Marketing & Advertising
Ecommerce Break-even Calculator
Calculate contribution per order, monthly break-even orders, break-even revenue, and profit at expected volume. The order-stack visual shows how selling price is consumed before one order contributes to fixed cost.
Break-even orders per month-
Contribution per order-
Profit at expected order volume-
Break-even monthly revenue-
Decision view
Order contribution and fixed-cost coverage
Order contribution and fixed-cost coverageOne order is decomposed into variable costs and contribution before monthly order volume is compared with fixed cost.
Exact scenario comparisonAverage selling price per order changes while all other entered assumptions remain constant.
| Average selling price per order | Break-even orders per month | Contribution per order | Profit at expected order volume | Break-even monthly revenue |
|---|
How to use Ecommerce Break-even Calculator
- Use realized average order revenue after discounts and cancellations.
- Include all variable costs that increase with completed orders.
- Compare expected volume with break-even capacity, refund exposure, and acquisition spend.
Calculator guide
Understanding Ecommerce Break-even Calculator
Ecommerce break-even volume is fixed cost divided by contribution per completed order. The critical word is completed: refunds, discounts, fulfillment, payment fees, and advertising must be assigned consistently before the result is actionable.
Calculation method
How the calculation works
Subtract product, fulfillment, platform, and payment costs from average order value, then divide fixed operating cost by contribution per order. Subtract product and fulfillment cost plus percentage platform and payment fees from average selling price. Divide fixed monthly cost by positive contribution per order, then compare expected order contribution with fixed cost.
Margin audit
Costs commonly omitted from an order
Small per-order omissions compound quickly at scale.
Worked situations
Practical examples
- An $85 order with $31 product and fulfillment cost plus 7% fees contributes $48.05.
- $45,000 fixed cost then requires about 937 completed orders.
- At 1,800 orders, modeled operating profit before omitted costs is about $41,490.
Better inputs
Useful tips
- Build separate contribution estimates by channel or product mix.
- Treat advertising as variable when spend scales with orders.
- Use fulfilled-and-kept orders rather than checkout count.
Before relying on the result
Limitations and common mistakes
- Returns, discounts, tax, shipping subsidy, inventory loss, ad variability, and capacity are excluded unless embedded in inputs.
- The percentage fee is applied to entered selling price and remains constant.
- A nonpositive contribution cannot produce a meaningful finite break-even volume.
Reference
Key terms
- Contribution per order
- Order revenue remaining after modeled variable costs.
- Fixed cost
- Entered monthly cost that does not vary with order count in this model.
- Break-even orders
- Completed order volume needed for contribution to cover fixed cost.
- AOV
- Average order value on the revenue basis chosen for the model.
Important note
Calculated from the entered campaign values. Validate attribution, incrementality, lag, margin, and observed source data before making decisions.
Frequently asked questions
Why can high revenue still lose money?
Revenue does not cover fixed cost when contribution per completed order is too small or negative.
Should ad spend be fixed or variable?
Classify the portion that changes with order volume as variable and baseline brand or team cost as fixed.
What if contribution is zero?
No finite order volume covers fixed cost under those assumptions.
Should sales tax be revenue?
Usually pass-through tax is excluded from revenue, but use the accounting basis appropriate to the business.