Free tool
Service Pricing & Profit Calculator
Price your services so that — after payment fees, cross-border withdrawal loss, and a tax set-aside — you keep the profit you actually want.
Quick Answer: To keep a target profit, price backwards from cost and fees: price = cost ÷ (1 − total fee % − target margin %). Generic calculators stop at the Stripe fee, but cross-border sellers also lose a marketplace cut and an FX/withdrawal spread — often 4–8% before tax. BeginPulse’s free calculator folds in processor, platform, FX, and an optional tax set-aside, then tells you the price to charge and exactly what you keep.
Service Pricing & Profit Calculator
Work out the price to charge so that after payment fees, cross-border withdrawal loss, and a tax set-aside, you keep the profit you actually want. Every rate is an input — change them to match your processor and country.
Estimate only — not tax or financial advice. Stripe/PayPal are typically ~2.9% + a fixed fee (not modeled); marketplaces (Upwork, Amazon) take 5–20%; FX/withdrawal via Wise/Payoneer is ~0.5–2%.
After fees & tax set-aside, you keep $45 on a $151 sale.
- Customer pays (price)$151
- − Fees (3.9%)−$6
- You receive$145
- − Your cost−$100
- Gross profit (pre-tax)$45
Effective margin is gross profit ÷ price. Cross-border sellers often lose 4–8% to fees + FX before any tax — pricing without that baked in quietly erases your margin.
How to use the pricing calculator
- Enter your cost. Your direct cost per sale or project — materials, subcontractors, software, or the hours you would pay someone else for.
- Pick your target. Choose a target profit margin (% of price) or a flat profit ($) you want to clear on the deal.
- Add your real fees. Payment processor % (Stripe/PayPal ~2.9%), any platform/marketplace cut, and your FX/withdrawal % if you get paid across borders.
- Add a tax set-aside (optional). If you reserve a slice of profit for taxes, enter the percentage. Non-residents with no US ECI may leave this at 0.
- Read the recommended price. The calculator returns the price to charge, the fees lost, your gross profit, and exactly what you keep after fees and tax.
Why “cost plus markup” quietly loses you money
Most people price forward: take the cost, add a markup, send the invoice. The problem is that the money a client pays is not the money you receive. A payment processor takes ~2.9%, a marketplace can take 5–20%, and if you are a non-resident paid into a US LLC and then moving funds abroad, an FX/withdrawal spread takes another 0.5–2%. Each layer comes off the price, not your cost — so a “30% margin” priced forward can land closer to 22% once the money clears. Pricing backward from cost and fees is the fix.
Next step
Once you have your price, send a professional invoice or quote for it with the free LLC invoice generator. Not sure what the fees actually are? See what it really costs to get paid into a US LLC (Stripe/PayPal/Wise/Payoneer/Mercury compared). Getting paid as a non-resident? See the non-resident US LLC guide for banking and payment options, and model your tax with the LLC tax calculator before setting your set-aside.
Frequently asked questions
How do I price a service to actually keep my target profit?
Work backwards from your cost and fees. The formula is price = cost ÷ (1 − total fee % − target margin %). If your cost is $100, fees total 4%, and you want a 30% margin, you charge about $152. Pricing forward (cost + markup) ignores the fees taken before the money reaches you, so you end up short.
Why do cross-border sellers lose more than the Stripe fee?
Because the payment processor fee is only the first cut. A non-US founder paid into a US LLC then withdrawing abroad also loses an FX/withdrawal spread (typically 0.5–2% via Wise or Payoneer), and marketplace sellers lose a platform cut (5–20%) on top. Stacked, that is often 4–8% gone before tax — this calculator adds those layers a generic pricing tool ignores.
Should I price on margin or markup?
They are different. Margin is profit as a percentage of the price (the customer-facing number); markup is profit as a percentage of your cost. A 50% markup on a $100 cost is a $150 price but only a 33% margin. This tool uses margin (% of price) because that is what your fees and effective profitability are measured against.
How much should I set aside for taxes?
It depends entirely on your situation, so the tax set-aside is an optional input you control. A non-resident-owned US LLC with no US effectively connected income may owe $0 US federal tax, while a US-resident owner might reserve 25–35% for federal + self-employment + state tax. This is an estimate, not tax advice — confirm your rate with a CPA.
Does this include Stripe’s fixed per-transaction fee?
No — it models percentage fees only, because those dominate at typical service prices and rates change. Stripe and PayPal also charge a small fixed fee (around $0.30) per transaction; on a $500 invoice that is negligible, but on many tiny sales it adds up. Add it manually to your cost if it matters for your volume.
Is this calculator private?
Yes. Everything runs in your browser — none of the numbers you enter are sent to or stored on any BeginPulse server. Refreshing the page clears them.