How to use the Aliexpress Profit
- Enter your selling price and the AliExpress product and shipping cost.
- Add payment processing and platform fees.
- Enter your cost per acquisition from ad spend.
- Read profit per order and the break-even CPA.
How the calculation works
Profit per order = price − product cost − shipping − payment fees − platform fees − CPA − expected refund cost. Payment processing runs about 2.9% plus a fixed fee, and refunds and chargebacks should be provisioned at 3–8% of revenue given long shipping times. The break-even CPA — gross margin after all non-advertising costs — is the ceiling on what you can pay for a customer, and knowing it is the difference between scaling and burning cash.
The structural problem is delivery time. Standard AliExpress shipping of 15–30 days drives refund requests and destroys repeat purchase rates, so lifetime value stays near one order and every sale must be bought again. That makes the model viable only at high margin multiples — typically 3× or more on landed cost — and only for products that are not already saturated. Trending products attract competitors within weeks, and CPA rises until margin disappears.
Profit = price − product − shipping − (price × payment %) − CPA − refund provisionSource: Standard e-commerce unit economics with CPA and refund provisioning.
Worked example
Selling at 39.99, product 8.40, shipping 3.20, 2.9% + 0.30 payment fee, CPA 16.50, 5% refund provision.
- Payment fee = 39.99 × 0.029 + 0.30 = 1.46.
- Refund provision = 39.99 × 0.05 = 2.00.
- Costs = 8.40 + 3.20 + 1.46 + 2.00 = 15.06.
- Profit = 39.99 − 15.06 − 16.50 = 8.43.
8.43 per order, or 21% net — with a break-even CPA of 24.93 before the order loses money.
Frequently asked questions
What margin do I need for dropshipping?+
At least 3× landed cost. Below that, advertising costs consume the entire margin.
Why are refunds so high?+
Long delivery times drive cancellations and disputes. Provision 3–8% of revenue.
What is break-even CPA?+
Gross margin after every non-advertising cost — the most you can pay to acquire a customer without losing money.
Why does a winning product stop working?+
Competitors copy it, ad auction prices rise, and CPA climbs past the break-even point.
Last reviewed August 31, 2026. We review this page whenever the underlying formula, tax year, published rate or standard changes.