Shipping cost per order is what you pay couriers, on average, for each order: total shipping cost in a period divided by the number of orders shipped.
Shipping cost per order = Total shipping cost ÷ Number of orders
On the sample data below, six months come to ₹70.00.
Why it matters
For small-basket products shipping can eat a large part of the margin. Tracking it per order shows the effect of courier rate changes, heavier packaging or more remote pin codes.
Worked example
The table shows the columns this metric needs from six months of a made-up subscription brand. Add each column up over the six months, then put the totals into the formula:
| Month | Shipping cost | Orders |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-01 | ₹49,100 | 702 |
| 2026-02 | ₹52,400 | 748 |
| 2026-03 | ₹56,800 | 812 |
| 2026-04 | ₹54,000 | 771 |
| 2026-05 | ₹59,200 | 846 |
| 2026-06 | ₹64,200 | 917 |
| Total | ₹3,35,700 | 4,796 |
₹3,35,700 ÷ 4,796 = ₹70.00
Add up first, then divide. Averaging the six monthly figures gives a slightly different answer, because it counts a small month the same as a large one.
Month by month
| Month | Shipping cost per order |
|---|---|
| 2026-01 | ₹69.94 |
| 2026-02 | ₹70.05 |
| 2026-03 | ₹69.95 |
| 2026-04 | ₹70.04 |
| 2026-05 | ₹69.98 |
| 2026-06 | ₹70.01 |
Shipping cost per order calculator
How to read it
Compare it with average order value. A free-shipping threshold set below the point where shipping cost per order becomes affordable loses money on every small order.
Common mistakes
- Include the cost of return and RTO shipments, or the figure looks lower than what you actually paid.
- Shipping charged to customers is revenue, not a reduction of cost. Keep the two apart.
- Courier invoices often arrive weeks late. Match costs to the month the order shipped, not the month the invoice came.
Calculate shipping cost per order in Excel, SQL or Python
The quickest version, for the sample sheet laid out as in the CSV (headers in row 1, months in rows 2 to 7):
=SUM(F2:F7) / SUM(N2:N7)- Shipping cost per order in Excel and Google Sheets — per-month formula and zero-safe version
- Shipping cost per order in SQL — query by month and for the period
- Shipping cost per order in Python (pandas) — pandas script with expected output
Related metrics
See all business metrics, or the statistics methods that sit behind them.
Questions people ask
- What is shipping cost per order?
- Shipping cost per order is what you pay couriers, on average, for each order: total shipping cost in a period divided by the number of orders shipped.
- How do you calculate shipping cost per order?
- Shipping cost per order = Total shipping cost ÷ Number of orders. For example, with six months of sample data: ₹3,35,700 ÷ 4,796 = ₹70.00.
- What is the shipping cost per order formula in Excel?
- With the sample data laid out as in the downloadable CSV, =SUM(F2:F7) / SUM(N2:N7) gives the figure for the whole period. For one month, use =F2 / N2 and fill it down.
- What is a good shipping cost per order?
- There is no figure that is right for every business: it depends on your products, prices and channels. Compare it with average order value. A free-shipping threshold set below the point where shipping cost per order becomes affordable loses money on every small order.
Check how stable it is
A metric moves for ordinary reasons as well as real ones. These methods separate the two: the spread shows what a normal month looks like, the moving average smooths it, the z-score flags a month that is out of line and the trend line shows the direction.
Guides
About the data on this page
The figures come from a small made-up dataset, printed above in full so you can check every number by hand. Download it as monthly.csv. The results are computed from those rows when the page is built, and the Excel formulas, SQL and Python on these pages are run against the same rows before publishing, so the code and the answers agree.
To get these numbers from your own data without writing formulas, try AnalyzeIt: ask in plain words and it shows the working behind every figure.
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