What this calculator does
Selling on Etsy, eBay, Amazon or your own Shopify store, the price is not what you keep. This calculator takes the item price and the shipping the buyer pays, subtracts marketplace, payment, listing and ad fees, the item cost and your shipping cost, and shows your profit per sale, your margin, profit per month and year, the lowest price that breaks even and the price that reaches the margin you want.
How the fees add up
Most platforms take a percentage of the sale, usually counting the shipping the buyer pays, plus small fixed fees per listing or per order. Card payments add a processing fee, often a percentage plus a few cents per order. Promoted listings and ads add another percentage when they lead to a sale. The calculator adds all of them: fees = sale × (marketplace % + payment % + ads %) + fixed fees per order.
Example: a $40 item with $5 shipping, a 10% marketplace fee, 3% + $0.30 for payments and a $0.20 listing fee costs $6.35 in fees. With a $12 item cost and $7 for the label and packaging, profit is $19.65 per sale, a 43.7% margin. The break-even price is about $17.41, and $29.21 keeps a 30% margin.
Where to find each platform's fees
Fees differ by category, plan and the buyer's country, and platforms change them, so the calculator does not fill in any platform's rates. Copy the current numbers from the official fee pages: Etsy's fees and payments policy (listing, transaction, payment processing and Offsite Ads fees), eBay's selling fees page (insertion and final value fees by category), Amazon's selling fees and pricing (selling plans, referral fees by category and FBA fees) and Shopify's pricing page (monthly plans and card rates). If a fee applies only to some orders, enter its average per order.
Taxes and paperwork
- Sales tax the buyer pays belongs to the state, so leave it out of the price. Check whether your platform collects and pays it for you.
- Payment apps and online marketplaces must send Form 1099-K when your payments in a year are over $20,000 and more than 200 transactions; some send one for less.
- Your profit is taxable even without a form, and fees, item costs and shipping are business expenses. The side hustle tax calculator estimates the tax.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate profit on an online sale?
Add the item price and the shipping the buyer pays, then subtract every fee, the item cost and your shipping and packaging cost. Divide the profit by the sale to get your margin.
Which platform has the lowest fees?
It depends on your category, price, how many orders you have and the services you use, such as fulfillment or ads. Enter each platform's fees from its official fee page and compare the profit per sale.
What is a break-even price?
The lowest price at which a sale covers the item, shipping and all fees, with zero profit left. Pricing below it loses money on every order.
Do I pay tax on what I sell online?
On your profit from selling as a business, yes, even without a Form 1099-K. Selling your own used items for less than you paid is usually not a profit. This is general information, not tax advice.