Dropshipping Profit Calculator — Margin & Break-Even
A dropshipping profit calculator works out whether a product actually makes money. Enter the selling price, product cost, shipping, ad spend and platform fees, and it shows your profit per order, margin, ROI and the break-even price.
How it works
- Enter your selling price and what the product costs you from the supplier.
- Add shipping per order, ad spend per order and any platform fees.
- See your profit per order, margin, return on your spend and the lowest price you can charge without losing money.
Formula
Worked example
Sell a product for $29.99. The product costs $8.00, shipping $4.00, ads $6.00 per order and platform fees $1.50. Total cost is $19.50, so profit is $10.49 per order — a 35.0% margin and a 53.8% return on the $19.50 you spend. The break-even price is $19.50: sell below that and you lose money on every order.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good profit margin for dropshipping?
After all costs, 20% to 40% is typical for a healthy product. Below 15% is fragile — one refund or ad spike wipes it out. Above 40% usually means the price is high or the product is genuinely cheap to source.
How do I calculate dropshipping profit?
Subtract every cost from the selling price: product cost, shipping, ad spend per order and platform fees. In the example, $29.99 − $8.00 − $4.00 − $6.00 − $1.50 = $10.49 profit per order.
What is the break-even price?
The price where profit is exactly zero — your total cost per order. In the example it is $19.50. Any sale above that is profit; any sale below it is a loss.
What is ROI in dropshipping?
Return on investment: profit divided by the money you spent to get the order, times 100. In the example, $10.49 profit on $19.50 of costs is a 53.8% ROI.
Should ad spend be per order or per day?
Per order is the honest way. Take your daily ad spend and divide by the orders it brings in — $60 a day for 10 orders is $6.00 per order. Daily spend alone hides whether the ads actually pay.
Does this include taxes or refunds?
No. Add your sales tax or VAT and an allowance for refunds and chargebacks to the cost side if you want a fully loaded figure. A 5% refund rate on a $29.99 product is about $1.50 per order.