Break-Even Calculator for Shopify Stores
Free Shopify break-even calculator — enter your fixed costs, variable costs, and selling price to find exactly how many orders you need each month before your store turns profitable.
Your cost structure
Shopify subscription, apps, salaries, rent, ad retainers
COGS, packaging, fulfillment, transaction fees per order
Shows whether you're currently above or below break-even
Break-even results
AOV impact on break-even
Increasing your AOV by $10 would lower your break-even by several orders per month.
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Add to Shopify — FreeHow break-even is calculated for Shopify stores
Break-Even Units = Fixed Costs ÷ (Selling Price − Variable Cost per Unit)
Contribution Margin = Selling Price − Variable Cost — the portion of each sale that goes toward covering fixed costs, then profit.
Increasing AOV through upsells is especially powerful here: since in-cart upsells typically add product revenue without proportionally increasing packaging or fulfillment cost, they raise the contribution margin on each order — reducing the number of sales needed to break even.
Frequently asked questions about break-even for Shopify
How do I calculate the break-even point for my Shopify store?
Break-Even Units = Fixed Costs ÷ Contribution Margin per Unit, where Contribution Margin = Selling Price − Variable Cost per Unit. For example, with $3,000 in monthly fixed costs and a contribution margin of $50 per order (selling price $75 − variable cost $25), you break even at 60 orders per month.
What counts as a fixed cost vs. variable cost for an ecommerce store?
Fixed costs don't change with order volume: rent, salaries, software subscriptions (Shopify fees, app subscriptions, email tools), ad retainers, and insurance. Variable costs scale with each order: product cost (COGS), packaging, shipping and fulfillment costs, and payment processing fees (typically 1.5–2.9% + $0.30 per transaction on Shopify).
How does increasing AOV affect my break-even point?
Increasing AOV (while keeping variable cost per unit roughly the same) raises your contribution margin per order. A higher contribution margin means fewer orders needed to cover fixed costs — directly lowering your break-even. For example, if upsells raise your AOV from $75 to $90 while variable costs stay at $25, your contribution margin goes from $50 to $65, lowering break-even by 23%.
What is a contribution margin?
Contribution margin is the selling price minus variable cost per unit — the amount each sale "contributes" toward covering fixed costs and then generating profit. A $50 contribution margin means the first 60 orders each month cover fixed costs; every order after that is pure profit. A higher contribution margin means you reach profitability with fewer sales.
How do I lower my break-even point on Shopify?
There are two levers: (1) Increase your contribution margin — raise prices, add upsells that don't add proportional variable cost, or reduce COGS through better supplier terms, (2) Reduce fixed costs — audit your app subscriptions, renegotiate contracts, or cut underperforming ad retainers. Upsells are particularly powerful because they add revenue with minimal incremental variable cost.
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