What it does
Answers the question: how many orders before I stop losing money? It factors in variable cost, percentage fees, and a fixed fee per order to show the break-even point clearly.
Pricing and Profit
Break-Even Calculator
Find out how many sales you need to cover fixed costs once per-order costs and fees are factored in.
Fee per order$5.50
Contribution per order$31.50
Contribution margin48.46%
Break-even units79.37
Revenue needed to break even$5,158.73
Orders needed for target profit126.98
Revenue needed for target profit$8,253.97
How the math works
Contribution per order = sale price - variable cost - percentage fee amount - fixed fee per order. Break-even units = fixed costs / contribution per order. Target-profit units = (fixed costs + target profit) / contribution per order.
Try it with real numbers
- A product priced at $65 can still need dozens or hundreds of orders to break even once variable costs, processor fees, and fixed costs are all in the mix.
- Helpful when you want to know whether a promotion, channel switch, or price cut still gives you a realistic path to covering fixed spend.
Good to know
- Break-even math only works if contribution per order is positive. If your per-order economics are negative, selling more does not fix the problem.
- Use realistic variable cost and fee assumptions — especially when a marketplace or processor takes a percentage of gross order value.
- This is a planning model for pricing and channel decisions, not a replacement for full accounting or cash-flow forecasting.