United States · Digital products
Digital product hourly return.
Put your build hours, support time and three order counts into one model. See what each hour earned after fees, refunds and costs, and what is left after self-employment tax.
Net per hour = (orders x net per order - listing fees - ad spend) / (build hours + support hours per order x orders). In the example, 200 orders gives $98.64 per hour, and 40 orders gives $20.89. Those order counts are placeholders you replace.
Your numbers
Every figure above is your own assumption, not a quoted rate. Runs in your browser; nothing is sent or stored.
Result
Worked example
The same $25.00 template as the break-even calculator: net $20.48 per order, $150.00 of ads and $0.60 of listing fees, 30 hours to build and three minutes of support per order. At 40 orders the cash profit is $668.60 over 12 months across 32.0 hours, or $20.89 per hour. At 200 it is $3,945.40 over 40.0 hours, $98.64 per hour. At 600 it is $12,137.40, $202.29 per hour. The shape matters more than the numbers: most of the time is spent up front, so hourly return depends heavily on how many orders ever arrive, which this page cannot know.
How it works
Each order nets the price after refunds and fees. Cash profit is orders x net per order minus listing fees and ad spend. Hours are build hours plus support time per order times orders. Net per hour is cash profit divided by hours. An imputed hourly value is deliberately left out of per-hour figures, so your time is not counted once as a cost and again as the divisor.
After tax
The after-tax lines use the IRS self-employment rules in IRS Topic No. 554, Self-employment tax: self-employment tax is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare) applied to 92.35% of net earnings, you can deduct one-half of it, and you usually owe it once net earnings reach $400. The Social Security part stops at the annual wage base, which the model sets at $184,500 for 2026 (confirm on the Social Security Administration contribution and benefit base page) to match our self-employment tax calculator. Your income tax rate is an input; state tax and credits are not modelled, and the model treats this activity as your only self-employment income for the year. Filing details are on IRS Schedule SE (Form 1040) and IRS Schedule C (Form 1040).
Using low, base and high
Treat the three order counts as a range of cases to compare, not as a forecast and not as typical results. A useful habit is to set the low case to the number of orders you would be disappointed by, and ask whether you would still do the project. If the low case pays less per hour than a job you could take instead, the project is a bet on the base or high case.
What this does not cover
- The probability of reaching any of the three order counts. Sales depend on demand, search ranking, audience and luck that this page cannot measure.
- Time spent on marketing, social posts, or customer research unless you add it to build or support hours.
- Updates and new versions after launch.
- State income tax, credits, the qualified business income deduction, and other personal tax details.
Sources
Retrieved October 2026. The formulas are arithmetic on the numbers you enter. The pages below are where to read the current rules and rates yourself.
- Etsy Fees & Payments Policy: fee structure
- Stripe pricing: processing fees
- Gumroad pricing: platform fees
- IRS Topic No. 554, Self-employment tax: the 15.3%, 92.35% and one-half deduction rules
- IRS Schedule SE (Form 1040): how self-employment tax is reported
Results vary. This page models the assumptions you type in. It does not report what anyone earns, predict sales, or promise income. It is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out what a digital product earns per hour?
Add up cash profit (orders x net per order minus listing fees and ad spend) and divide by every hour you spent building and supporting it. This calculator does that for three order counts you choose.
Why is the hourly return so low at low order counts?
Build time is spent before any sale. If few orders arrive, a fixed block of hours is spread across little profit.
Are the low, base and high cases predictions?
No. They are the order counts you type in. The page models what each would mean, not how likely it is.
Is the after-tax figure my real tax bill?
No. It is a simple estimate of federal self-employment tax and a flat income tax rate you choose, treating this as your only self-employment income.