Subscription Box Profit Calculator

How it is calculated

The tool works out the profit on a single box in one billing cycle. total cost = product cost + shipping cost + packaging cost, profit = box price − total cost and margin = profit / box price × 100. All four amounts are per box and in the same currency. The box price must be above zero and each cost zero or more. All four fields must be filled, so type 0 for a cost that does not apply. The margin is a share of the price you charge, not of your costs. Payment processing fees, customer acquisition cost, returns, discounts and staff time are not included, so the result is a contribution before those items.

Common mistakes

• Using the monthly cost of the whole operation instead of the cost for one box. All four fields are per box.
• Entering the shipping price charged to the customer as the shipping cost. The field should hold what you pay the carrier, and any shipping fee you charge belongs in the box price.
• Leaving out payment processing fees, returns and discounts for the first box. They reduce the true profit but are not entered here.
• Leaving a cost field empty. The tool then returns no result, so enter 0 for a category that does not apply.
• Judging a business by margin alone. A healthy margin per box still loses money if acquiring a subscriber costs more than the profit earned before they cancel.