Pricing

Psychological Pricing Calculator

Round a target price down to the nearest .99, .95, or .49 ending and see how much revenue per sale you give up.

Inputs

The price you want to charge, before charm pricing $ Please enter a valid number.
Will round down to end in this Please enter a valid number.

Results

Charm price
Revenue given up per sale
Annual revenue given up (at 100 orders/mo)

All calculations run in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server. Last updated: 2026-07-19 · Formula verified against published sources (see below).

Formula
Charm price = floor(target − 0.01) + ending

What psychological pricing does

Charm pricing — ending prices in .99, .95, or .49 — exploits the left-digit effect: customers read the leftmost digit first, so $39.99 feels meaningfully cheaper than $40.00 even though the difference is $0.01. Multiple A/B tests have shown 5–15% conversion lifts from charm pricing.

The formula

Charm price = floor(target price) + ending

If the result is ≥ target price (e.g. target $40.50, ending .99 → $40.99 > $40.50), the calculator rounds down to the previous whole number ($39.99).

The tradeoff

Charm pricing gives up a small amount of revenue per sale in exchange for higher conversion. This calculator shows exactly how much revenue you're giving up — useful for sanity-checking whether the conversion lift is worth it. If you're giving up $0.50 per order on 100 orders/month, that's $600/year in revenue sacrificed. The conversion lift needs to deliver more than $600 in additional profit to be worth it.

Which ending to use?

Worked example: $40 target → $39.99

InputValue
Target price$40.00
Charm ending.99
Charm price$39.99
Revenue given up per sale$0.01
Annual revenue given up (100 orders/mo)$12.00

The cost of charm pricing here is trivial — $12/year. Even a 0.1% conversion lift would pay for it. This is why charm pricing is almost universal in ecommerce.

But for a $40.50 target, the math changes: charm pricing gives $39.99 (sacrificing $0.51/sale = $612/year). Still usually worth it, but check.

Frequently asked questions

Does charm pricing still work in 2026?
Yes. The left-digit effect is a cognitive bias, not a marketing trend — it doesn't fade. What has changed: some premium DTC brands deliberately use round numbers ($40, not $39.99) as a signal of confidence. Use round numbers only if your brand positioning is genuinely premium.
Should I use the same ending across all my products?
Consistency helps customers compare. Most dropshippers use .99 for everything. Mixed endings (.99 on some, .95 on others) can feel arbitrary unless there's a clear logic (e.g. .95 for premium products).
Not financial advice. This calculator is a math tool, not financial advice. Profit margins, ad spend, and business decisions depend on your specific situation. Consult a licensed accountant or financial advisor before making material business decisions.

Related tools & articles

Calculator

Dropshipping Selling Price Calculator

Find the selling price that hits a target margin after product cost, shipping, transaction fees, and ad spend per unit.

Calculator

Discount & Sale Price Calculator

Calculate sale price after a discount, and the effective margin you keep. Stop giving away profit without realizing it.

Calculator

Markup Calculator

Calculate selling price from a cost and a markup percentage. Plain markup math, no margin confusion.

Article

Psychological Pricing in Ecommerce: What Actually Works

The .99 ending, the .95 ending, the decoy price, the bundle anchor — what real A/B tests have shown about psychological pricing.

Article

How to Price Dropshipping Products (A Practical Framework)

A three-step pricing framework: cost floor, competitive ceiling, psychological anchor. With real numbers from a $25 COGS product.