Profit Calculator

See exactly how much you keep from each sale after product, shipping, advertising and fees.

Your numbers

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Your ad spend divided by the number of orders it produced.
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We will show how many sales you need to reach it.
Your Results
Profit per sale-
Profit margin-
Total cost per sale-
Sales needed for your target-

Your Profit Target

Want a free Small Business Profit Checklist?

A one-page checklist of the numbers every small business should know: margins, break-even, true employee cost and more.

How is this calculated?

Profit is what is left from the selling price after every per-sale cost is subtracted. Margin expresses that profit as a percentage of the selling price.

Total Costs = Product Cost + Shipping + Advertising + Fees + Other Costs
Profit Per Sale = Selling Price - Total Costs
Profit Margin = Profit Per Sale / Selling Price x 100
Required Sales = Target Profit / Profit Per Sale (rounded up)

Worked Example

Product price: $79. Product cost: $30. Shipping: $9. Advertising: $12. Fees: $3.

Total costs = $30 + $9 + $12 + $3 = $54. Profit = $79 - $54 = $25. Profit margin = $25 / $79 = 31.6%.

At $25 profit per sale, you need approximately 40 sales to generate $1,000 in profit.

How to Calculate Profit

List every cost that belongs to a single sale: the product itself, shipping, the advertising that produced the order, platform and payment fees, packaging and any other per-order expense. Add them up, subtract the total from your selling price, and the remainder is your profit per sale.

Advertising cost per sale is the one most sellers get wrong. Divide your ad spend for a period by the number of orders it generated. If you spent $240 on ads and got 20 orders, your advertising cost per sale is $12, even if some individual clicks cost pennies.

Why Profit Per Sale Matters

Profit per sale tells you whether growing will actually make you money. Plenty of stores scale a product that earns $2 a sale and discover that returns, failed deliveries and rising ad costs quietly erase it. Knowing the number per sale lets you set a sane advertising ceiling, judge promotions before you run them, and compare products honestly.

Pair it with the Profit Margin Calculator to see the percentage view, and the Break-Even Calculator to see how many sales your fixed costs demand each month.

How to Improve Your Numbers

Work the biggest cost first. Product and advertising usually dominate, so a small saving there beats trimming pennies elsewhere. Renegotiate supplier pricing, bundle shipping, and tighten ad targeting before raising prices. When you do raise prices, test small increases and watch conversion: a slightly higher price with slightly fewer sales often earns more in total.

Also check the Pricing Calculator: it works backwards from the margin you want to the price you need to charge.

Frequently Asked Questions

What costs should I include in the Profit Calculator?

Every cost that belongs to one sale: product cost, shipping, advertising per order, platform and payment processing fees, packaging, and an allowance for refunds if you get them regularly. Leave monthly fixed costs like rent out; those belong in the Break-Even Calculator.

What is a good profit per sale?

It depends on your volume and fixed costs. A useful check: multiply profit per sale by your realistic monthly sales and see whether it covers your fixed costs with room to spare. The margin view helps too: many sellers aim for a margin in the 20 to 40 percent range on physical products, but healthy numbers vary widely by industry.

How many sales do I need to make $1,000?

Divide $1,000 by your profit per sale and round up. At $25 profit per sale that is 40 sales. The calculator does this for your target automatically.

Should advertising be included if I also get organic sales?

For a blended view, divide total ad spend by total orders. For a stricter view of paid growth, divide ad spend by orders from ads only. Either is fine as long as you compare consistently over time.

What if my profit is negative?

The sale loses money at current numbers. Selling more makes the loss bigger, so fix the price or the largest cost first, starting with product cost and advertising.

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