Fulfillment Cost Calculator
Compare in-house versus 3PL fulfillment for your volume. Enter monthly orders, pick and pack costs, storage per pallet, software, packaging totals, shipping labels, return rate, and for in-house labor hours and wage. See cost per order for each component and fulfillment as percent of AOV so you can price and decide when to outsource.
Instant calculations · Editable fee assumptions · Export-ready results
Inputs
Values update results instantly. Adjust fee assumptions to match your seller dashboard.
Method
In-house or third-party logistics.
Volume
Orders fulfilled per month.
Per-order costs
3PL pick+pack fee or in-house labor equivalent
Inbound receiving fee per unit
Monthly overhead
Monthly storage per pallet
Pallets in storage.
WMS, inventory software
From Packaging Cost Calc or enter estimate
Total shipping labels for all orders
Per-order
3PL return fee or in-house return labor
Percent of orders returned.
In-house only
Total labor hours for fulfillment (in-house only)
Hourly wage for fulfillment team.
Reference
For percent context.
Results
Live estimates based on your inputs and editable fee assumptions.
Pick & pack per order
$4.80
Labor or 3PL fee.
Storage overhead per order
$0.55
Storage + software divided by orders.
Packaging per order
$1.44
Monthly packaging divided by orders.
Shipping per order
$8.00
Monthly shipping divided by orders.
Returns cost per order
$0.08
Return rate × return fee averaged.
Receiving per order
$0.35
Inbound fee estimate.
Total fulfillment per order
$15.21
All-in cost to get one order out.
Total monthly fulfillment cost
$4,563.50
Per order times volume plus overhead.
Fulfillment as % of AOV
33.8%
Total per order divided by AOV.
What this means
In-house 300 orders: pick/pack $4.80, storage $0.55, pack $1.44, ship $8.00, returns $0.07, recv $0.35 = $15.21/order, $4564/mo, 34% of $45 AOV.
Fulfillment cost components per order
Interactive breakdown of fees, costs, and remaining profit.
Distribution
- Pick & pack$4.8031.6%
- Storage$0.553.6%
- Packaging$1.449.5%
- Shipping$8.0052.6%
- Returns$0.080.5%
- Receiving$0.352.3%
Total $15.21 · 6 segments · interactive
Line-item breakdown
Dollar amounts, share of revenue, and visual proportion.
- Pick & pack per order
- $4.80
- Storage overhead per order
- $0.55
- Packaging per order
- $1.44
- Shipping per order
- $8.00
- Returns per order
- $0.08
- Receiving per order
- $0.35
- Total per order
- $15.21
- Total monthly
- $4,563.50
- Fulfillment % of AOV
- 33.8%
Assumptions used
- • Method in_house, 300 orders
- • Storage monthly $164.00 = 3×$25.00+$89.00 software
- • Returns 3%×$2.50=$0.075/order avg
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Fulfillment Cost Calculator
Generated 8/4/2026, 2:51:30 PM · Currency USD
Inputs
- Fulfillment method: in_house
- Monthly orders: 300
- Pick and pack fee per order (3PL): 0
- Receiving / inbound per unit: 0.35
- Storage cost per pallet per month: 25
- Pallets used: 3
- Monthly WMS / software cost: 89
- Monthly packaging total: 432
- Monthly shipping label total: 2400
- Return processing fee per return: 2.5
- Return rate %: 3
- In-house labor hours per month: 80
- In-house hourly wage: 18
- Average order value: 45
Results
- Pick & pack per order: $4.80
- Storage overhead per order: $0.55
- Packaging per order: $1.44
- Shipping per order: $8.00
- Returns per order: $0.08
- Receiving per order: $0.35
- Total per order: $15.21
- Total monthly: $4,563.50
- Fulfillment % of AOV: 33.8%
Interpretation
In-house 300 orders: pick/pack $4.80, storage $0.55, pack $1.44, ship $8.00, returns $0.07, recv $0.35 = $15.21/order, $4564/mo, 34% of $45 AOV.
How it works
Methodology & formulas
This calculator is transparent by design. Review the steps and formulas so you can trust the estimate and adjust assumptions when your dashboard differs.
Calculation steps
- 1For in-house method use labor hours for pick and pack cost per order.
- 2For 3PL method use the entered pick and pack fee per order.
- 3Allocate monthly fixed costs over order volume to get per order overhead.
- 4Add returns cost using expected rate to reflect true average cost.
- 5Sum all components for total fulfillment per order and monthly total.
Formulas
- In-house pickPack = laborHours × wage ÷ orders
- storagePerOrder = (storagePerPallet × pallets + software) ÷ orders
- packPerOrder = monthlyPackaging ÷ orders
- shipPerOrder = monthlyShipping ÷ orders
- returnsPerOrder = returnRate% × returnProcessingCost
- totalPerOrder = pickPack + storage + pack + ship + returns + receiving
Important assumptions
- In-house pick&pack = laborHours × wage / monthlyOrders when 3PL fee is 0.
- Storage per order = (storagePerPallet × pallets + software) / orders.
- Packaging per order = monthlyPackagingTotal / orders.
- Shipping per order = monthlyShippingCost / orders.
- Returns cost averaged per order = returnRate% × returnProcessingCost.
- Receiving included as direct input divided as per unit estimate.
Worked example
In-house 300 orders fulfillment
300 orders, 80hrs × $18 = $1,440 labor, $4.80 per order pick pack. $432 packaging /300 = $1.44. Storage $75+$89=$164/300=$0.55. Shipping $2,400/300=$8.00. Returns 3%×$2.50=$0.075. Total $14.87/order at $45 AOV = 33%.
FAQ
Common questions
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