Print on demand pricing calculator

The calculator The least a buyer must pay

Lock this floor into your listing plan before you price anything — it's the pricing discipline in Print on Demand: Basics →

How to read it The floor, not the price you wish you could charge

Most beginners pick a price they like and hope it pays. This does the reverse: it adds up everything one sale must cover — your costs, a buffer, and the profit you actually want — then grosses it up for the platform's percentage, and tells you the smallest total a buyer can pay you for the product to be worth doing.

That total is the item price plus any shipping you charge — split it between the two however you like; only the total matters. Then compare it with what similar shops charge. At or below theirs, your price can compete on cost — though matching a rival's price does not by itself prove buyers want the design. Above theirs, even after a cheaper blank, the product cannot pay at that floor — change the blank or the product before you list it.

The formula, in full

Subtotal = base cost + shipping you pay + fixed fee + refund buffer + the contribution you want. Least the buyer must pay = subtotal ÷ (1 − fee ÷ 100), rounded up to the next penny. Dividing by (1 − fee%) is what covers the platform's percentage cut, which it takes off the top of the whole payment; rounding up means the shown price never dips a fraction below your floor.

A worked example

Base cost £9, £4.80 shipping you pay, no fixed fee, a £0.50 buffer, and you want £4.50 a sale, on a platform that charges about 10%. The subtotal is £9 + £4.80 + £0.50 + £4.50 = £18.80. Divide by 0.90 (that is £20.88 and a bit) and, rounded up, the buyer must pay at least £20.89 in total for this product to clear your floor. Charge £20.89 delivered, or £16 + £4.89 shipping — the total is what counts.

Edge cases the calculator handles

• A fee of 100% or more is impossible to price against, so the result shows "—" rather than a nonsense figure.
• A higher fee rate (a UK Etsy seller near 12%, dividing by 0.88) raises the floor — real money, which is why the calculator asks for your rate, not a stand-in.

Common questions

What fee percentage should I use?

Your platform's all-in percentage. Etsy is roughly 10% (6.5% transaction + processing), nearer 12–13% for a UK seller with VAT on the fees. Put your flat per-sale charges in the fixed-fee box — Etsy's ~£0.16 listing fee (it renews on each sale) plus the fixed part of card processing (~£0.20 in the UK). Current figures with dates are on the Print on Demand resources page.

How do I split the total between price and shipping?

However you like — the platform and the buyer both see the total, so it makes little difference to your margin. Many sellers show a lower item price with paid shipping, or a higher price with "free" shipping; pick whichever reads better to your buyer.

Can I keep a copy?

Yes — download the same calculation as a spreadsheet. It uses exactly the same formula as this calculator.