This price increase calculator does the basic percentage math (old price, new price, percent change) and then the part most calculators skip: how many customers you could lose after the increase and still make the same profit. Enter your current price and the increase, add your unit cost and monthly volume if you have them, and the results update as you type.
Price increase calculator: new price, percent change and break-even volume
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| Result | Before | After |
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Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere. The calculator runs in your browser.
How to use the price increase calculator
- Enter the current price, then either the increase as a percentage or the new price you have in mind. The two fields drive each other. A minus sign makes it a price cut.
- Tick the rounding box to end the new price in .99. The tool recalculates the real percentage, which is usually a little different from the one you typed.
- Add your unit cost and your monthly unit sales. This fills in the second half of the table: profit per unit before and after, margin, and the share of customers you can lose before the increase stops paying for itself.
- Leave the inflation field for a US comparison, or type your own country's rate. The "after inflation" line shows whether the increase is real or just keeping pace.
If you run a Shopify store, the new prices go in through the product list or the bulk editor, where price is one of the editable columns (Shopify Help Center: bulk editing). Work out the numbers here first, then change them there in one pass.
How it works: the price increase formula and the break-even rule
The percentage part is the standard formula. The break-even part answers one question: after the increase, how many units can I lose before total gross profit falls back to where it was?
| Result | Formula |
|---|---|
| New price | current price × (1 + increase %) |
| Percent increase from two prices | (new price − current price) ÷ current price × 100 |
| Change after inflation | (1 + increase %) ÷ (1 + inflation %) − 1 |
| Gross margin | (price − unit cost) ÷ price |
| Sales you can lose, same profit | increase % ÷ (current gross margin % + increase %) |
| Extra sales needed after a cut | cut % ÷ (current gross margin % − cut %) |
| Break-even units | current units × (1 − sales you can lose) |
Why the rule works: gross profit is units × (price − cost). Raise the price by p (a fraction of the old price) and profit per unit rises from margin m to m + p, both measured against the old price. The same total now needs only m ÷ (m + p) of the old volume, so you can lose p ÷ (m + p) of it. The thinner your margin, the more customers you can afford to lose, which surprises people. A 5% increase on a 20% margin product can shed 20% of its buyers and still break even; the same 5% on an 80% margin product can only shed about 6%.
The inflation line uses the US all-items CPI-U, which rose 3.7% over the 12 months to September 2026 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure changes every month, so treat the default as a starting point and check the BLS page for the current one.
Worked example: a 10% increase on a $40 product
This is an example, not a benchmark. A store sells a product at $40 that costs $24 to land, so gross profit is $16 a unit and gross margin is 40%. It sells 500 a month, which is $8,000 of gross profit.
- New price: $40 × 1.10 = $44.00. Rounded to .99 it would be $43.99, a 9.98% increase.
- After 3.7% inflation: 1.10 ÷ 1.037 − 1 = 6.08% real increase.
- Profit per unit: $44 − $24 = $20, up from $16. Margin: $20 ÷ $44 = 45.5%.
- Sales you can lose: 10% ÷ (40% + 10%) = 20%. Break-even volume: 500 × 0.80 = 400 units.
- Check: 400 × $20 = $8,000, the same gross profit as 500 × $16.
- If volume holds at 500: 500 × $20 = $10,000, which is $2,000 more a month.
The decision then turns on one estimate: will more than one customer in five walk away over $4? Run the same numbers for a 5% cut and the tool shows the opposite problem: you would need 14.3% more units just to stand still.
What a good price increase looks like, and what to do next
A good increase clears inflation, keeps break-even volume loss well above what you expect to lose, and lands on a price that still reads right next to the alternatives. If the "after inflation" line is negative, you are cutting your price in real terms, whatever the sticker says.
What to do with the result:
- Break-even loss is 15% or more: the increase is low risk on the numbers. Make the change, watch conversion rate for two to four weeks, and compare units sold against the break-even figure, not against last month's total.
- Break-even loss is under 10%: you are on a high-margin product where volume matters more. Consider a smaller step, or raise value at the same time: better photos, clearer shipping terms, a bundle. The product page checklist covers the things that lose a sale before price does.
- Conversion drops after the change: work through the Shopify conversion rate optimization steps before rolling the price back. Price often gets blamed for a checkout problem.
- You are not sure of your unit cost: the Shopify profit margin calculator builds it up from product cost, shipping and payment fees.
After any increase, average order value should rise by at least the increase. If it does not, customers are trading down, and the AOV calculator will show it.
If sales fell after a price change and you cannot see why, Website Sales Fix is a review of your store that finds where buyers drop off and gives you the fixes in order.
FAQ
How do you calculate a price increase percentage?
Subtract the old price from the new price, divide by the old price, and multiply by 100. A product that goes from $40 to $44 has risen by ($44 − $40) ÷ $40 × 100 = 10%. To go the other way, multiply the old price by one plus the percentage as a decimal: $40 × 1.10 = $44. The calculator above does both, and recalculates if you round to a .99 ending.
How much can I raise prices without losing money?
It depends on your gross margin, not on a rule of thumb. The share of customers you can lose and still make the same gross profit is the increase divided by the sum of your current margin and the increase. At a 40% margin, a 10% increase can lose 20% of buyers and break even. At a 70% margin, the same increase can only lose 12.5% before profit falls.
Should I round my new price to .99?
Rounding to .99 is common because it reads lower than the round number above it. The calculator shows the true percentage after rounding so you are not misled: $40 raised 10% is $44.00, but $43.99 is a 9.98% increase. For higher priced or premium products, whole numbers often read better. Test it on your own store rather than assuming.
What is a reasonable price increase per year?
Many businesses use the inflation rate as a floor, because an increase below it is a real-terms cut. US consumer prices rose 3.7% in the 12 months to September 2026 on the BLS figure, so an increase under that leaves you worse off in purchasing power. Above that, the right number depends on your costs, your margin and what competitors charge, which is why the tool asks for unit cost.
How do I tell customers about a price increase?
Give notice, give a reason, and keep it short. For a store, update the price and mention it only where customers would otherwise be surprised, such as subscriptions or quotes already sent. For services, send a plain message that states the new price, the date it starts, and one sentence on why. Avoid apologizing at length; a clear notice reads as more confident and gets fewer complaints.
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