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Chargeback Cost Calculator: What a Dispute Really Costs
Enter what an order is worth and what it cost you to win and fulfill it. The calculator adds up everything a lost chargeback takes back — it's reliably more than the order value.
True cost per chargeback
$152.00
1.8× the order value. You lose the revenue, the product, the shipping, the fee and the ad spend that won the order.
Cost per month
$608
$7,296 a year at this rate — before the time spent fighting disputes, and before any monitoring-program penalties if your rate climbs.
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Where the money goes
A lost dispute reverses the revenue, but you've also lost the product (it rarely comes back), the outbound shipping, the processing fee — Shopify Payments charges $15 in the US — and the ad spend that acquired the order. That's how an $85 order becomes a $150 loss.
The cost that isn't on the receipt
Card networks track your dispute rate. Climb high enough and you enter monitoring programs with monthly fines, and eventually risk losing the ability to process cards at all. Prevention on the risky minority of orders is far cheaper than fighting disputes after the fact.
Full walkthrough: What is a chargeback? A guide for Shopify merchants.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does a chargeback cost a merchant?
More than the order. You lose the revenue, the product, the shipping you paid, a dispute fee (Shopify Payments charges $15 in the US), and the marketing spend that won the order. Add it up and a chargeback typically costs two to three times the order value.
Do I get the product back after a chargeback?
Almost never. A chargeback is a payment reversal, not a return — the cardholder keeps the goods unless you win the dispute. That's why the cost of goods belongs in the loss calculation.
What chargeback rate gets a store in trouble?
Card networks start monitoring programs when disputes approach roughly 1% of transactions (thresholds vary by network and are stricter for 'excessive' tiers). Programs bring fines and remediation requirements, so stores should treat a rising dispute rate as urgent well before 1%.
Is it worth fighting a chargeback?
Often yes, when you have evidence: delivery confirmation, AVS/CVV matches, customer communication, and a clear policy trail. Fraud disputes on shipped-and-delivered orders are winnable; 'friendly fraud' disputes are worth contesting because many cardholders drop them when evidence appears. Weigh the time against the dollar value per dispute.