This calculator estimates profit, contribution margin, break-even price, and the item price required for a target margin. Use the Shopify or Etsy preset to start, then replace every assumption with the rates and costs from your own accounts.
The result is useful only when the personalization field includes abandoned previews and retries. If the model generated 200 images but only 30 items sold, those 200 generations belong in the economics of the 30 paid items.
Evidence status: the calculator is active, but the supporting captures are placeholders. This page remains excluded from search indexes until real invoices, fee screens, and settled-order evidence replace them.
What to enter
The buyer section contains item price and shipping charged. Fulfillment contains the supplier product and shipping costs. Personalization is the average AI and processing cost allocated to one paid item. The optional controls cover discounts, packaging, other order costs, and a returns reserve.
Fee presets are examples, not current quotes for your store. Shopify payment and third-party transaction rates depend on the plan, provider, card, and location. Etsy payment processing depends on the seller’s bank country, while Offsite Ads apply only to attributed orders.
Formulas used
The calculator keeps full precision until values are displayed:
Gross revenue = item price + shipping charged
Item discount = item price × discount rate
Net revenue = gross revenue − item discount
Percentage fees = net revenue × applicable fee rates
Total costs = supplier product + supplier shipping + personalization
+ packaging + other order costs + fixed fees
+ percentage fees + returns reserve
Profit = net revenue − total costs
Contribution margin = profit ÷ net revenue × 100The target-price calculation separates fixed costs C, combined variable rate f, and target margin
m:
Required net revenue = C ÷ (1 − f − m)If customer shipping is charged separately and the item has discount rate d:
Required listed item price =
(required net revenue − shipping charged) ÷ (1 − d)The target is impossible when variable fees plus target margin consume all revenue, or when the discount reaches 100%.
Worked Shopify example
The Shopify starter scenario uses these assumptions:
| Input | Amount |
|---|---|
| Item price | $39.00 |
| Shipping charged | $0.00 |
| POD product | $16.00 |
| Supplier shipping | $4.50 |
| Personalization allocation | $0.80 |
| Payment assumption | 2.9% + $0.30 |
The percentage payment cost is $39 × 0.029 = $1.131. Fixed modeled costs are $16 + $4.50 + $0.80 + $0.30 = $21.60.
Total costs = $21.60 + $1.131 = $22.731
Profit = $39.00 − $22.731 = $16.269
Margin = $16.269 ÷ $39.00 = 41.715%The calculator displays $22.73 in costs, $16.27 profit, and a 41.7% margin. For a 30% target margin,
the required item price is $21.60 ÷ (1 − 0.029 − 0.30) = $32.19.
This is deliberately incomplete. Adding acquisition cost, app allocation, or a returns reserve will raise the target price.
Enter personalization cost correctly
Use the same reporting period for costs and sales:
Personalization cost per paid item =
all preview generations, retries, tests, and processing ÷ paid personalized itemsIf $80 was spent on shopper generations and post-processing across 100 paid personalized items, enter $0.80. Do not enter only the last successful generation. Estimate this input from sessions, attempts, provider rates, and conversion.
For fixed monthly tools, divide the monthly amount by expected paid personalized items and add it to “Other cost per order.” Revisit the allocation when sales volume changes.
Shopify and Etsy checks
Shopify’s product page calculates projected margin as ([price − cost] ÷ price) × 100, but its cost
per item excludes shipping, tax, and other costs. This calculator goes further by including the order
costs you enter. Shopify’s third-party transaction fee can be calculated on product revenue after
discounts plus tax and shipping, and it is separate from payment processing. Confirm whether it
applies to your payment setup.
The Etsy preset includes a listing fee, transaction rate, payment assumption, and optional Offsite Ads rate. Etsy’s policies can change and location-specific costs are not automatic. Replace the preset with the fee schedule that applies to the shop.
What the result leaves out
- Sales tax, VAT, duties, and taxes on seller fees unless entered as a cost.
- Currency conversion and cross-border payment differences.
- Acquisition, licensing, support, and app costs left outside “Other cost per order.”
- Refund or reprint losses beyond the reserve entered.
- Price or fee changes after the verification date.
This is a contribution model, not tax or accounting advice. Reconcile it against supplier invoices, payment reports, refunds, and provider usage. Use the other free planning tools to continue validating the workflow.
Primary references: Shopify product margin, Shopify third-party transaction fees, Printful profit per sale, and Etsy’s Fees & Payments Policy.
Return to Personalize.design, calculate the AI input, then install Personalize.design from the Shopify App Store when the product can carry its real costs.
