Calculate how many units you need to sell to cover costs and start making profit
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Units to Break Even
| Units Sold | Revenue | Total Costs | Profit / Loss |
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A break-even calculator determines how many units you need to sell before your revenue covers all costs — both fixed expenses like rent and software subscriptions, and variable costs like product sourcing, shipping, and marketplace commission fees. For ecommerce sellers on platforms like Shopee, Lazada, Amazon, or TikTok Shop, knowing your break-even point is essential because platform fees eat into every sale. Our calculator factors in marketplace commissions automatically, so you get an accurate picture of when you actually start profiting.
The break-even formula is: Break-Even Units = Fixed Costs ÷ (Selling Price − Variable Cost per Unit). The difference between selling price and variable cost is called the contribution margin — the amount each unit contributes toward covering your fixed costs. For example, if your fixed costs are $500/month, you sell at $35, and your variable costs (COGS + platform fee + shipping + packaging) total $18.50 per unit, your contribution margin is $16.50 and you need to sell 31 units to break even. Use our markup calculator to work backwards from your target margin.
Marketplace sellers often underestimate their variable costs because they forget about platform commissions. Shopee charges 2-6% depending on your category and seller tier. Lazada takes 3-8% commission plus a payment processing fee. Amazon FBA includes referral fees (8-15%) plus fulfilment fees. TikTok Shop charges 2-8% plus a transaction fee. These percentages compound — a product that looks profitable at first glance might barely break even once you account for all platform costs. That is why this calculator separates product cost from platform fee, so you can see the true impact. For detailed fee breakdowns, check our Shopee seller fees guide or TikTok Shop fee calculator.
There are three levers: reduce fixed costs, lower variable costs per unit, or increase your selling price. For ecommerce sellers, the most practical approaches are: (1) negotiate better supplier pricing or buy in larger quantities to lower COGS — use our wholesale price calculator to model bulk discounts; (2) optimise shipping by using marketplace-provided logistics (SPX Express for Shopee, Lazada Logistics) which are often cheaper than third-party couriers; (3) bundle products to increase average order value without proportionally increasing costs; (4) use a multichannel approach to spread fixed costs across more sales channels.
If you sell on multiple platforms — say Shopee, Lazada, and your own Shopify store — each channel has different fee structures and margins. Your Shopify store might have a $29/month subscription but no commission fees, while Shopee charges commission on every sale but has no monthly fee. Run the break-even calculation separately for each channel to understand which platforms are truly profitable. Tools like OneCart help you manage inventory and orders across all your channels from one dashboard, reducing the operational overhead that adds to your fixed costs.
Recalculate whenever your cost structure changes: new supplier pricing, platform fee updates (marketplaces adjust commission rates regularly), rent increases, or when you launch a new product line. Also recalculate before seasonal sales events — during mega sales like 11.11 or 12.12, your selling price drops but volume increases, so your break-even point shifts. For cost tracking and profitability analysis, our COGS calculator helps you compute accurate per-unit costs.