Print-on-Demand Profit Calculator

Base cost, shipping, fees and returns worked end to end — per unit, per month and per year.

Base cost per unit United States

Runs entirely in your browser — nothing you type is uploaded

Per unit Buyer pays $32.00
$11.26 Profit per unit After Etsy's fees and the printer
35.2% Margin Profit ÷ what the buyer pays
A month at this rate 40 units
LineAmount
Revenue40 × $32.00 $1,280.00
Etsy fees$0.20 listing + 6.5% + 3% + $0.25 per order -$139.60
Cost of goods40 × ($12.50 printer + $4.75 shipping) -$690.00
Returns cost2.0% of 40 orders = 0.8 refunded × $29.92 -$23.94
Net profitAfter fees, cost of goods and returns $426.46
Annualised — twelve months at this rate $5,117.57

A refunded order hands back Etsy's 6.5% transaction fee but not the payment processing or listing fee, and the printed item is already gone.

Where one unit's revenue goes $32.00 = 100%
Printer cost 39.1% Shipping you pay 14.8% Etsy fees 10.9% Your profit 35.2%
Sale price for a 30% margin $29.26

Hold the shipping you charge where it is and change the item price to hit the target.

Print-on-demand margins look healthy until you add the printer's shipping and the returns you will actually get. This works the whole thing through.

It runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

How to read this

Start from what the printer charges you, not from the retail price. Add their shipping, then the marketplace fees on the full order total, then a realistic returns rate.

The target margin field works backwards: give it the margin you want and it returns the price you need to charge.

Questions

What returns rate should I assume?
Two to five per cent for apparel is typical, higher for anything personalised where sizing is involved.
Why is my margin worse than the fee calculator suggested?
Because this one also charges you for the units you refund, and for the printing you already paid for on them.

Tools that pair with this

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