United States · Digital products
Digital product break-even.
Enter the price, the fee rates from your platform and processor, your refund rate and your launch costs. See net per sale and how many sales it takes to get back what you put in.
Break-even orders = fixed costs / net per order, rounded up. In the example below a $25.00 template nets $20.48 per order after fees and a 4% refund rate, and $150.60 of fixed costs needs 8 orders to recover.
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
A creator sells a $25.00 planner template. The example uses a 10% platform fee, a 2.9% plus $0.30 processor fee and a 4% refund rate. Those are placeholders, not quoted rates. Fees per order are $25.00 x 12.9% + $0.30 = $3.53. With refunds, net per order = $25.00 x 96% - $3.53 = $20.48. Fixed costs are three listings at $0.20 ($0.60) plus $150.00 of ad spend, $150.60 in all. $150.60 / $20.48 = 7.35, so 8 orders. Thirty hours of building adds no cash cost unless you put a value on your time; enter an hourly value and the break-even rises accordingly.
How it works
Fee per order = price x (platform % + processor % + conversion %) + flat fees + offsite-ads % x the share of orders it applies to x price. Net per order = price x (1 - refund rate) - fee per order, because the default assumes a refunded order gives the price back but not the fees. Tick the box if your platform returns fees on refunds and the model uses (1 - refund rate) x (price - fees) instead. Fixed costs = listing fees (including renewals) + ad spend + build hours x the hourly value you choose.
If net per order is zero or negative, because fees reach 100% of price, refunds reach 100%, or the price is zero, no number of orders recovers fixed costs and the tool says so rather than showing a number. If fixed costs are zero, you are at break-even before the first sale.
Why the rates are placeholders
Platforms change fees, and some sources disagree on Gumroad's flat fee, so this page does not hard-code any. Read your current rate on the Etsy Fees & Payments Policy, Stripe pricing or Gumroad pricing page and type it in. The fee stack explainer shows how each layer adds up.
Sales tax
Sales tax collected from buyers is a pass-through: it is not your revenue and it is not in this model. Enter the pre-tax price. Whether you must collect depends on the state and on whether the marketplace collects for you.
What this does not cover
- Whether anyone will buy at that price, or how many will. Break-even is a threshold, not a forecast.
- Sales tax, income tax, and state registration rules.
- Chargeback and dispute fees, which are separate from ordinary refunds and vary by processor.
- Costs after launch such as updates, email tools or software subscriptions, unless you add them to ad spend.
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: listing, transaction and offsite ads fee structure
- Stripe pricing: processor percentage and flat fees
- Gumroad pricing: platform fee structure
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 many sales do I need to break even on a digital product?
Divide your fixed costs (listing fees, ad spend and, if you value it, build time) by the net you keep per sale after fees and refunds, then round up. The calculator does this from your own fee rates.
Do I lose the fees when a customer gets a refund?
It depends on the platform and processor. The default here assumes fees are not returned, which is the cautious case. Tick the box if yours returns them.
Should I count my own time?
Only if you want a break-even that includes it. Leave the hourly value at 0 for a cash break-even, or enter what you would otherwise earn per hour.
Why does it say I never break even?
Net per sale is zero or negative: fees plus refunds take the whole price. Raise the price, cut a fee layer, or lower the refund rate.