Compare unit cost across quantity-discount tiers and find the optimum order quantity. Spots when buying a few extra units actually saves you money.
A real-time tiered-pricing calculator for procurement teams, resellers, and bulk buyers. Define unlimited price tiers (minimum quantity + per-unit price + optional flat shipping per tier), enter your current order quantity, and instantly see which tier you fall into, your total cost, your effective per-unit cost (including shipping), and a smart "round up" suggestion that detects when adding a handful of units pushes you into a cheaper tier and saves real money. The break-even table tells you the exact quantity at which each tier becomes cheaper than the previous one.
Buyers often pick a quantity based on immediate need without checking whether a few extra units would unlock a lower tier. The math is counterintuitive: if a supplier offers 42 units at $12 each and 50 units at $9.50 each, the "bigger" order ($475) is actually cheaper than the smaller one ($504) — you get 8 free units AND save $29. This calculator scans every tier above your current quantity and flags any where the total cost drops, so you never miss a price break.
The break-even table answers a forward-looking question: at what order size does each tier become cheaper than the previous one? Because shipping is bundled into total cost, the break-even point is rarely the tier minimum quantity — it can be higher (if the next tier has costlier shipping) or exactly at the MOQ (if shipping stays flat or drops). Use this table for planning recurring orders.
This tool models all-units pricing: the entire quantity is priced at whichever tier your order qualifies for. That matches the vast majority of distributor and Alibaba-style wholesale price lists. If your supplier instead uses incremental tiered pricing, the savings curve is much flatter and you should compute total cost as a sum of segments rather than using a single tier rate. Always confirm with your supplier which model their quote uses before placing a large order.
Bulk only saves money when the unit price drop outweighs your storage, capital tie-up, and obsolescence costs. If you buy 200 units to save 10% per unit but half spoils, sits in a warehouse for a year, or ties up cash you needed elsewhere, you lose. As a rule of thumb, bulk pays off when you can sell or use the inventory inside your typical reorder window.
Add an estimated holding cost (rent, insurance, shrinkage, opportunity cost) of roughly 15-25% of inventory value per year. If a bulk tier saves you 8% on unit price but the extra units sit unsold for 12 months, the holding cost can wipe out the discount entirely. Compare effective unit cost AFTER adding monthly storage cost × months held to your inputs.
MOQ stands for Minimum Order Quantity — the smallest amount a supplier will sell in a single order. Each row in this calculator is essentially an MOQ tier. The active tier shows which MOQ your current quantity satisfies; the break-even table tells you when crossing into the next MOQ becomes worth it.
In all-units pricing (what this calculator models), every unit in your order is priced at the tier rate matching your total quantity — buy 100 units in a 100+ tier and ALL 100 cost the lower rate. In incremental/marginal tiered pricing, only the units inside each tier get that tier rate. All-units is far more common in wholesale and is what most "buy 50, get 10% off" deals actually mean.
Because shipping is a flat fee that gets spread across all units. If a tier is $10/unit with $30 flat shipping and you buy 30 units, the effective cost is $10 + ($30 / 30) = $11/unit. This is why ordering more units often beats a lower nominal tier price — you dilute the fixed shipping cost.
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