Required selling price
Target achievable$42.82
Selling price where expected profit divided by expected retained revenue equals the target margin.
Product Pricing Calculator
Calculate the selling price you need for a target expected profit margin after product costs, fees, advertising, overhead, and expected refunds. Results also include break-even price, an optional target-profit price, implied markup, and safe discount headroom.
Currency is for display only. Payment and platform fees are amounts you enter; this tool has no marketplace presets. A mathematically profitable price is not necessarily a commercially viable market price. Competition, willingness to pay, brand, demand, and differentiation still matter.
Inputs
Formatting only. The formulas do not convert currencies.
Advanced return assumptions
A fully refunded order is modeled with no retained customer revenue. Product cost, fulfillment/packaging, payment fees, and platform fees each have their own loss rate. Other variable cost, advertising, and allocated overhead are treated as incurred on refunded orders. Defaults are conservative (100% lost).
Results
Target margin
20.0%
Expected profit ÷ expected retained revenue at the required selling price.
Expected profit at target price
$8.14
Expected profit per order if you charge the required target-margin price.
Break-even selling price
$33.98
Selling price where expected profit is zero under these assumptions.
Required price for target profit / order
$44.84
Selling price where expected profit equals the dollar target.
Proposed price analysis
Proposed selling price
Above target price$50.00
Compared with the required target-margin selling price, not with a market or ‘good’ price.
Expected profit / order
Profitable$14.75
Expected-value mix of successful and refunded orders at the proposed price.
Expected margin
31.1%
Expected profit divided by expected retained revenue.
Expected retained revenue
$47.50
(1 − refund rate) × (proposed price + shipping charged).
Payment fee
$1.75
Charged on gross order revenue (price + shipping charged).
Platform fee
$0.00
Charged on gross order revenue at the percentage you entered.
Safe discount headroom
Safe discount amount
$7.18
Maximum price reduction before falling below the selected target expected margin, under the entered assumptions. Not a recommended market discount.
Safe discount percentage
14.4%
Safe discount amount divided by the proposed selling price.
Secondary
Implied markup
61.3%
(Selling price − base product cost) ÷ base product cost. Base product cost is COGS + fulfillment + packaging + other variable + advertising + allocated overhead ($31.00). Informational only; markup is not the target-margin solver.
Breakdown
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross order revenue (charged) | $50.00 |
| Expected refund impact (revenue refunded) | -$2.50 |
| Expected retained revenue | $47.50 |
| Expected product cost | -$15.00 |
| Expected fulfillment / shipping | -$5.00 |
| Expected packaging | -$1.00 |
| Expected other variable costs | -$0.00 |
| Expected advertising | -$10.00 |
| Expected allocated overhead | -$0.00 |
| Expected payment processing fees | -$1.75 |
| Expected platform fees | -$0.00 |
| Expected profit | $14.75 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Successful-order profit | $17.25 |
| Refunded-order profit | -$32.75 |
| Expected mix (not a single-order result) | $14.75 |
Formula and methodology
Formula
Gross order revenue = selling price + shipping charged to the customer.
Payment fee = gross order revenue × payment percentage + fixed payment fee. Platform fee = gross order revenue × platform percentage.
Successful-order profit = gross order revenue − product cost − fulfillment − packaging − other variable cost − advertising − allocated overhead − payment fee − platform fee.
Refunded-order profit assumes no retained customer revenue: − (product cost × product-cost-lost rate) − ((fulfillment + packaging) × fulfillment-lost rate) − other variable cost − advertising − allocated overhead − (payment fee × payment-fee-lost rate) − (platform fee × platform-fee-lost rate).
Expected profit = (1 − refund rate) × successful-order profit + refund rate × refunded-order profit. Expected retained revenue = (1 − refund rate) × gross order revenue. Expected margin = expected profit ÷ expected retained revenue when retained revenue is greater than zero.
Because payment and platform fees scale with price, expected profit is linear in gross order revenue. The required price is solved algebraically from that line. It is not a simple cost-plus markup, and the UI does not guess by iteration.
Break-even selling price is the price where expected profit equals zero. Target-margin selling price is the price where expected profit ÷ expected retained revenue equals the target margin. Target-profit selling price is the price where expected profit equals the optional dollar target per order.
Safe discount amount = proposed selling price − required target-margin selling price when the proposed price is higher. Otherwise the allowance is zero.
Assumptions
Refunded orders are modeled as fully refunded: no leftover customer revenue. Loss rates control how much product cost, fulfillment/packaging, payment fees, and platform fees remain after a refund. Other variable cost, advertising, and allocated overhead are treated as incurred on refunded orders. Defaults (100% lost) are conservative starting points.
Target margin is expected profit divided by expected retained revenue, not markup on cost. Implied markup is shown separately and does not drive the solver.
The calculator estimates economically required pricing from the numbers you enter. A mathematically profitable price is not necessarily a price customers will pay.
What is included
Product cost, fulfillment, packaging, other variable cost, advertising per order, allocated overhead per order, shipping charged, user-entered payment and platform fees, expected refunds with editable loss rates, a target expected profit margin, an optional target profit per order, and an optional proposed selling price.
What is excluded
Marketplace fee presets, tax/VAT, duties, currency conversion, wholesale or bundle pricing, quantity discounts, competitor scraping, demand or LTV forecasts, and AI price recommendations. The calculator does not claim an optimal market price.
What this calculator estimates
This tool solves selling price from one expected order. It reports the price that hits your target expected profit margin, the break-even selling price, an optional price for a target profit per order, expected profit, retained revenue, and margin at a proposed price, implied markup, and safe discount headroom versus the target-margin price. For the educational walkthrough of those ideas, read How to Price a Product for Profit.
A selling price is only useful if it covers the costs this model actually uses: product cost, fulfillment/shipping, packaging, other variable cost, advertising per order, allocated overhead, payment processing, platform fees, and expected refund losses. Leave a field at zero to omit it. The required price is a floor for the profit target you selected, not a market recommendation. Use the optional proposed price to test a number you are considering. A modeled price ladder for one fixed cost structure is in the product price vs profit analysis. It is not a recommended price list.
How to read the results
Break-even selling price is where expected profit is zero. The target-margin price is higher when you want expected profit to equal a percentage of retained revenue. A dollar target profit per order is a different goal and usually a different price. If fees and refunds consume too much of each extra dollar, the calculator says the target cannot be reached instead of inventing an infinite price.
The solver is target margin, not a markup on cost. Implied markup is informational and excludes payment and platform fees, so it does not drive the required price. Percentage fees apply to gross order revenue and are inside the solved price. There are no marketplace fee presets here.
Advertising and refund losses raise every required price, because both are treated as costs on the orders that do not keep the full payment. Allocated overhead is optional; leave it at zero to price on contribution only. Safe discount is the gap between a proposed price and the target-margin price when the proposed price is higher. It is only safe under the assumptions you entered. Customers may still refuse the economic price; willingness to pay is not modeled.
Worked example
These figures are an illustration, not a recommended price. They use the same engine and default scenario as the calculator: proposed selling price $50.00, product cost $15.00, fulfillment $5.00, packaging $1.00, advertising $10.00, 2.9% + $0.30 payment fees, 5% refunds, a 20% target expected margin, and a $10.00 target profit per order. Platform fee, other variable cost, allocated overhead, and shipping charged are zero.
- Required selling price for 20% expected margin: $42.82
- Break-even selling price: $33.98
- Required selling price for $10.00 expected profit per order: $44.84
- Expected retained revenue at the proposed price: $47.50
- Expected profit at the proposed price: $14.75
- Expected margin at the proposed price: 31.1%
- Implied markup at the proposed price: 61.3%
- Safe discount headroom: $7.18 (14.4%)
Limitations
Results are planning estimates, not accounting, tax, or legal advice. The model is a single expected order. It does not forecast demand, convert currencies, apply marketplace fee tables, or optimize promotions. Currency codes format numbers only.
Frequently asked questions
Is the required selling price what I should charge?
It is the price that meets your entered target under your assumptions. Whether customers will pay it is outside this model.
Does this include marketplace fees automatically?
No. Enter the percentages you pay. There are no Shopify, Etsy, or TikTok Shop presets on this page.
How do I estimate profit at a price I already have?
Enter it as the proposed selling price. Use the E-commerce Profit Calculator when you also want monthly net profit and break-even CPA at that price.
Are taxes included?
No. Sales tax, VAT, duties, and income tax are excluded. If you bear a per-order tax amount, add it as another variable cost.
Related tools
Read How to Price a Product for Profit for margin versus markup and the pricing decisions this solver does not make. If the price is already set and the unknown is advertising efficiency, use the Break-Even ROAS Calculator.