What is landed cost?
Landed cost is the total cost of getting a product into your warehouse and ready to sell: the supplier price plus the freight, insurance, customs duty, brokerage and other charges you choose to include. It is the cost to compare with your selling price, because the purchase price alone understates what each unit really costs.
Landed cost formula
Total landed cost = goods value + freight + insurance + customs duty + brokerage and handling + other included costs.
Divide the total by the number of received units to estimate cost per unit. Start with the supplier invoice, freight invoice, broker statement and receiving quantity. Keep them in the same currency before entering amounts. A recoverable tax or a selling expense may need separate treatment; this tool does not automatically include or estimate taxes.
Worked example: a 100-unit shipment
You buy 100 identical units for $1,000. Freight is $200, duty is $50, brokerage is $30 and other included costs are $20. Insurance is $0. Total cost is $1,300, import costs above the goods value are $300, and each unit costs $13.00. The purchase price alone was $10.00 per unit, so the extra shipment costs add $3.00 to each unit.
Estimated landed cost versus actual landed cost
An estimated landed cost uses the quotes and quantities available before all shipment invoices are final. Recalculate with the actual invoices and received quantity before relying on that estimate to explain inventory cost or margin. Keep the original estimate alongside the revised calculation so your team can identify which charge changed.
| Included cost | Estimate | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Goods | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Freight | $200 | $260 |
| Duty | $50 | $50 |
| Brokerage | $30 | $30 |
| Other included costs | $20 | $20 |
| Total landed cost | $1,300 | $1,360 |
| Cost per unit | $13.00 | $13.60 |
Insurance is $0 in both calculations. The final freight invoice adds $60 to the shipment, or $0.60 per unit. Enter $260 in the freight field above to reproduce the actual-cost calculation. This example includes only the listed charges; the calculator does not retrieve invoices or post accounting entries.
What to collect for a landed cost estimate
- Supplier invoice: the goods value for this shipment, with agreed discounts reflected.
- Freight and insurance quotes: check which charges are already included so they are not counted twice.
- Broker statement or shipment estimate: enter duty, brokerage and handling as amounts; this tool does not determine rates.
- Receiving record: use the units belonging to the same goods and charges, and separate a partial receipt from the full order.
- Currency record: convert all amounts to one currency before entry and retain the conversion basis with your working notes.
For a review with your team, reference the estimate-versus-actual example and keep your own input records. To test the connected product workflow, follow one purchase order from supplier quote to receiving and settlement, or review Wholety for import purchasing and inventory.
Mixed shipments need an allocation method
A simple shipment-wide average is useful when units are comparable. If a container holds products with different values, sizes or weights, averaging all units can hide their actual cost. Allocate a shared charge to each SKU using an appropriate basis first: value, volume, weight or quantity.
For example, a $600 freight bill split between two SKUs occupying 2 m³ and 1 m³ allocates $400 and $200 respectively. If there are 100 units of each SKU, freight adds $4.00 to the first SKU and $2.00 to the second. Add each SKU's own goods and duty costs afterwards.
Work through freight allocation by SKU volume, or explore purchase order software for import and wholesale teams.
Take the next step: review one purchase with your AI Agent
If you need to track the purchase behind the estimate, start a free month in Wholety; no credit card is required. Add one representative supplier, SKU and purchase, then compare the quoted goods amount, received quantity and recorded freight in the workspace. Keep your calculator estimate alongside those records for review.
Connect your own AI Agent and ask for a read-only summary of that purchase, its receiving progress and recorded costs, with source records and missing amounts called out. Compare the answer with the interface. For a complete first task, follow the worked stock-check and purchase-draft example. The calculator remains a standalone estimate; the connected Agent works with the business records you have entered in Wholety. Your Agent's model-provider charges are separate.
What changes when a shipment arrives in parts?
Keep ordered, shipped and received quantities separate. The calculator divides by the quantity you enter; it cannot know which part of the invoice belongs to a partial receipt. Decide which charges and quantities belong to this calculation before using the result. Compare the final received quantity and actual invoices with your original estimate.
Common questions
Is this calculator free?
Yes. No registration or credit card is required. Calculation runs in your browser, and the calculator does not send your inputs to Wholety.
Does it calculate customs duty rates?
No. Enter the duty amount supplied by your broker or your own shipment estimate. There is no automatic HS-code, country-of-origin or tax-rate lookup.
Can I use more than one currency?
Convert your invoices into a common currency before using the calculator. Changing the currency dropdown changes the labels, not the amounts.
How does this connect to inventory?
This tool is a planning estimate. Wholety connects purchase orders, receiving, freight allocation and supplier settlement, so your team can follow the records behind inventory cost. Read the purchasing manual and finance and settlement manual, or compare Wholety plans.