eBay Promoted Listings Calculator
This eBay promoted listings calculator shows the ad fee on a promoted sale, your profit after it, and the highest ad rate you can pay before the sale stops making money. Uses eBay.com final value fees and the general campaign fee rules.
How to read the result
Profit before the ad fee is what the sale leaves after eBay's final value fee, the per-order fee and your costs. Profit per promoted sale takes the ad fee off that. Break-even ad rate is the rate at which those two meet: pay more and every promoted sale loses money. Highest ad rate for your margin is the ceiling to set your campaign at if you want to keep the margin you entered.
Two things change the picture. eBay charges the ad fee on the total sale amount, so shipping charged to the buyer and sales tax raise it, though neither is your profit. And attribution is generous: a buyer who clicked your promoted listing and bought within 30 days counts as a promoted sale even if they would have found you anyway. Our analysis of whether eBay Promoted Listings are worth it covers when the extra sales pay for the fee and when they do not.
Want the numbers checked across your whole store?
A free audit looks at fees, pricing and the listings that lose money. Or book a call.
eBay fee rules used by this calculator
Rates for a seller without an eBay Store subscription, as published by eBay.
| Category | Final value fee (total amount of the sale) | Per-order fee |
|---|---|---|
| Most categories (including Motors Parts & Accessories) | 13.6% up to $7,500, then 2.35% on the portion over $7,500 | $0.30 (orders $10 or less) / $0.40 |
| Books & Magazines, Movies & TV, Music (except vinyl) | 15.3% up to $7,500, then 2.35% | same |
| Comic Books, Non-Sport and Sports Trading Cards, Collectible Card Games | 13.25% up to $7,500, then 2.35% | same |
| Coins & Paper Money (except Bullion) | 13.25% up to $7,500, then 2.35% | same |
| Bullion | 13.6% of the whole sale if $7,500 or less; 7% of the whole sale if over | same |
| Women's Bags & Handbags | 15% of the whole sale if $2,000 or less; 9% of the whole sale if over | same |
| Jewelry & Watches (except Watches, Parts & Accessories) | 15% of the whole sale if $5,000 or less; 9% of the whole sale if over | same |
| Watches, Parts & Accessories | 15% up to $1,000, 6.5% from $1,000 to $7,500, 3% over $7,500 | same |
| Guitars & Basses | 6.7% up to $7,500, then 2.35% | same |
| Men's and Women's Athletic Shoes | 8% if the sale is $150 or more (no per-order fee); 13.6% under $150 | none at $150+, otherwise same |
| Heavy Equipment, Commercial Printing Presses, Food Trucks, Trailers & Carts | 3% up to $15,000, then 0.5% | same |
| International fee (optional input) | 1.65% of the total sale when the buyer or delivery address is outside the US and eBay International Shipping is not used | n/a |
| Below Standard seller (optional input) | 6 percentage points added to the final value fee (7 after four or more consecutive months) | n/a |
Source: eBay Help: Selling fees. Verified 22 October 2026. eBay charges the final value fee on the total amount of the sale: item price, shipping charged and sales tax. Store subscription rates, NFT categories (5%) and vehicle fees differ and are not modelled.
Related guides and services
Are eBay Promoted Listings Worth It in 2026?
When promoted sales add profit and when they only add fees.
ReadeBay Promoted Listings Management
Campaigns and ad rates set and reviewed against margin.
See the serviceeBay Sales Growth
Pricing, visibility and conversion work beyond ads.
See the serviceeBay Profit Calculator
Net profit, margin and return on cost on any sale.
OpeneBay Seller Fees 2026: The Complete Breakdown
Every fee eBay charges, ads included.
ReadeBay Break-Even Calculator
The price at which a listing stops losing money.
OpeneBay Promoted Listings questions
How is the eBay Promoted Listings ad fee calculated?
For general (cost-per-sale) campaigns, eBay multiplies your ad rate by the total sale amount: the item price plus shipping and any applicable taxes or fees. You pay it only when a buyer clicks your promoted listing and buys a promoted item within 30 days of the click.
What is a break-even ad rate?
It is the ad rate at which the ad fee uses up all of the profit on the sale. At that rate a promoted sale earns nothing; above it, every promoted sale loses money. The calculator works it out from your price, costs and eBay's final value fee.
What ad rate should I use?
Start from the profit you need to keep, not from eBay's suggested rate. Enter a target margin and the calculator shows the highest ad rate that still leaves it. Then compare it with the suggested rate: if the suggestion is higher than your ceiling, the listing needs a better price, lower costs or no promotion.
Do I pay the ad fee on sales I would have made anyway?
Yes, if the buyer clicked the promoted listing in the 30 days before buying. That is why the profit per promoted sale matters more than the number of promoted sales: some of those buyers would have found the listing without the ad.
Does sales tax change the fee?
On eBay.com, final value fees and general campaign ad fees are both calculated on the total the buyer pays, which includes sales tax that eBay collects. Enter your typical tax rate to see the effect; it raises the fees, not your revenue.
What about priority (cost-per-click) campaigns?
Priority campaigns charge per click whether or not the buyer purchases, so they need a different calculation: cost per click divided by your conversion rate gives the ad cost per sale. This calculator covers general, cost-per-sale campaigns.
Get your Promoted Listings checked
Send your store link. We compare ad rates with each listing's margin and reply within 24 hours.
Want every ad rate checked against its margin?
A free audit looks at your campaigns, the rates you pay and the listings where promotion costs more than it earns.