Break-Even Calculator
Enter your setup costs, your monthly running costs, and your profit per order — this tool tells you exactly how many orders it takes before a product stops costing you money and starts making it.
Break-Even Calculator
How to use this calculator
Fill in your product cost, selling price, any one-time costs you spent getting this product live, and whatever you pay every month regardless of sales. The calculator first works out your profit per order, then divides your costs by that figure to tell you how many orders you need — once to clear the setup cost, and every month to cover recurring costs.
The formula
Worked example
A product costs $12.50 all-in and sells for $29.99, giving $17.49 profit per order. Setup costs (theme, initial ad tests, sample orders) came to $250, and monthly running costs (platform + two paid apps) are $65.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Profit per order | $17.49 |
| Orders to clear the $250 setup cost | ~15 orders |
| Orders needed every month just for recurring costs | ~4 orders |
In plain terms: the first 15 orders this product ever generates go toward paying off what it cost to launch. After that, every month needs roughly 4 orders just to stay even on subscriptions and apps — anything beyond that is where real profit starts.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a "one-time" cost versus a "recurring" cost? +
One-time costs are things you pay once to get started or launch a specific product: a paid theme, a product photography batch, an initial inventory test order, or an initial ad-testing budget you're treating as sunk. Recurring costs repeat every month regardless of sales: your platform subscription (Shopify, etc.), paid apps, a virtual assistant, or a retainer. Splitting the two matters because one-time costs only need to be recovered once, while recurring costs need to be covered every single month, indefinitely.
Does "orders to break even" include ad spend? +
Not directly — this calculator uses your profit-per-order (selling price minus product cost and any per-order cost you enter) to see how many of those orders it takes to clear your fixed costs. If a large chunk of your one-time or recurring costs is actually ad spend, include it in the relevant field and the calculator will fold it in. For an ongoing view of whether your ad spend itself is sustainable order-by-order, pair this with the ROAS & Ad Spend Calculator.
My break-even number seems really high. What should I do? +
A high break-even count usually means one of two things: your profit per order is too thin, or your fixed costs are too high for the stage you're at. Try the Product Pricing Calculator to see whether a slightly higher price meaningfully cuts your break-even point — a jump from a $5 to an $8 profit per order can nearly halve the number of orders needed. On the cost side, it's worth asking whether every recurring app or subscription is currently earning its keep.
Is break-even the same as being profitable? +
Reaching break-even means your cumulative profit has caught up to your cumulative costs — you're no longer in the hole, but you haven't made anything extra yet either. Every order after the break-even point is where actual profit starts. This is why the order count matters: it tells you how far into a product's life you are before the numbers turn in your favor.
Should I include my own time as a cost? +
This calculator focuses on cash costs, since that's what determines whether the business is solvent. Many sellers still track their time separately (an hourly value against hours spent) to judge whether a product is worth continuing even once it's cash-flow break-even — a product that breaks even in cash but eats 20 hours a week of unpaid effort may still not be worth keeping.