Net profit per order after every cost: COGS, shipping, transaction fees, ad spend, and a return-rate-adjusted allowance.
All calculations run in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server. Last updated: 2026-07-19 · Formula verified against published sources (see below).
This is the profit-margin calculator's more honest sibling. It includes a return-rate adjustment — the cost of orders that come back as returns, averaged across all orders. The result is the profit per order you actually keep, not the theoretical profit if no one ever returned anything.
Gross profit per order = selling price − COGS − shipping − payment fee − ad cost
Return-adjusted profit = gross profit − (return rate × net cost per return)
The return rate default (20.8%) is the 2026 average ecommerce return rate Source: ringly.io 2026 ecommerce return statistics. Your specific product's return rate may be higher (apparel: 20–40%) or lower (electronics: 8–15%, beauty: 4–12%) Source: richpanel.com ecommerce return rates.
When a customer returns an order, you don't just lose the sale — you also lose money on return shipping, restocking, and often the product itself (if it can't be resold). A reasonable estimate:
For most dropshipping products that can be resold, use ~$10. For products that can't be resold (cosmetics, food), use the full COGS plus return shipping.
| Line | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross profit per order (no returns) | $10.54 |
| Return rate | 20.8% |
| Net cost per return | $10.00 |
| Return cost per order (avg) | $2.08 |
| Return-adjusted profit per order | $8.46 |
| Monthly profit (100 orders) | $846.00 |
Without the return adjustment, you'd have projected $1,054/month in profit. With it, $846. That $208/month gap is the difference between thinking you're profitable and actually being profitable.
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