Most Shopify store owners know their product cost. Far fewer know what they keep after Shopify's fees, shipping, refunds and ads. That number decides how much you can spend on ads, and whether scaling makes you money or loses it faster.
This free calculator puts all of it in one place. Fill in one average order and it shows your profit margin after ads, your break-even ad cost and ROAS, your monthly profit and the price you'd need for a target margin.
Your numbers, per order
Fill in what one average order looks like. Everything updates as you type.
Fee presets are Shopify Payments US online card rates (2026). Premium and international cards, PayPal and other providers cost more. This is an estimate, not accounting advice.
How to use the calculator
- Order value: what an average customer pays, including shipping they pay you. Use your average order value from Shopify Analytics, not your product price.
- Product cost: what you pay for everything in that order, including your supplier's shipping to you.
- Shipping you pay: what it costs you to send the order. If you offer free shipping, this is all yours.
- Payment fees: pick your Shopify plan and it fills in the Shopify Payments US online card rate. Use your own rate if you sell in another country or use another provider.
- Ad cost per order: your ad spend divided by your orders. If you don't run ads, put 0.
- Refunds: the share of sales you refund. Check it in your Shopify finance reports.
- Orders and monthly costs: your Shopify plan plus apps, so the monthly profit is real.
The formulas behind it
No black box. This is exactly what the calculator does:
| Number | Formula | In the example |
|---|---|---|
| Payment fee | order value x fee % + fee per order | $60 x 2.9% + $0.30 = $2.04 |
| Profit before ads | order value minus product, shipping, other costs, fees and refunds | $60 - $22 - $2.04 - $1.80 = $34.16 |
| Profit after ads | profit before ads minus ad cost per order | $34.16 - $20 = $14.16 |
| Profit margin | profit after ads / order value | $14.16 / $60 = 23.6% |
| Break-even ad cost | profit before ads | $34.16 per order |
| Break-even ROAS | order value / profit before ads | $60 / $34.16 = 1.76 |
| Price for a target margin | (costs + fee per order + ad cost) / (1 - fee % - refund % - target %) | $42.30 / 0.741 = $57.09 for 20% |
Break-even ROAS is the one to watch when you run ads. In the example, every $1 of ads has to bring back at least $1.76 in sales. Below that, each new order loses money, even if the ads manager looks busy.
Shopify fees to include
- Card fees with Shopify Payments (US, online): 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic, 2.7% + 30¢ on Grow and 2.5% + 30¢ on Advanced. Premium and international cards cost more.
- Another payment provider: Shopify adds its own transaction fee on top of the provider's fee (2% on Basic, less on higher plans).
- Gift cards and store credit: stores created on or after May 12, 2025 pay the third-party transaction fee on the amount paid with them. More in our Shopify gift cards guide.
- Plan and apps: a fixed monthly cost. The calculator spreads it over your orders in the monthly profit.
Should you upgrade your plan to get the lower card rate? On monthly billing, Grow costs $66 more than Basic and saves 0.2% on card sales, so it pays for itself on fees alone from about $33,000 a month in card sales. Advanced costs $294 more than Grow, so that step needs about $147,000 a month. Check the current prices on Shopify's pricing page before you decide.
How to raise your Shopify profit margin
When the margin is thin, most store owners cut costs first. In our client work, the faster win is usually a bigger order, because the ad cost per order stays about the same while the order grows.
- Raise the order value. Bundles, quantity offers and cart rewards. On Gold Star Fragrances, tiered cart rewards (free shipping over $50, a free gift at $100, 5% off over $150) raised the average order value by 30% in the first 30 days. Here's how to set up a free shipping bar and rewards.
- Set free shipping above your average order, not below it, so shipping you pay brings a bigger cart with it.
- Lower your ad cost per order by converting more visitors. The product page and the cart decide that. In our study of 100 scaling Shopify stores, 95 of 99 use a cart drawer and 85 of 98 show a crossed-out compare-at price.
- Test a higher price. Use the target margin field to see the price you'd need, then test it on a part of your traffic.
- Watch refunds. A refund costs you the product, the shipping and the ad, so clear sizing, delivery times and photos protect your margin too.
Want to know which of these fits your store? Run our free Shopify Store Analyzer for 20+ tips based on how your store is built.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate profit margin on Shopify?
Take the order value, subtract product cost, shipping, payment fees, refunds and ad cost, then divide what's left by the order value. The calculator above does it for you with Shopify's fees filled in.
What is a good profit margin for a Shopify store?
There's no one number for every store. What matters is that you make money after ads on the first order, or that you know your repeat customers will make up for it. If your margin after ads is close to zero, fix the order value or the price before you scale ads.
What is break-even ROAS?
It's the return on ad spend where you neither make nor lose money. Divide your order value by your profit before ads. If your ads bring back less than that, every order loses money.
How much does Shopify take per sale?
With Shopify Payments in the US, 2.9% + 30¢ per online card sale on Basic, 2.7% + 30¢ on Grow and 2.5% + 30¢ on Advanced, plus your monthly plan. Other countries have their own rates.
Does the calculator save my numbers?
No. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is sent to us.
Margin too thin to scale?
Send me your store link and your numbers. I'll show you where a bigger order or a better product page adds the most profit.
