Price required to cover fees and target margin
The primary price rounds the theoretical result upward to 0.01. Its profit and margin use that minimum cent price. The theoretical price and original components remain separately labeled. Chosen-price results use your entered listed price. Profit excludes any costs omitted from this model.
To check the margin of a selling price you have already chosen, use the Profit Margin Calculator with costs entered on a consistent basis.
The formula
Percentage terms use fractions. Margin targets divide after-fee profit by selling price; profit/cost targets divide after-fee profit by product cost. The price-uplift output instead compares selling price minus product cost with product cost before subtracting fees. The minimum price rounds upward once; percentage-fee components remain unrounded within this continuous fee model.
Pricing after a platform fee
A product costs 60 and incurs a fixed fee of 5 plus a 10% fee on price. To keep a 25% margin, divide 65 by 0.65. The required price is 100: costs consume 60, fees consume 15, and profit is 25.
How to use this calculator
- Choose a margin target, a profit amount per unit, or profit as a percentage of positive product cost.
- Enter product cost, a fixed per-unit selling fee and the fee percentage applied to the selling price. Use one currency; label changes do not convert values.
- Enter your chosen target. Read the minimum cent price and its actual after-fee profit and margin; the theoretical calculation is shown separately.
- Optionally check a listed price. Its after-fee profit and margin show whether that selected price achieves your target.
Check what the fee is charged on
A marketplace may charge commission on a tax-inclusive order total, include shipping, apply a minimum fee, or use category-specific tiers. This model assumes one percentage charged on the entered net selling price plus one fixed fee per unit. Convert your costs to that basis or use a more detailed order-level calculation.
The minimum cent price rounds upward to avoid reducing the target through price rounding. For product cost 60, fixed fee 5, percentage fee 10% and target profit 30, the theoretical price is 105.555… and the minimum cent price is 105.56. Under this model, a listed price of 100 provides only 25 after fees. Check a preferred price directly rather than assuming a retail price ending preserves the target.
Assumptions & limitations
What this calculation assumes
- All percentage charges use the same final selling-price base.
- Product and fixed selling costs are allocated per unit.
- The target margin is before unentered overhead and taxes.
What to keep in mind
- No minimum commissions, fee caps, shipping-income base, refunds, bulk discounts or tiered fee schedules are modeled.
- Percentage fees are computed without separately rounding fee components. The cent-price guarantee applies to this continuous fee model; actual invoice fee rounding or tax can change results. All-zero costs with a margin target give zero theoretical price and an undefined margin.
Common questions
Why is margin different from markup?
Margin divides profit by selling price. Markup compares a price increase with cost. The denominators differ, so the same percentage does not produce the same price.
What if cost is zero?
The price can still cover fixed fees and a target margin. A markup percentage on zero product cost has no finite definition, so it is labeled undefined.
What does profit as a percentage of product cost mean here?
It is target after-fee profit divided by product cost. The percentage fee and fixed fee are covered in addition. The separately labeled price uplift is before deducting fees, so those percentages can differ.
Why show a minimum cent price instead of only a rounded theoretical price?
Rounding to the nearest cent can round downward and miss the target. The primary result rounds upward to 0.01; its actual profit and margin use that price.
Sources & further reading
Reviewed on