Landed cost calculator
Landed Cost Calculator for China Imports
Estimate your landed cost from your supplier quote, shipping quote, and duty/tariff assumptions. Use it before you pay a deposit, raise a PO, or decide that a low China factory price still leaves enough margin after freight, customs, broker fees, and US delivery.
Landed cost estimator
Estimate your landed cost
Use your own supplier quote, freight quote, and duty assumption. This calculator does not classify products or pull live freight rates.
How the estimate works
The calculator adds product value, international shipping, duty/tariff assumptions, MPF, optional HMF for vessel imports, broker or forwarder fees, and US domestic delivery. It treats freight and broker charges as user-entered quotes because static public ranges are not reliable enough for an actual purchase decision.
Duty and tariff are calculated from the product value you enter. The tool does not choose a duty rate or classify your product under the HTS.
Common landed-cost surprises before ordering
Importers usually do not get surprised by the factory price. They get surprised by everything around it: freight that was only a rough estimate, a DDP quote that hides duty assumptions, port and warehouse charges that were not in the first quote, or a tariff change that turns a profitable SKU into a break-even order. Run those cases before you place the order.
Cheap product, expensive freight
A low unit price can still fail if the item is bulky, fragile, or shipped in small quantities. Compare the cost per unit after freight, domestic delivery, and expected damages or repacking, not only the supplier's unit price.
DDP quote with no breakdown
A DDP quote can be convenient, but it is hard to audit if the supplier or agent will not separate product cost, international freight, duty/tariff rate, customs fees, and delivery. If the all-in number looks good, ask what HTS code and duty assumptions were used before you rely on it.
Tariff change after quoting
Tariff exposure can move faster than your buying cycle. Keep a version of the estimate with your original duty/tariff rate and another with a higher stress-test rate. If the order only works at the optimistic rate, it is not a stable margin decision.
MOQ makes the first order look better than it is
A supplier may offer a better unit price at a higher MOQ, but that also increases cash tied up in inventory and raises the cost of a mistake. Use the quantity field to compare the first test order against the larger reorder, then decide whether the discount is worth the added exposure.
What to calculate before you pay a supplier
The point is not to produce a perfect customs entry. The point is to decide whether the order is worth pursuing, what assumptions need verification, and which quote gaps could become expensive later.
- Start with the Incoterm. EXW, FOB, CIF, and DDP move different costs and responsibilities between you and the supplier.
- Use the product value as the customs value assumption. If your transaction is unusual, ask a broker how the entered value should be handled.
- Enter the current freight quote. Do not use an old ocean rate, a vague supplier estimate, or a per-unit shipping guess for the final decision.
- Enter the duty/tariff rate you verified. Use USITC, USTR Section 301 information, and broker confirmation rather than a marketplace comment.
- Add broker, warehouse, and final delivery charges. Small shipments often get hurt by fixed fees more than by the headline freight rate.
Inputs and responsibility boundary
| Input | How this page uses it | Boundary | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merchandise Processing Fee (formal entry) | Most formal customs entries, subject to exceptions and annual fee adjustments. | Does not determine whether a shipment qualifies for formal entry treatment. | Federal Register, Customs User Fees To Be Adjusted for Inflation in Fiscal Year 2026 |
| Harbor Maintenance Fee (imports) | Commercial cargo imports arriving by vessel at covered U.S. ports. | May not apply to air, express, or non-vessel shipments. | U.S. Customs and Border Protection User Fee Table |
| User-entered duty and tariff rate | The product-specific HTS duty rate, China-specific tariff treatment, and any other trade remedies the user has verified. | The site does not classify products. | User-provided HTS, broker, or official-source assumption |
| Customs broker fee | Brokerage charges quoted by a customs broker or freight forwarder. | Not an official fixed government fee. | User broker or forwarder quote |
Pre-order cost checklist
Before treating the calculator result as a buying signal, collect these details in writing. If one is missing, the estimate is still useful, but it should be treated as a draft assumption rather than a decision-ready number.
- Supplier quote: Product value, MOQ, packaging cost, sample cost, tooling cost, payment terms, and Incoterm with named place.
- Cargo details: Carton count, carton dimensions, gross weight, net weight, CBM, pallet plan, and whether the goods are fragile or oversized.
- Shipping quote: Method, origin, destination, pickup, international freight, destination fees, customs brokerage, and final delivery.
- Duty/tariff rate: HTS code, normal duty rate, China-specific additional tariff treatment, and whether any exclusion or trade remedy applies.
- Fixed fees: Broker fee, MPF/HMF assumptions, warehouse handling, inspection, storage, appointment delivery, and any FBA prep or labeling charges.
- Margin test: Landed cost per unit, target selling price, marketplace fees, payment fees, returns, damage allowance, and minimum acceptable gross margin.
Frequently asked questions
What is landed cost?
Landed cost is the total cost of getting a product from your supplier to your door: the product price plus international freight, duty and tariffs, customs fees such as MPF and HMF, broker or forwarder fees, and US domestic delivery. It is the number to compare against your selling price — not the factory unit price.
How do you calculate landed cost from China?
Add product value, packaging or tooling charges, international freight, estimated duty and tariffs (customs value multiplied by your verified rate), MPF and HMF where they apply, broker or forwarder fees, and US delivery. Divide the total by units ordered to get landed cost per unit, then test it against your target selling price.
Do I need to include MPF and HMF?
MPF (Merchandise Processing Fee) applies to most US customs entries, and HMF (Harbor Maintenance Fee) applies only to ocean/vessel imports. The calculator treats them as separate line items; check the official CBP sources linked in the inputs table on this page for current rates and minimums.
Why does the calculator not fill in a duty rate for me?
A real duty result depends on HTS classification, country of origin, and current trade remedies — and US tariff rules for China have changed repeatedly since 2025. Auto-filling a guessed rate would look helpful but could make the estimate dangerously wrong, so the rate stays a user-verified assumption.
Is a DDP price the same as landed cost?
No. A DDP quote is a supplier’s all-in price that may hide its duty and freight assumptions. Landed cost is your own itemized estimate. Ask any DDP provider to break out product cost, freight, duty rate, customs fees, and delivery before relying on the all-in number.
Related cost guides
See current China–US shipping benchmarks and transit times Understand import duty inputsFree template
Download the landed cost & quote comparison template
A Google Sheets workbook to compare supplier quotes side by side, estimate your total landed cost, and stress-test your margin before you place the order.
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