Shopify Profit Margin Calculator (2026) - Plan Fees & Net Profit

Gateway fees belong in the unit price

Founders price at 3x COGS and forget the card network still takes a cut of every checkout. Shopify Payments rates fall as the plan rises, but they never hit zero. A third-party gateway (PayPal Checkout, Stripe billed outside Shopify Payments) adds a 1% penalty on top of Basic in this model. Ads per item are a second leak. Skip either and the 50% "margin" on a spreadsheet is not the cash in Shopify Payments.

Gateway fee = (price x rate) + $0.30
Total cost = COGS + overhead + gateway fee
Profit per item = price - total cost
Margin = profit / price
Monthly net = profit per item x orders

Defaults: $49.99 price, $14 COGS, $8 ads, Basic 2.9% + $0.30. Gateway fee = $1.75. Total cost = $23.75. Profit = $26.24 (52.5% margin, green). At 150 orders, monthly net is $3,936.04. Switch to Advanced (2.4% + $0.30) and the gateway fee falls to $1.50. Third-party 3.9% + $0.30 raises it to $2.25.

What this page does not include

The $29 / $105 / $399-class monthly Shopify subscription is a fixed overhead, not a per-item fee. Divide it by expected orders yourself and add the result to the overhead field if you want it in the unit. Sales tax collected is not profit. Shop Pay installments, international cards, and currency conversion can differ from the domestic rates here. Edit nothing blindly: this is a US online card sketch.

If price is $14 or less with $14 COGS, contribution is gone. The badge reads Negative Contribution Margin and an alert fires. Gateway fees would only make the hole deeper. Fix the offer, then come back to plan tier shopping.

Margin bands and monthly scale

Over 30% is green, 15% to 30% is yellow, under 15% is red. A store running Meta ads at $8 per item needs the green band or a lower CPA. The monthly figure assumes every order looks like this SKU. Mix high and low margin products and the $3,936 number is a ceiling, not a forecast. Copy exports price, COGS, ads, orders, plan, gateway fee, unit profit, margin, and monthly net as plain text.

If the customer pays with PayPal billed through Shopify Payments, use the plan rate. If PayPal is a third-party provider, use the Third-party row. For PayPal's own 2.9% + $0.30 off-Shopify, use the PayPal Fee Calculator. Card-only Stripe shops can cross-check the Stripe Fee Calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What are Shopify Payments rates by plan?

This page uses US online card rates: Basic 2.9% + $0.30, Shopify 2.6% + $0.30, Advanced 2.4% + $0.30. Third-party gateways add a 1% penalty on the Basic rate, modeled here as 3.9% + $0.30. Confirm live rates in Shopify admin. Monthly subscription cost is not in the per-item math.

How do you calculate profit per item on Shopify?

Payment fee = (price x gateway %) + $0.30. Total cost = COGS + overhead/ads per item + payment fee. Profit = price - total cost. Defaults: $49.99, $14 COGS, $8 ads, Basic gateway $1.75, profit $26.24, margin 52.5%. Monthly net at 150 orders is $3,936.04.

What is a negative contribution margin?

Retail price is at or below COGS before you even pay Shopify or ads. Every extra order loses more money. This page shows a Negative Contribution Margin badge and an alert. Raise price or cut product cost before you buy traffic.

What profit margin should a Shopify store target?

This page treats over 30% as green, 15% to 30% as yellow, and under 15% as red. Paid social often needs the green band because CPA is lumpy. The monthly estimate is profit per item times expected orders, not a cash forecast.

Shopify Profit Margin Calculator