Is Your Dropshipping Business Actually Profitable?

Dropshipping looks profitable on paper — sell at $59.99, buy at $18, pocket the difference. But that $42 spread gets carved up by Facebook or Google ad spend, Shopify or WooCommerce fees, payment processing, shipping discrepancies, return rates, chargebacks, and income taxes before you see anything real. Many dropshippers are running at a loss without realizing it because they're tracking revenue instead of true profit. The Dropshipping Profit Calculator models all cost layers simultaneously. You enter your product cost (COGS), selling price, advertising cost per order, platform and payment processing fees, return rate, and shipping costs. The calculator produces your true gross margin, net margin after all fees, effective hourly rate (based on your actual hours managing the store), and a monthly projection at your current order volume. The most important output is the net profit per order — not the gross — and whether your customer acquisition cost (ad spend per order) is sustainable relative to your product margin. Most dropshipping failures come from CAC that exceeds product margin: you're paying more to acquire each customer than the order is worth. The calculator makes this visible so you can make informed decisions about pricing, ad budget, and whether this product or niche is worth continuing.