--- title: "Contribution Margin Calculator for Ecommerce" description: "Free contribution margin calculator for online shops: enter price, VAT, product cost, shipping, fees, packaging and returns to get margin and break-even ROAS." canonical: "https://www.productmetrics.io/contribution-margin-calculator" pageType: feature language: en alternates: en: "https://www.productmetrics.io/contribution-margin-calculator" nl: "https://www.productmetrics.io/nl/dekkingsbijdrage-berekenen" de: "https://www.productmetrics.io/de/deckungsbeitrag-berechnen" x-default: "https://www.productmetrics.io/contribution-margin-calculator" publisher: "Product Metrics" dateModified: 2026-10-21 --- > Content index: https://www.productmetrics.io/llms.txt # Contribution margin calculator Work out what one order or product leaves after its variable costs: product cost, shipping, payment fees, packaging and returns. You get the contribution margin in euros and as a percentage, and the break-even ROAS it sets for your ads. _Amounts per order, excl. VAT. Ad spend stays out: break-even ROAS compares the contribution margin with it._ _Start values are illustrative data._ ## Calculate for your platform - [All profit and ROAS calculators](https://www.productmetrics.io/calculators) - [Shopify Fee Calculator](https://www.productmetrics.io/calculators/shopify-fee-profit-calculator): See what a US Shopify order leaves after card processing, product costs, delivery and ads. Start with Basic online card rates, then edit the fees to match your store. - [Etsy Fee Calculator](https://www.productmetrics.io/calculators/etsy-fee-profit-calculator): Estimate US Etsy selling fees and profit on one shipped item. Include listing, transaction and Etsy Payments fees, then test the effect of an Offsite Ads order. - [eBay Fee Calculator](https://www.productmetrics.io/calculators/ebay-fee-profit-calculator): Calculate US eBay fees for a seller without a Store subscription. Choose a supported category, include tax in the fee basis and add promoted-listing costs where applicable. - [WooCommerce Profit Calculator](https://www.productmetrics.io/calculators/woocommerce-fee-profit-calculator): Work out US WooCommerce profit after the payment gateway, hosting, plugins, shipping and advertising. Choose WooPayments, Stripe or PayPal, then spread your monthly bills over your orders. - [Amazon Profit Calculator](https://www.productmetrics.io/calculators/amazon-fee-profit-calculator): Estimate Amazon referral fees and profit for a US product. Enter your own FBA fulfilment and storage quote, then see the break-even advertising return. - [Dropshipping Profit Calculator](https://www.productmetrics.io/calculators/dropshipping-profit-calculator): Test whether a US dropshipping order can fund its ads after supplier cost, delivery, payment fees, refunds and chargebacks. There is no dropshipping fee, so every cost line is yours to edit. - [Walmart Fee Calculator](https://www.productmetrics.io/calculators/walmart-fee-profit-calculator): Estimate US Walmart Marketplace referral fees and profit, with editable WFS fulfilment costs. Start with a Home and Kitchen referral rate and a standard lightweight WFS example. - [TikTok Shop Fee Calculator](https://www.productmetrics.io/calculators/tiktok-shop-fee-profit-calculator): What is left from a TikTok Shop sale after fees, delivery and ads? Enter your US order costs below. If a creator earns commission, switch that line on and use the rate from your agreement. ## Every step behind the numbers, worked through for the start values. The start values describe one order: a €121.00 selling price incl. 21% VAT, €45.00 product cost, €5.00 shipping, a payment fee of 2% plus €0.25, €1.50 packaging, and 10% of orders returned at €15.00 each. Illustrative data. | Step | Calculation | Result | | --- | --- | --- | | Price excl. VAT | €121.00 ÷ 1.21 | €100.00 | | Product cost | Excl. VAT | €45.00 | | Shipping | Per order | €5.00 | | Payment fees | €121.00 × 2% + €0.25 | €2.67 | | Packaging | Per order | €1.50 | | Returns allowance | 10% × €15.00 | €1.50 | | Total variable costs | Sum of the five costs above | €55.67 | | Contribution margin | €100.00 − €55.67 | €44.33 | | Contribution margin % | €44.33 ÷ €100.00 | 44.3% | | Break-even ROAS | 1 ÷ 0.4433 | 2.26 | Each order leaves €44.33 to pay for ads and fixed costs. With 500 orders and €15,000 of fixed costs in a month, the total contribution margin is €22,165.00 and €7,165.00 is left after fixed costs. The fixed costs are covered from order 339. ## What is contribution margin? Revenue minus the costs each sale brings. Contribution margin is the revenue from a sale minus its variable costs, such as product cost, shipping, payment fees and returns. Divide it by revenue to get the percentage. Use revenue excluding VAT. Fixed costs such as rent and salaries stay out. This calculator measures contribution before ad spend, so you can compare it with your advertising costs. Gross margin deducts cost of goods sold, which can include production overheads; this model starts with the product cost you enter, then deducts the variable costs of each sale. `Contribution margin = revenue excl. VAT − variable costs Contribution margin % = contribution margin ÷ revenue excl. VAT` Use it per product. Product cost, shipping weight and return rate differ from product to product, so two products at the same price can leave very different amounts. - [Contribution margin: formula and worked example](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/contribution-margin) - [Variable cost](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/variable-cost) - [Gross margin vs net margin](https://www.productmetrics.io/glossary/gross-margin-vs-net-margin) ## From contribution margin to break-even ROAS, product by product. Break-even ROAS is 1 ÷ contribution margin %. At the start values that is 1 ÷ 0.4433 = 2.26: below that ROAS, ads for this order cost more than it leaves. If your Google Ads conversion values include VAT, compare against 2.73 instead. Because the margin differs per product, so does break-even. Product Metrics works on ROAS right away; connect margins to switch to POAS, profit on ad spend, where 1 is break-even. - [Break-even ROAS calculator](https://www.productmetrics.io/break-even-roas-calculator) ## Contribution margin questions, answered. ### How do you calculate contribution margin? Take the selling price excl. VAT and subtract every variable cost of the sale: product cost, shipping, payment fees, packaging and returns. In the example, €100.00 − €55.67 = €44.33, a contribution margin of 44.3%. ### What is the difference between contribution margin and gross margin? Gross margin deducts cost of goods sold. For this calculator, the product cost you enter is the starting cost; contribution also deducts shipping, payment fees, packaging and returns. In the example the gross margin is 55.0% and the contribution margin 44.3%. ### Is ad spend a variable cost in contribution margin? Ad spend can vary with sales, but this calculator measures contribution before ad spend. Keep it out here: break-even ROAS and POAS compare that contribution with ad spend, so subtracting it first would count it twice. ### Should the price include VAT? Calculate the margin on the price excl. VAT, because the VAT is not yours. The calculator takes either and converts. Payment fees are charged on the full amount the customer pays, so they are worked out on the price incl. VAT. ### How many orders do I need to cover my fixed costs? Divide the fixed costs by the contribution margin per order. With €15,000 of fixed costs and €44.33 per order, that is 339 orders. ## See the margin and return of every product, not one average. Product Metrics segments your products by advertising clicks and return against your target, and writes each segment to a Merchant Center label your campaigns use. - [Analyse your products for free](https://app.productmetrics.io/): Log in with Google, no credit card Also available in - [Nederlands](https://www.productmetrics.io/nl/dekkingsbijdrage-berekenen) - [Deutsch](https://www.productmetrics.io/de/deckungsbeitrag-berechnen) --- Published by Product Metrics (Berend Vrakking, founder). HTML version: https://www.productmetrics.io/contribution-margin-calculator