indielySteam revenue and fee calculator
See what remains after discounts, refunds, taxes and platform fees. Change your assumptions, compare unit scenarios and find how many copies could recover your budget.
- No signup
- Editable deductions
- CSV export
Start with your own sales target, not an App ID. A public Steam page cannot reveal a game's exact revenue.
See the formula and worked example ↓Example values are illustrative, not Steam benchmarks. Currency selection changes labels only; it does not convert prices.
Calculation runs in your browser. No Steam account connection is needed.
Follow the money, step by step.
Revenue breakdown
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Units × list price | |
| Less: discount | |
| Less: refunds and chargebacks | |
| Less: included tax or adjustment | |
| Less: platform share | |
| Developer share |
Can this scenario recover your budget?
- Developer share per modeled unit
- Whole units to recover the budget
- Developer share minus your budget
Break-even assumes the same average price and deductions for every unit. This is budget recovery, not accounting profit; publisher share, withholding and other costs are not included unless you model them separately.
What if you sell fewer or more copies?
Only unit count changes. These are arithmetic comparisons, not probabilities or forecasts.
| Scenario | Units | Customer spend | Developer share | After budget |
|---|
A formula you can inspect.
- Customer spend = units × average list price × (1 − discount).
- After refunds = customer spend × (1 − refund rate).
- For tax included in the price: divide after-refund spend by (1 + tax rate). For an effective adjustment: multiply by (1 − adjustment rate).
- Developer share = after-tax amount × (1 − platform share).
- Break-even units = budget ÷ developer share per unit, rounded up.
A 20% included VAT rate is not a 20% deduction: 120 including 20% VAT contains 20 tax and 100 before tax.
Worked example: 1,000 copies
Using the example inputs: $14.99 list price, 10% discount, 8% refunds, 20% included VAT and a 30% platform share:
- Customer spend after discount: $13,491.00
- Refund deduction: $1,079.28
- Included VAT removed: $2,068.62
- Platform share: $3,102.93
- Developer share before other costs: $7,240.17
- A $1,000 budget requires 139 whole units at the same assumptions.
Displayed amounts are rounded to cents. Calculations keep full precision.
Steam fees, tax and actual payouts
Valve's reporting documentation separates gross revenue, adjustments such as returns and taxes, and the revenue share applied to net revenue. This tool models that sequence with simplified assumptions.
What Steam takes from a game developer
- Revenue share on net revenue. Valve's payments FAQ says gross revenue less adjustments (returns, chargebacks and taxes) gives net revenue, which "is multiplied by the revenue share %". VAT and sales tax are therefore removed before the share is applied.
- The standard share is 30%. Valve's tiered rates, as reported, drop to 25% on a game's revenue between $10 million and $50 million and to 20% above $50 million. Your Steam Distribution Agreement is the binding source.
- Steam Direct fee: $100 per game. It is not refundable, but Valve recoups it to you once the game reaches $1,000 in adjusted gross revenue.
- This is not the Community Market fee. Fees for selling items on the Steam Community Market are a different system and are not modeled here.
Actual regional prices, currency conversion, tax treatment and your agreement can change the result. Platform share is editable; the example 30% must not be treated as the correct rate for every contract.
Sources: Steamworks reporting and payments FAQ, tax FAQ and Steam Direct fee. Reviewed November 1, 2026.
Choose a realistic unit assumption
If your game has not launched, use your own low and high unit scenarios. The Steam wishlist calculator can help model units from a wishlist count and a conversion assumption you choose.
Revenue estimates based only on public reviews or ownership ranges cannot reveal exact sales. This tool uses numbers you enter rather than presenting another game's income as fact.
Compare scenarios before committing a budget, and use your Steamworks reports and professional accounting for actual settlements. This calculator does not calculate income tax or provide tax advice.
Steam revenue calculator questions
How much money would 1,000 Steam sales make?
It depends on price, discounts, refunds, taxes and your revenue share. The example above produces $7,240.17 before other costs; change the inputs to model your game.
Does this calculate Steam's marketplace selling fee?
No. It models revenue from selling a game on the Steam store. It does not calculate Steam Community Market item fees.
Can I use a Steam App ID to find exact revenue?
No. Public store pages do not disclose exact unit sales or payouts. Enter your own units and assumptions, or use your private Steamworks reports.
Is the Steam Direct fee included?
Not automatically. Steam Direct costs $100 per game; it is not refundable but is recouped once the game earns $1,000 in adjusted gross revenue. Add it to your budget field if you want to include it. See the official Steam Direct fee documentation.
Why is developer share different from profit?
Developer share here is the amount after modeled refunds, tax and platform share. Costs, publisher agreements, withholding and income taxes can reduce the final amount. The after-budget figure subtracts only the single budget you entered.
Can I save or export my calculation?
Use Download scenario CSV to keep the assumptions and results. The page does not save inputs to an Indiely account; refreshing restores the example values.
How much does Steam take from each sale?
The standard revenue share is 30% of net revenue, meaning after returns, chargebacks and taxes are removed. Reported tiers lower it to 25% on revenue between $10 million and $50 million and 20% above that. Set the platform share field to the rate in your own agreement.
Does Steam take its cut before or after VAT?
After. Valve deducts applicable adjustments, including taxes, from gross revenue and then applies the revenue share to the resulting net revenue. In this calculator, choose "Remove VAT included in customer price" to model that order.
Improve the Steam page behind your sales target.
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