What is the lowest price I can sell at without losing money after all fees?
Enter every cost and fee and set the margin to zero: the calculator returns the break-even price and labels it as such. A product costing 60 with shipping of 15, a fixed fee of 2 and 8% percentage fees does not lose money as long as it sells for 83.70 or more.
Why break-even is not the sum of your costs
The fixed costs here add up to 77, and you might think a price of 77 covers them. But percentage fees come out of the price itself, so at 77 the gateway or platform takes 8% and you lose the difference. The real break-even price covers the costs and the percentage fees together: 77 ÷ 0.92 = 83.70.
The steps
- Open the Selling-price calculator and enter the product cost and the shipping you pay.
- Enter every fixed fee per order, such as packaging, a transaction fee or a cash-on-delivery fee if it applies.
- Enter the percentage fees on the selling price.
- Type 0 as the target margin. A note appears saying this is the break-even price that covers costs and fees with no profit.
Cost 60, shipping 15, fixed fee 2, fees 8%, margin 0: price 83.70, fees at that price 8.70, profit zero.
Same inputs with a 25% margin: price 114.93.
Sell at 80 instead: the fees are 6.40 and each order loses 3.40.
Using the number in promotions and negotiation
If your normal price is 114.93, the deepest discount that does not tip you into a loss is only about 27%. Anything bigger makes every order a loss, however many orders it brings. Try a 25% discount on 114.93 in the Discount calculator: the price becomes 86.20, just above break-even, which leaves a very thin profit on each order that barely absorbs any error in your estimates.
When negotiating with a customer buying in quantity, make 83.70 your red line, then solve again with that customer's own costs. Shipping on their order may be lower, which pulls break-even down with it.
Break-even per piece, not for the whole business
This figure covers the costs of one order only. Warehouse rent, monthly subscriptions, your own salary: none of that is in it. To know how many units a month you need to sell to cover those fixed overheads, that is a different question, answered by the Break-even calculator.
Common questions
Why does the tool call the result break-even?
Because the margin is zero, so the price covers costs and fees with no profit. That is exactly what you want when looking for the floor.
Should I round the break-even price down?
No. Any rounding down means a small loss. Always round up when the figure is a floor.