You are paid only for orders that are delivered and kept. But you pay packaging on every parcel you send, and return shipping on every customer return. So the orders that stayed have to carry the cost of the ones that came back. That is why you divide by orders delivered.
Example: 100 parcels
Your price on the panel is ₹500 (5% GST already inside) and one piece costs you ₹250. Packaging is ₹14 a parcel. You spent ₹700 on ads, GST included: ₹7 a parcel across all 100, because not every order came from an ad. Of 100 parcels sent, 20 came back as RTO, 10 were returned by the customer at ₹175 each, and 70 were delivered and kept.
We start from your ₹500 price, not the about ₹492 that reaches your bank. Shipping is mostly the customer's money (what shipping really costs you), and TCS and TDS come back to you.
Worked example
Profit on one delivered order
| Your priceWhat you set on the panel | ₹500 |
| Your costOne piece | −₹250 |
| Return shipping10 × ₹175 = ₹1,750, shared by 70 | −₹25 |
| Packaging100 × ₹14 = ₹1,400, shared by 70 | −₹20 |
| Ads₹700, shared by 70 | −₹10 |
| GST to payAbout ₹24 inside your price, less about ₹5 claimed back on return shipping and ads | −₹18.47 |
| Real profit per delivered order | ₹176.53 |
Example numbers, not a real store. ₹176.53 is about ₹177.
- Your cost₹250
- Return shipping₹25
- Packaging₹20
- Ads₹10
- GST to pay₹18.47
- Your profit₹176.53
Example numbers from the table above.
Price minus cost says ₹250. The real figure is about ₹177, close to 30% less. On all 100 parcels you made about ₹12,360. That is about ₹124 per order placed, but ₹177 per order delivered. Use the ₹177 to set your price.
The more parcels come back, the bigger the gap, because every delivered order carries more packaging and ads. See what a return and an RTO cost.
Where to find your own numbers
The file facts below come from one real store's payment files, May to October 2026.
- Your cost: what one piece costs you. A piece that comes back as a return or RTO goes back into stock, so count it only for delivered orders.
- Return shipping: the Return Shipping Charge (Incl. GST) column on returns in your payment file. It was a flat ₹175 on about 94% of returns. An RTO showed ₹0.
- How many came back: count Delivered, Return and RTO by Sub Order No, for a month that is a few weeks old so most orders have finished.
- Packaging: your own bill for bags, tape and labels, divided by parcels sent. It is not in the payment file.
- Ads: add up Total Ads Cost in the Ads Cost sheet. It already included 18% GST.
- GST rate: the Product GST % column. Clothes up to ₹2,500 a piece are 5%, above that 18%. The old 12% rate was removed from 22 September 2025, so other products may now be on a different rate too.
- GST you claim back: a regular GST-registered seller can usually claim back the 18% GST inside return shipping and ads as input credit (GST you already paid, taken off the GST you owe), with the marketplace's tax invoice. On the composition scheme (small sellers who pay a fixed small GST) you cannot claim any back. Without GST registration it is different again: ask your CA.
What to leave out
- Forward shipping. The customer pays most of it on top of your price, so it costs you only a few rupees. Here is the sum.
- TCS (0.5%) and TDS (0.1%). They are tax credits, not costs. TCS is GST: it comes back to you on the GST portal. TDS is income tax at 0.1%: it counts against your income tax when you file your return, and any extra is refunded. From 1 April 2026 the TDS rule sits in the new Income-tax Act, 2025, at the same 0.1%. More in TCS and TDS on Meesho.
Questions sellers ask
How do I calculate profit and loss on Meesho?
Take your price, minus your cost, return shipping, packaging, ads and GST to pay. Share the costs over orders delivered, not orders placed. Leave out TCS and TDS: they are tax credits.
How much profit is there on Meesho?
It depends on your price, cost and how many parcels come back. In our example, a ₹500 price and ₹250 cost left about ₹177 per delivered order, not ₹250.
How many returns wipe out my profit?
In our example, with 20 RTO fixed, profit reaches about ₹0 at 43 customer returns out of the 80 parcels that reached customers, so about 1 in 2. Each return in place of a delivery costs about ₹374: the ₹226 that order would have made, plus ₹175 return shipping, less about ₹27 of GST claimed back.
Are TCS and TDS a loss?
No. TCS (0.5%) is claimed back on the GST portal. TDS (0.1%) counts against your income tax, and any extra is refunded. They hold up some cash until then.
Does RTO reduce my profit?
Yes, even though an RTO is charged ₹0. The packaging is lost and the order earns nothing, so each delivered order carries a bit more.
Next step
Type your price, cost, packaging, ads and how many orders come back. It works out profit per delivered order, the same way as this guide. Set the return charge to what your own file shows. It's free.
Try the free Meesho profit calculatorSources
- A real Meesho seller's payment files, May to October 2026 (checked by OrderLens; totals only)
- Government notice: new GST rates from 22 September 2025 · CBIC, Ministry of Finance
- GST portal guide: TDS/TCS Credit Received · GST Network
- Income Tax Department: Income-tax Act, 2025 in force from 1 April 2026 · Income Tax Department
- Income Tax Department: FAQs on TDS, rates for tax year 2026-27 (e-commerce 0.1%) · Income Tax Department
- TDS guide: e-commerce TDS stays 0.1% under the new Act (section 393) · TDSMan (private tax software firm)
- GST law, section 16: who can claim input credit · CBIC
- GST law, section 10(4): no input credit under composition · CBIC
- Government notice: TCS cut to 0.5% (July 2024) · CBIC, Ministry of Finance
- Union Budget memo: TDS cut to 0.1% (back-up) · Ministry of Finance