What each model keeps, per month.
Same effort, same number of sales. The difference is what's taken out before the money reaches you — stock, shipping, platform fees, returns.
Digital products$2,040/mo
$34 kept per sale · no stock, no shipping, no returnsFreelancing$1,170/mo
$26 per job · capped by your own hoursPrint on demand$480/mo
$8 per item after print and postageReselling / thrift flipping$660/mo
$11 per flip · sourcing time not includedPhysical dropshipping$331/mo
$6 per order minus $29/mo store fees and refundsAmazon FBA$237/mo
$7 per unit minus $39/mo and inventory you buy upfrontIllustrative margins on a $40 product, using published platform fees in 2026. A model of costs, not a forecast of income — your own numbers will differ, and no model earns anything without sales.