Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Net profit per item
$6.62
Net margin
26.5%
Platform fee
$2.37
Breakeven price (before platform fee)
$16.00
Psst — share this and help Rex grow
One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter sale price ($).
- 2Enter pod base production cost ($).
- 3Enter pod shipping charge ($).
- 4Enter platform fee rate (transaction+processing) (%).
- 5Read your net profit per item on the right — it updates as you type.
- 6Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Print-on-demand sellers rarely see their real profit because it's split across the base product cost the POD provider charges, a platform fee if selling through Etsy or a marketplace app, and shipping which is often passed through at the provider's rate rather than a flat number. Since there's no inventory risk in POD, margin is the entire game — there's no volume discount on COGS to fall back on if pricing is too thin. This calculator takes your sale price, the POD provider's base production cost, the provider's shipping charge, and platform fees (transaction fee plus payment processing if selling on Etsy, or just payment processing if on your own Shopify store), and computes true net profit per item. Enter sale price, POD base cost, POD shipping charge, and platform fee percentage, and you'll see net profit and margin percentage per unit, which is the number to watch since POD margins commonly run thinner than people expect once all three deductions stack on a single sale.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Sale price: 24.99 $
- POD base production cost: 11.5 $
- POD shipping charge: 4.5 $
- Platform fee rate (transaction+processing): 9.5 %
Results
- Net profit per item: $6.62
- Net margin: 26.5%
- Platform fee: $2.37
- Breakeven price (before platform fee): $16.00
What each field means
Inputs
- Sale price ($)
- The sale price used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 24.99 $ so you have a working example on load.
- POD base production cost ($)
- The pod base production cost used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 11.5 $ so you have a working example on load.
- POD shipping charge ($)
- The pod shipping charge used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 4.5 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Platform fee rate (transaction+processing) (%)
- The platform fee rate (transaction+processing) used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 9.5 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–30 %.
Results
- Net profit per item
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Net margin
- Returned as a percentage. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Platform fee
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Breakeven price (before platform fee)
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why is POD margin usually thinner than making products yourself?
You pay a per-unit premium for the convenience of no inventory risk, no upfront tooling, and no minimum order quantities. A POD provider's base cost typically runs 30-60% higher per unit than what you'd pay ordering the same item in bulk from a manufacturer, in exchange for zero inventory risk.
Should I include Etsy or Shopify fees in this calculation?
Yes, roll your full platform fee (Etsy's combined transaction + payment processing + offsite ads if applicable, or just Shopify's payment processing) into the platform fee percentage field, since it's deducted from every sale the same way POD costs are.
How do I price competitively with thin POD margins?
Focus on design differentiation and niche audiences rather than competing on price with mass-market POD sellers, since your cost structure doesn't allow low-price competition. A unique design commanding a premium price is usually more sustainable than trying to be the cheapest option in a saturated POD category.
Does POD shipping cost vary by order size?
Yes, most POD providers charge a base shipping rate for the first item and a reduced additional-item rate for extra items in the same order, so multi-item orders often carry meaningfully better margin per item than single-item orders. Check your provider's tiered shipping table.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Etsy Fee Calculator
Listing fee, transaction fee, payment processing, and offsite ads netted out.
Shopify All-In Margin Calculator
True margin after payment processing, shipping, and packaging on your own store.
Contribution Margin Per SKU Calculator
See which products actually make money after every variable cost.
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Print-On-Demand Profit Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/print-on-demand-profit
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/print-on-demand-profit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Print-On-Demand Profit Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Print-On-Demand Profit Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/print-on-demand-profit) (2026).