How many sales to cover fixed costs (apps, plan, tools) after variable cost per order.
Shopify plan, apps, tools, etc.
COGS + shipping + per-order fees.
Misclassifying costs is the usual error. Platform referral fees and payment fees are variable (they scale with orders). Shopify plans and many apps are fixed for the month. If you fold fixed costs into “per order” without dividing by realistic volume, break-even looks easier than it is.
Run break-even for a quiet month, not only your best month. A store that breaks even at 80 orders fails in a 40-order month even if unit economics are unchanged.
Variable cost per order should include: product COGS, shipping you absorb, payment processing, and marketplace referral or plan-overhead-per-order. Pull those from the Etsy, Amazon, or Shopify calculators, then enter the blended variable cost here with your real monthly fixed stack.
If contribution margin is $8 and fixed costs are $1,200, you need 150 orders before profit. Raising price or cutting apps moves the needle faster than wishing for viral traffic.
Updated October 2026
Break-even is the unit count (or revenue) where contribution after variable costs covers your fixed monthly costs. Below that, you lose money even if individual orders look “profitable” before overhead.
$800 fixed costs, $12 variable cost per order, $28 price → $16 contribution per order → break-even at 50 orders/month. Miss that volume and the fixed stack still bills.
Units ≈ fixed costs ÷ (price − variable cost per unit).
Monthly software and costs that do not change with one more order.