The costs that decide your Shopify margin
On Shopify, the platform does not take a slice of every sale the way a marketplace does. Instead, the costs are split between a monthly subscription, payment processing, apps, and the same fulfillment and marketing costs every store has.
| Cost | Typical US example | How it behaves |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify plan | $39/month (Basic) | Fixed monthly, regardless of orders |
| Shopify Payments | 2.9% + $0.30 | Per transaction; varies by plan and country |
| Third-party gateway | Extra 0.5–2% | Shopify transaction fee may apply, plus the gateway’s own rate |
| Apps | $0–$100+/month | Mostly fixed subscriptions |
| Product cost | Varies | Per unit |
| Shipping & packaging | Varies | Per order, before what the buyer pays |
| Ad spend | Varies | Per order; can be the largest variable cost |
| Returns | 2–10% | Percentage of orders, plus handling cost |
Treat the plan and app subscriptions as monthly fixed costs, not per-order fees. A $39 plan spread over 10 orders is $3.90 per order; over 500 orders it is $0.08. That is why the calculator shows both profit per order and monthly profit after fixed costs.
Check your gateway: if you use PayPal, Stripe, or another provider instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify may charge an additional transaction fee on the plan. Add it as a percentage fee and remember the gateway’s own processing rate.
A real example: a $60 Shopify order
The Shopify preset uses a $60 product, $20 product cost, $6 shipping cost, $1 packaging, $12 ad spend, a 5% return rate, 100 orders per month, and a $39 plan.
Profit on one Shopify order
| Product price (gross) | $60.00 |
| Payment processing (2.9% + $0.30) | −$2.04 |
| Product, shipping, packaging | −$27.00 |
| Ad spend | −$12.00 |
| Expected returns (5% of gross) | −$3.00 |
| Profit per order | $15.96 |
At 100 orders per month that is $1,596 in contribution profit, minus the $39 plan — $1,557 before other apps and fixed costs. The margin is 26.6%, which is workable. Replace the $12 ad spend with $25 and the margin falls to 4.9%, which is not.
Break-even price and break-even orders
The break-even price is the lowest price you can charge before an order loses money. It includes fixed fees, product and shipping costs, ad spend, return handling, and your percentage fees. If your current price is below it, every sale makes the business smaller.
Break-even orders is a different question: how many orders are needed to cover monthly fixed costs such as the plan and apps. If profit per order is $16 and fixed costs are $39, you need three orders. If profit per order is $2, you need 20 — and one return can erase the month.
What Shopify’s dashboard does not show
- True COGS: supplier cost, inbound freight, duties, and payment fees on inventory purchases.
- Ad cost per order: blended ad spend divided by orders, not just the “conversion” number.
- Return costs: refunded revenue, return shipping, and unsellable inventory.
- App sprawl: $5 here and $20 there becomes a meaningful fixed cost at low volume.
- Discount impact: a 15% discount reduces revenue but not the product cost or the fixed payment fee.
Low-ticket warning: a $0.30 fixed payment fee is 10% of a $3 item before any percentage rate. Below roughly $15, fixed fees dominate. Model the exact price, not an average order value.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage does Shopify take per sale?
Shopify itself does not take a percentage on standard plans. Shopify Payments charges processing — commonly 2.9% + $0.30 in the US on Basic. Third-party gateways charge their own rate, and Shopify may add a transaction fee.
Should I include the monthly plan in profit per order?
Better to keep it as a monthly fixed cost. MarginFern subtracts it from monthly profit and uses it to calculate break-even orders, so a single order is not unfairly loaded with the whole subscription.
Why is my Shopify profit lower than revenue?
Revenue ignores processing fees, product cost, shipping, packaging, ads, returns, apps, and the plan. A store can look busy while each order contributes very little.
Do I need Shopify Payments to use this calculator?
No. Choose the Custom preset and enter your gateway’s percentage and fixed fee. Add Shopify’s third-party transaction fee as another percentage if your plan charges one.