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3PL vs in-house fulfillment calculator

Compare what it costs to ship orders yourself with a 3PL's quote, at your own order volume. Your numbers only: no assumed rates.

Only what a 3PL would remove: warehouse rent, staff, equipment, software.

Packaging, postage and anything else you pay per order.

From the quote: account fees, storage, receiving, averaged per month.

From the quote: pick and pack, packaging, postage, per-order fees.

Result

Fill in orders per month, in-house fixed costs per month, in-house cost per order, 3pl fixed fees per month, 3pl cost per order to see the result.

How it works

Both options have two kinds of cost: a fixed monthly cost, and a cost for each order. In-house usually carries the bigger fixed cost (space, staff, equipment) and a smaller cost per order; a 3PL usually the other way round. So which is cheaper depends on how many orders you ship, and there is often a volume at which the two cost the same.

in-house = fixed costs
  + cost per order × orders
3PL = fixed fees
  + cost per order × orders

difference = in-house - 3PL

same cost at =
  (in-house fixed - 3PL fixed)
  ÷ (3PL per order - in-house per order)

What each term means

Orders per month
The orders you ship in a normal month.
In-house fixed costs
What you pay each month to fulfill yourself, whatever the volume, counting only what a 3PL would remove: warehouse rent, staff, equipment, software.
In-house cost per order
What each order costs you to send: packaging, postage, and any per-order labor you pay.
3PL fixed fees
From the quote: account or platform fees, storage and receiving, averaged per month.
3PL cost per order
From the quote: pick and pack, packaging, postage and per-order fees.
Crossover
The orders a month at which both options cost the same. It exists only when one option is cheaper per order and the other has lower fixed costs.

Which costs belong in it: this is a make-or-buy comparison, so only avoidable costs count. A cost you keep paying after the switch is the same on both sides and changes nothing. The same logic applies to what the numbers leave out: if service, speed or returns handling differ, price the difference and add it in. For the returns side, see the return rate cost calculator.

Source: OpenStax, Managerial Accounting 10.3: make or buy, comparing relevant costs with the outside price (read 26 September 2026).

Worked example

Example numbers, round on purpose, not a real store:

Orders per month
1,500
In-house fixed costs per month
€9,000
In-house cost per order
€6.50
3PL fixed fees per month
€800
3PL cost per order
€7.90
  1. 1In-house: €9,000 + €6.50 × 1,500 = €18,750 a month, €12.50 per order
  2. 23PL: €800 + €7.90 × 1,500 = €12,650 a month, €8.43 per order
  3. 3Difference: €18,750 - €12,650 = €6,100 a month in the 3PL's favor, €73,200 a year
  4. 4Same cost at: (€9,000 - €800) ÷ (€7.90 - €6.50) = 5,857 orders a month

So this example is cheaper with the 3PL until it ships about 5,857 orders a month. Above that, its in-house fixed costs are spread thin enough to win.

Frequently asked questions

  • When does a 3PL cost less than fulfilling in-house?
    When its total at your volume is lower. Each option is a fixed monthly cost plus a cost per order, so below the volume where the two totals cross, the one with the lower fixed cost is cheaper; above it, the one with the lower cost per order is. The calculator finds that volume from your numbers.
  • Which in-house costs should I count?
    Only the ones you would stop paying if a 3PL took over: warehouse rent, fulfillment staff, packing equipment, shipping software. A lease that runs on for years, or staff who would move to other work, are not saved by the switch, so they do not belong in the comparison.
  • How do I turn a 3PL quote into these numbers?
    Put everything billed per order into the cost per order: pick and pack, packaging, postage, and per-item picks at your average items per order. Put everything billed by time or space into the fixed fees: storage, account or platform fees, and receiving, averaged over a month.
  • Does shipping cost the same either way?
    Not necessarily. A 3PL may pay different carrier rates from yours, higher or lower. Enter the postage each option would really pay: it is often the biggest line in the cost per order.
  • What does the calculator leave out?
    Anything you did not price: delivery speed, error and damage rates, returns handling, the time you spend running a warehouse, and the one-off cost of moving stock. If they differ between the options, put a monthly figure on them and add it to that option's fixed costs.

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Next: which channels bring your orders?

Fulfillment cost is set once an order exists. Which channels bring the orders is the next question. Your GA4 export already holds how long your buyers take and which channels they touch. First finding free, in your browser; the full read is €99.

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