break even.

Formula and assumptions

Formula

  • Net price = price ÷ (1 + tax%) if price includes tax, otherwise price
  • Profit per kept order = net price − platform fee − product cost − shipping
  • Expected profit = (1 − returns%) × kept profit − returns% × 2 × shipping
  • Margin % = expected profit ÷ expected net revenue; Markup % = profit ÷ cost

Assumptions

  • Platform fee % is charged on the selling price excluding tax. The default (10%) is a placeholder: enter your marketplace's actual fee.
  • Tax is treated as collected from the customer and paid to the tax authority, so it is not seller revenue. Input tax credit is ignored.
  • Returned orders: product is restocked at full cost recovery, the platform fee is refunded, and shipping is paid both ways (2× shipping).
  • Default consumption-tax rates per country are standard rates and were not re-verified against each authority in this build — edit the rate if yours differs.

Worked example

A product listed at 1,180 including 18% tax

  1. Net price = 1,180 ÷ 1.18 = 1,000 (tax collected: 180).
  2. Platform fee 10% of 1,000 = 100. Product cost 500, shipping 60.
  3. Profit on a kept order = 1,000 − 100 − 500 − 60 = 340.
  4. With 10% returns: 0.9 × 340 − 0.1 × 2 × 60 = 306 − 12 = 294 expected profit per order shipped.
  5. Margin = 294 ÷ 900 (expected net revenue) = 32.7%; markup = 294 ÷ 450 = 65.3%.

Result: Expected profit about 294 per order; the break-even listed price is about 751.70 including tax.

Limitations

  • The default 10% platform fee is a placeholder. Enter the fee schedule of your own marketplace, including any fee on shipping or payment collection.
  • Default consumption-tax rates are standard rates and were not re-checked against each tax authority for this build. Edit the rate if yours is different, or if your product has a reduced rate.
  • Input tax credit, advertising, packaging, warehouse costs, payment-gateway charges, customs duty and income tax on the profit are not included.
  • Returns are modelled with one simple rule (fee refunded, item restocked, shipping paid both ways). Damaged or unsellable returns would make real profit lower.

Frequently asked questions

Should I enter the price with or without tax?

Use the toggle. In India, the UK, the EU, Australia and Singapore, listed prices normally include GST or VAT. In the US and Canada, sales tax is usually added at checkout, so enter the price without it.

Is the platform fee charged on top of GST?

Marketplaces often charge GST on their own fees as well. If you cannot claim that tax back as a credit, add it to the fee percentage to be safe.

What is the difference between margin and markup?

Margin is profit divided by revenue; markup is profit divided by cost. A product with 50% markup has a 33.3% margin.

How is the break-even price calculated?

It is the lowest listed price at which expected profit is zero after the fee, cost, shipping and the expected cost of returns. Pricing above it makes a profit; below it you lose money on average.

Why do returns reduce profit so much?

Every return costs you outbound and return shipping while earning nothing, so even a modest return rate can remove a large share of the profit on thin-margin items.

Does this work for dropshipping?

Yes. Enter the supplier price as product cost and the supplier or courier charge as shipping. Remember that ad spend is not included.

What is a good profit margin for ecommerce?

There is no universal figure. It depends on category, platform fees, shipping, return rate and ad spend. Judge margin after all of those costs, not just product cost, and check that profit per order still covers your advertising cost per order. The break-even price shown by the calculator is the floor below which an order loses money.

How do I calculate Amazon seller profit?

Start from the selling price without tax, then subtract the marketplace fee, shipping or fulfilment, the product cost and the cost of returns. Divide the result by net revenue to get the margin. This calculator does that with a placeholder 10% platform fee: replace it with the referral and fulfilment fees from your marketplace's own fee schedule, because real marketplace fee tables are not built in.

Sources

Calculator data last verified: 2026-10-25. Estimates for planning only; not tax or financial advice.

What next?

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