When must an online shop display a unit price?
A missing unit price is one of the most common grounds for warnings in German e-commerce. It affects every shop selling goods by quantity — coffee, detergent, cable.
Short answer
- If goods are offered by weight, volume, length or area, the unit price must appear next to the total price (§ 4 PAngV).
- The reference quantity is 1 kilogram, 1 litre, 1 metre or 1 square metre.
- Statements such as per 100 g are no longer permitted as a unit price.
- The unit price must be unambiguous, clearly recognisable and legible right next to the total price.
- Breaches of the PAngV are administrative offences and can additionally trigger a warning letter.
Examples from practice
Total price and matching unit price
| Product | Total price | Unit price |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee, 500 g | €8.90 | €17.80 per kg |
| Detergent, 1.5 l | €6.45 | €4.30 per l |
| Cable, 5 m | €12.50 | €2.50 per m |
| T-shirt | €19.90 | No unit price, sold per piece |
Where the unit price has to appear
- On the product page right next to the total price, not buried in the details.
- In category and search listings, because the price is already shown there.
- In any advertising that quotes prices, such as landing pages and newsletters.
- Per variant where variants exist — 250 g and 1 kg need different unit prices.
Common mistakes
- Showing the unit price only on the product page, not in the category listing.
- Miscalculating the total quantity for sets and multipacks.
- Placing the unit price in small grey type below the description.
- Changing sale prices while leaving the unit price at its old value.
How 4shopy helps
- Fill quantity and unit are product fields; the unit price is calculated from them automatically.
- The calculated unit price appears wherever the price is shown, including listings.
- With discounts and variants the unit price follows automatically instead of being maintained by hand.