What this calculator does: Most sellers subtract product cost from selling price and call it profit — but that misses platform fees, payment processing, shipping, ad spend, and return costs. This calculator deducts every real cost layer so you see exact net profit per sale: what you actually keep after Shopify, PayPal, your supplier, your courier, and your ad platform have all taken their cut. Use it to evaluate any product before committing to inventory or launching paid campaigns.
Platform:
Your Numbers

Pricing

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Shipping & Returns

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Platform & Payment Fees

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Advertising & Volume

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Net Profit per Sale

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Fill in your numbers on the left — every field updates results live.

Net Margin

After all costs

Gross Margin

Before fees & ads

ROI

Return on cost

Total Cost / Sale

All costs combined

Break-Even Ads

Max ad spend / sale

Break-Even Price

Min selling price

Cost Breakdown per Sale
Product
Shipping
Platform
Payment
Ad Spend
Returns

Revenue

Total Costs

Net Profit

Understanding Your Results

What each metric means

Every output tells you something different about a product's viability. Here's what to look at first — and why.

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Net Profit per Sale

What you actually keep after every cost is deducted. This is real earnings — not revenue. Positive means profitable; negative means you lose money on every single order.

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Net Margin %

Net profit as a percentage of your selling price. A 25% margin means you keep $0.25 from every $1.00 sold. The single most important metric for evaluating whether a product can scale.

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Gross Margin %

Profit after product cost and shipping only — before platform fees and ad spend. Shows raw product profitability before the operational layer is added on top.

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ROI %

Return on Investment relative to your total costs. A 50% ROI means for every $1.00 you spend, you get $1.50 back. Use this to compare products side by side.

🎯

Break-Even Ad Cost

The maximum you can spend acquiring one sale before profit reaches exactly zero. Use this as your target CPA when setting up Facebook, Google, or TikTok ad campaigns.

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Break-Even Price

The absolute minimum selling price at which you stop losing money. Use this as your floor when setting prices or running any promotional discounts or sales.


Benchmarks

What is a good dropshipping margin?

These are the thresholds behind the health indicator in the calculator. Use them to evaluate products before spending on ads.

Net Margin Health What it means Action
30%+ Strong Excellent. Plenty of room to scale ad spend and absorb returns without going into the red. Scale confidently. Test new audiences and increase budgets.
20–30% Good Solid margin. Profitable at most realistic ad costs. Can handle moderate return rates. Optimise and scale. Push toward 30%+ by renegotiating supplier pricing.
12–20% Average Thin but workable at volume. Very vulnerable to ad cost spikes or return increases. Improve COGS or raise price before committing to scale.
0–12% Weak Dangerously thin. Any cost increase will push you into loss territory immediately. Fix your pricing or find a cheaper supplier. Do not increase ad spend yet.
Below 0% Loss Losing money on every sale. Scaling with ads will accelerate losses, not solve them. Stop all paid traffic. Restructure costs completely or drop the product.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about dropshipping margins, fees, and how to use this calculator correctly.