Calculate Your True Profit Per Order After All Variable Costs
Free calculator for Shopify and ecommerce brands to understand your real profitability per order. Factor in COGS, shipping, transaction fees, and ad spend to see what's actually left after each sale.
Your average Shopify order value or product price
Product manufacturing or wholesale cost as % of revenue
Average shipping cost you pay per order (not what customer pays)
Shopify Payments, Stripe, or PayPal fees (typically 2.9% + $0.30)
Optional: Meta/Google Ads, influencer costs, or blended CAC
Shopify plan, apps, team salaries, warehouse rent, etc.
What this means: After covering all variable costs (COGS, shipping, Shopify fees, and ad spend), you have $34.00 left from each $100.00 order. This is your maximum CAC - you can spend up to $49.00 to acquire a customer and break even on the first purchase.
Variable costs change with each sale: COGS (product or wholesale cost), shipping to customer, Shopify transaction fees, and paid ad costs. These must be paid for every order your store fulfills.
Contribution Margin = Revenue - Variable Costs. This shows how much each order contributes to covering your fixed costs (Shopify subscription, app fees, marketing team, warehouse rent) and generating profit.
Contribution Margin % = (CM ÷ Revenue) × 100. This percentage tells you what portion of each dollar earned is available after variable costs. Higher percentages mean more efficient operations.
Use this data to optimize pricing, run profitable promotions, and scale ad spend wisely. Know exactly how much you can spend to acquire a customer while staying profitable.
Your Shopify dashboard shows revenue, but that doesn't equal profit. Contribution margin reveals how much each sale actually contributes after COGS, shipping, and fees. This is the real number that determines if your store is viable.
Test pricing strategies confidently. A $10 price increase on a $100 product doesn't just add $10 profit - it can double your contribution margin since COGS and shipping stay the same. Small price changes have massive margin impact.
Know your max CAC for Meta and Google Ads. If your contribution margin is $40, you can spend up to $40 acquiring first-time customers and still break even. Factor in repeat purchase rate to determine your true profitable CAC ceiling.
Some products in your catalog might have negative contribution margins - losing money on every sale. More traffic and conversions just mean more losses. Use this to identify which SKUs need repricing or removal from your store.
Before adding a new SKU to your store, calculate contribution margin to ensure it's profitable. Factor in supplier cost, shipping, Shopify fees, and estimated Meta/Google ad costs. If the margin is too thin, adjust pricing or negotiate with suppliers before launching.
Combine with our Discount Margin Calculator before Black Friday or site-wide sales. If your contribution margin is $40 and you offer 25% off, your new CM drops to $15 - meaning you need 2.7x the volume to maintain the same profit. Plan promotions wisely.
Your contribution margin sets the ceiling for profitable customer acquisition. With a $50 CM, spending $60 on Facebook/Instagram ads per customer means every sale loses $10. Use this to set realistic CAC targets and ROAS benchmarks for paid campaigns.
Different channels have different economics. Amazon FBA might have 30% total fees vs. 3% on your Shopify store. Calculate contribution margin for each channel to determine where to focus inventory and ad spend for maximum profitability.
See exactly how supplier cost changes affect profitability. Reducing COGS from 45% to 40% on a $100 product adds $5 more contribution margin per sale. At 1,000 orders/month, that's $5,000 extra to reinvest in Meta ads or influencer partnerships.
Optimize your marketing with our complete suite of free tools.
Calculate how much your sales need to increase when offering discounts
Generate automatic discount links for Shopify that apply codes instantly
Identify and remove inactive profiles to reduce Klaviyo costs by 20-30%
This calculator is just the beginning. BS&Co. helps Shopify and ecommerce brands build profitable email and SMS marketing strategies that maximize contribution margin and scale sustainably.