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Wholesale vs Retail Profit Calculator

October 2026 12 min read

Wholesale vs retail profit per unit and at volume. Free, instant, no sign-up.

Bulk thin vs single rich

Enter COGS, wholesale and retail prices plus fees once — get profit each route instantly.

Route mathVolume lensMAP aware
Typical fee gap deciding channel verdicts
5-12%
Source: Fee schedules
Monthly orders where self-fulfillment scales
1,500
Source: Fulfillment practice
Margin floor winners should clear
30%+
Source: Margin practice
Daylight to demand before switching
$5+
Source: Decision practice

Interactive Calculator

Enter your numbers — every result below updates instantly. No sign-up, free forever.

Inputs

COGS ($)
Wholesale price ($)
Retail price ($)
Retail fee + ship ($)

Results

Wholesale per unit$13.00
Retail per unit$26.00
Gap (retail - wholesale)$13.00
Retail multiple2.00x

Visual Cost & Profit Breakdown

See exactly where every dollar of your selling price goes — costs, fees, and the profit you keep.

Bars are proportional to the headline figure — segments vs profit.

E-commerce Statistics That Shape Smart Pricing

Benchmarks from widely-cited industry research. Use them to sanity-check your margins, fees, and conversion assumptions.

Typical fee gap deciding channel verdicts
5-12%
Source: Fee schedules
Monthly orders where self-fulfillment scales
1,500
Source: Fulfillment practice
Margin floor winners should clear
30%+
Source: Margin practice
Daylight to demand before switching
$5+
Source: Decision practice

Pricing Plans Compared: Which Strategy Fits Your Store?

Three proven pricing plans for online sellers. Match the plan to your stage, then plug its margin target into the calculator above.

Starter Plan — Side-by-Side

Best for: single-product channel tests

  • Price rule: Same price and COGS on two options, fee gap decides
  • Margin target: 30%+ on winner
  • Fees: Platform + payment fees per option
Most popular

Growth Plan — Multi-Channel Mix

Best for: stores on 2–4 channels

  • Price rule: Blended profit with channel-share weights and scenario bands
  • Margin target: 35–45% blended
  • Fees: Full fee stack plus ad cost per order

Scale Plan — Portfolio + Sensitivity

Best for: multi-SKU brands

  • Price rule: Portfolio margins with break-even and sensitivity buffers
  • Margin target: 45%+ on heroes
  • Fees: Landed cost + storage + returns reserve

Formulas & How to Use This Calculator

Wholesale profit

WSProfit = WSPrice - COGS

Retail profit

RetailProfit = RetailPrice - COGS - FeesShip

How to use — step by step

  1. Enter landed COGS.
  2. Enter wholesale price (often ~50% of MSRP).
  3. Enter retail price and its fees plus ship.
  4. Read per-unit each route.
  5. Multiply by realistic volume per route.
  6. Protect MAP so wholesale never undercuts DTC.

Worked Examples

Real numbers, fully worked — copy the pattern for your own products.

Example 1 — Standard

Inputs

$12 COGS, $25 WS, $49 retail, $11 fees

Math

WS $13.00; retail $26.00; gap $13.00

Result

Retail about 2.00x per unit

Example 2 — Thin retail

Inputs

$15 COGS, $28 WS, $39 retail, $12 fees

Math

WS $13.00; retail $12.00

Result

Wholesale wins — reprice retail

Example 3 — Premium

Inputs

$20 COGS, $45 WS, $99 retail, $20 fees

Math

WS $25.00; retail $59.00

Result

Retail dominates when fees held

Advanced Education: Master E-commerce Pricing

Beyond the basics — the concepts professionals use to price for profit across channels, seasons, and competitors.

Profit per order decides, percents persuade

Two options can show similar fee percents yet differ $8 per order once fixed slices, ship and ad-per-order load in. Rank every comparison by profit dollars per order first and margin second. Percents belong in the appendix, dollars in the decision.

Hold price and COGS constant across options

Comparisons only isolate the channel or model when price and landed cost stay identical. Changing price mid-compare smuggles assortment effects into logistics verdicts. Run one price, then sensitivity-test a second price separately.

Volume flips fulfillment verdicts

Below roughly 1,500 monthly orders 3PL flexibility beats fixed warehouses; above it self-fulfillment leverage wins. Recompute totals at current and 2x volume before signing annual contracts.

Keep the runner-up as leverage

The losing option is negotiation ammunition: quote its per-unit rate to carriers, 3PLs and suppliers. Many sellers cut 8–12% from the winner by showing a credible second quote.

Platform Playbooks: Amazon, Shopify, Etsy & eBay

Fee structures differ by channel — here is how to adapt one base price per marketplace without losing margin.

Amazon

Referral ~15% + FBA tiers decide most comparisons; FBA wins on Prime velocity, FBM/3PL wins on oversize and slow movers.

Shopify

Zero marketplace commission funds CAC and bundles; DTC usually wins per-order profit while marketplaces win reach — model both.

Etsy

Low-ticket handmade needs $25+ ASP or bundles to survive fixed fee slices; compare offsite-ads vs owned-traffic profit explicitly.

eBay

Final-value ~13.25% plus promoted rates; eBay wins on unique and refurb velocity, loses on fee drag vs owned checkout.

Glossary: Pricing Terms Explained

Contribution
Price minus all variable lines per order.
Fee drag
Margin lost to percent plus fixed platform slices.
Break-even volume
Orders where fixed costs are covered.
Sensitivity
How profit moves when one input shifts.

Common Pricing Mistakes & Pro Tips

Mistakes that kill margin

  • Ranking options by revenue or fee percent instead of profit per order.
  • Changing price mid-compare so assortment effects pose as logistics wins.
  • Freezing the verdict while fees, volume and lead times move.

Pro tips to grow profit

  • Hold price and COGS identical across every option compared.
  • Recompute at current and 2x volume before signing contracts.
  • Keep the runner-up quote as leverage for the winner.

Who Should Use This Calculator?

  • ▸ Sellers picking channels from profit math
  • ▸ Operators timing 3PL vs self-fulfillment switches
  • ▸ Brands pricing DTC vs marketplace lists
  • ▸ Agencies producing client comparison sheets

Related E-commerce Calculators

Keep optimizing — every tool below links directly into this pricing workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions (10)

Long-tail answers: each question targets a real Google search about wholesale vs retail profit calculator — click to expand.

What is the wholesale vs retail profit and how does it work?
The wholesale vs retail profit compares your options side by side from price, cost and fee inputs. Enter your numbers once and every result updates instantly. It uses Wholesale profit: WSProfit = WSPrice - COGS so the verdict reflects per-order reality, not blended guesses.
How do I calculate wholesale vs retail profit?
To calculate wholesale vs retail profit, enter your selling price, landed costs and per-option fees where they apply. The calculator applies Wholesale profit: WSProfit = WSPrice - COGS and annualizes where relevant. Use last-90-day invoices for fees and ship, not quotes.
What is a good result for wholesale vs retail profit?
A healthy wholesale vs retail profit shows the winner clearing your 30% margin floor with at least $5 per-order daylight over the runner-up. Single-dollar gaps flip on fee changes, so demand a buffer before switching channels or models.
What inputs does the wholesale vs retail profit need?
You need selling price, landed COGS, per-option fee rates or per-unit fulfillment costs, and volume for totals. Defaults mirror typical wholesale vs retail profit economics so first-timers get a sane answer in seconds, then refine with own data.
How accurate is this wholesale vs retail profit?
Math is exact for the inputs; accuracy depends on honest fees, ship and return lines. Pull carrier invoices, platform fee tables and real CAC per order. Re-run monthly while testing, quarterly once stable.
Should beginners use the wholesale vs retail profit?
Yes — beginners benefit most because fee gaps of 5–12% decide channels before volume does. Run the wholesale vs retail profit before committing inventory: if neither option clears 25% margin at a competitive price, renegotiate cost or bundle up.
How do fees change the wholesale vs retail profit answer?
Fixed slices ($0.30, $0.20 listings) punish sub-$15 prices while percent takes scale with price. That is why cheap SKUs need bundles and premium SKUs absorb marketplaces gracefully. Model both lines explicitly.
Can I compare more than two options?
Yes — run each option separately with identical price and COGS, then rank by profit per order and margin. Keep the runner-up as leverage for carrier and 3PL negotiations.
How often should I re-run the wholesale vs retail profit?
Monthly while growing, quarterly once stable, and immediately when fees change, carriers re-rate, or volume crosses 1,500 orders monthly where self-fulfillment scales.
What is the biggest mistake with wholesale vs retail profit?
Deciding on revenue or fee percent alone instead of profit per order after all variable lines. The second mistake is freezing the verdict while fees and volume move underneath it.

Resources & Authoritative References

Further reading

Authoritative sources

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Last updated: October 2026 · Free forever · No sign-up · Part of E-commerce Calculators at Atlascalcs.com