Exactly how the breakeven planner works, so you can check it — and exactly what it leaves out, so you are not misled by it.
Order base = selling price + shipping charged to the buyer. Every percentage fee is applied to this base, unless the Fee Index says otherwise.
Revenue = orders × order base. Product + shipping costs = orders × (product cost + shipping cost).
Etsy per order = listing fee + 6.5% × base + payment-processing % × base + payment-processing fixed fee + regulatory % × base (+ 15% × base if Offsite Ads is on).
eBay per order = final value fee + per-order fixed fee (+ regulatory % × base, where applicable). Germany (business): 12% × min(base, €990) + 3% × max(0, base − €990), plus €0.35/€0.45 per order.
Shopify per order = card % × base + card fixed fee. Monthly Shopify cost = orders × per-order card fee + Basic subscription.
Monthly fees = orders × per-order fee + subscription (where applicable), rounded to cents for display; monthly math uses full-precision per-order values.
Monthly net profit = revenue − product + shipping costs − monthly fees − (customer acquisition cost × orders).
Margin = monthly net profit ÷ revenue. Maximum affordable CAC per order = (revenue − product + shipping costs − monthly fees) ÷ orders — the acquisition cost at which net profit hits zero.
Fee-only crossover = ceil(Shopify subscription ÷ (marketplace fee per order − Shopify fee per order)). If the store's per-order fee is already higher, there is no fee-only crossover. Customer acquisition cost is not in this formula — see the exclusions on the calculator page.
Inputs: price $40, product cost $15, shipping charged $8, shipping cost $6, 50 orders/month, Canada preset, CAC $0, Offsite Ads off.
| Platform | Monthly fees | Monthly net profit | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Etsy | $262.50 | $1,087.50 | 45.3% |
| eBay (Canada) | $346.40 | $1,003.60 | 41.8% |
| Your own Shopify store | $131.20 | $1,218.80 | 50.8% |
Check: order base $48, revenue $2,400, product + shipping costs $1,050. Etsy per order $5.25 (listing $0.20 + 6.5% × $48 = $3.12 + 3% × $48 + $0.25 = $1.69 + regulatory 0.5% × $48 = $0.24) × 50 = $262.50. Shopify per order $1.644 (2.8% × $48 + $0.30) × 50 = $82.20 + $49 subscription = $131.20. Fee-only crossovers at these inputs: Etsy 14 orders, eBay 10 orders.
These spot checks were run against the calculator's own code before launch. If you change any input and the numbers do not follow the formulas above, that is a bug — report it via the contact page and do not rely on the result.
Discovery, refunds and returns, apps and plugins, taxes/VAT (except where the Fee Index states otherwise), fulfilment and storage, currency conversion, international fees, and category-specific schedules. Amazon, eBay Australia Pro, and eBay UK business are excluded entirely until their official pages are verified. See the calculator's exclusions panel and the Fee Index.
If this site ever links to a platform with an affiliate link, that link will be labelled as such, placed only after the calculation result, and will never change the math. At launch, no affiliate links are placed and no revenue is forecast from them. AdSense, if added later after traffic exists, will never be placed inside or above the calculator panel.