Every number our Craft Pricing Calculator and guides show comes from the formulas on this page. We publish them so you can check any result by hand, spot an assumption that does not fit your shop, and tell us if something is wrong.
- Cost per item =
materials × (1 + waste %)+labor+packaging+overhead share - Retail =
cost ÷ (1 − target margin)(default 50%, so cost × 2), and wholesale =retail ÷ 2. Or use the classic rule:wholesale = cost × 2,retail = wholesale × 2 - Market check (optional) = compare your price with what similar items sell for, and see your
pay per hourat that price - Fees =
price × fee %+fixed fees, worked out separately for Etsy, craft fairs, your own website and wholesale - Net profit =
price − fees − cost. Your wage is already inside cost, so this is profit on top of your pay.
Step 1: Cost per item
The calculator adds four kinds of cost. Each one is worked out per finished item, so a batch of 12 candles and a single crochet toy are treated the same way.
| Cost | Formula | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | (price paid ÷ package size × amount used) for each material, added up, ÷ items in the batch | You pay for the whole bag or skein but only use part of it. This charges each item for what it actually uses. |
| Waste | materials × (1 + waste %), capped at 80% | Spills, test pours, failed pieces and offcuts are a real cost. The default is 5%. |
| Labor | hourly rate × (making minutes + admin minutes) ÷ 60 ÷ items in the batch | Admin time (photos, listing, packing, messages) is work too. The calculator warns you if your rate is below the US federal minimum wage of $7.25. |
| Packaging | the packaging cost you enter per item | Boxes, tissue, labels and inserts that leave with the order. |
| Overhead | monthly overhead ÷ items you sell per month (all products) | Tools, software, rent and subscriptions spread across everything you sell. |
The $7.25 figure is the current US federal minimum wage published by the US Department of Labor. Many states set a higher minimum, so treat it as a floor, not a target.
Step 2: Wholesale and retail price
You can choose one of two pricing methods in the calculator.
- Target margin (default): retail = cost ÷ (1 − margin), with the margin capped at 90%. The default is 50%, which means retail is twice your cost. Wholesale = unrounded retail ÷ 2, because shops usually expect to double the price they pay you. If that wholesale price barely covers your cost, the calculator warns you.
- Classic multiplier: wholesale = cost × multiplier (default 2, never below 1). Retail = unrounded wholesale × 2. This is the common handmade rule of “cost × 2 for wholesale, wholesale × 2 for retail”. It leaves room for stockists, sales and coupons, but it also multiplies your labor by four. See why it is no longer the default.
Rounding. Prices are rounded up, never down, so rounding can only add profit. The default rounds to the next price ending in .99 (for example $22.82 becomes $22.99). You can also round to the nearest $0.50, to whole dollars, or turn rounding off.
Step 3: Fees by sales channel
Fees depend on where you sell. The calculator applies each percentage to the selling price, and on Etsy also to the shipping you charge. Fixed fees are added once per order. Every rate below is a default you can edit to match your own account.
| Channel | Default fees | What they apply to | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Etsy | $0.20 listing + 6.5% transaction + 3% + $0.25 payment processing (US) | Transaction fee: item price + shipping + gift wrap. Processing: total order incl. shipping. | Etsy Fees & Payments Policy, Etsy Payments Policy |
| Etsy Offsite Ads | 0% by default; 15% or 12% if the sale came from an ad | 15% under $10,000 sales in the past 365 days, 12% at or above. Capped at $100 per order. | Etsy Fees & Payments Policy |
| Craft fair | 2.6% + $0.15 card fee + booth fee ÷ items you expect to sell | Each card sale; the booth cost is spread over the event. | Square pricing (tap, dip or swipe) |
| Own website | 2.9% + $0.30 | Each online card sale. | Shopify pricing (Basic plan, online standard rate) |
| Wholesale | None | Stockists pay by invoice; no marketplace fees. | — |
Minimum price and target price
For each channel the calculator also shows two safety numbers:
- Minimum price (break-even): (cost + fixed fees + fees on shipping) ÷ (1 − fee %) when percentage fees are uncapped. The result is rounded up to the next cent, never down. Below this you lose money on every sale.
- Price to keep your profit: (cost + fixed fees + fees on shipping + your target profit) ÷ (1 − fee %) when percentage fees are uncapped, then rounded up using your price-ending choice and to at least the next cent. Target profit is retail minus cost.
We divide by (1 − fee %) instead of adding the fee percentage on top. Adding 9.5% to a price does not cover a 9.5% fee, because the fee is also charged on the extra amount. Dividing fixes that.
For Etsy Offsite Ads, the calculator separates the uncapped transaction and processing fees from the ad fee. The ad component is the selected ad rate multiplied by the item price plus shipping charged, capped at $100 for the modeled single-item order. It solves the minimum and target price on the appropriate side of that cap. The same fee calculation is used in the sales-channel and market-price results. The cap applies only to the ad component, not to all Etsy fees.
Worked example: an 8 oz soy candle
This is the candle preset in the calculator (open it with these numbers). Batch of 12 candles, $20 an hour, 90 minutes making and 45 minutes admin per batch, $1.10 packaging, $150 monthly overhead across 120 items a month, 5% waste.
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Materials for the batch | soy wax $32 ÷ 160 oz × 96 oz = $19.20; fragrance $24 ÷ 16 oz × 9.6 oz = $14.40; jars $22; wicks $9 ÷ 100 × 12 = $1.08; labels $8 ÷ 24 × 12 = $4.00 | $60.68 |
| Materials per candle + 5% waste | $60.68 ÷ 12 × 1.05 | $5.31 |
| Labor per candle | $20 × (90 + 45) ÷ 60 ÷ 12 | $3.75 |
| Packaging | entered per item | $1.10 |
| Overhead share | $150 ÷ 120 | $1.25 |
| Cost per candle | $5.31 + $3.75 + $1.10 + $1.25 | $11.41 |
| Retail (50% margin) | $11.41 ÷ (1 − 0.50) = $22.82, rounded to .99 | $22.99 |
| Wholesale | $22.82 ÷ 2 = $11.41, rounded to .99 | $11.99 |
| Etsy fees | $22.99 × (6.5% + 3%) + $0.20 + $0.25 | $2.63 |
| Etsy net profit | $22.99 − $2.63 − $11.41 | $8.95 (39% margin) |
| Etsy minimum price | ($11.41 + $0.45) ÷ (1 − 9.5%) | $13.11 |
| Market check | median of 19 similar Etsy listings: $21.00; $22.99 ÷ $21.00 | 109% of market |
| Pay per hour at $21.00 | ($21.00 − $2.45 fees − $7.66 non-labor cost) ÷ 0.1875 hours | $58.11 |
Small differences of a cent can appear in hand calculations because the calculator keeps full decimals until the final step.
Test cases we re-run after every change
Each preset is a fixed test case. When we change the calculator, we load every preset in a browser and check that the results match this table before publishing.
| Preset | Cost per item | Wholesale | Retail | Etsy fees | Etsy net profit | Etsy median | Pay per hour at median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 oz soy candle | $11.41 | $11.99 | $22.99 | $2.63 | $8.95 | $21.00 | $58.11 |
| Cold process soap bar | $6.87 | $6.99 | $13.99 | $1.78 | $5.34 | $8.59 | $22.70 |
| Beaded bracelet | $9.44 | $9.99 | $18.99 | $2.25 | $7.30 | $33.38 | $101.29 |
| Crochet amigurumi toy | $71.54 | $71.99 | $143.99 | $14.13 | $58.32 | $48.36 | $9.74 |
The market check, and why the default is a 50% margin
A cost formula tells you what a price must be to pay you. It cannot tell you whether buyers will pay it. So the calculator lets you enter what similar items sell for and shows three things: your price as a percentage of that market price, your Etsy profit if you sold at the market price, and your pay per hour at the market price:
pay per hour = (market price − Etsy fees at that price − cost + labor per item) ÷ hours per item, where hours per item = (making + admin minutes) ÷ 60 ÷ items in the batch.
It warns you when your price is more than 50% above the market, says there may be room to charge more when it is over 20% below, and flags a market price that would pay you less than your own hourly rate or the US federal minimum wage of $7.25.
How we got the example market prices. On October 11, 2026 we checked Etsy search results for each example product and kept only single items that match the preset (one 8 oz soy candle, one soap bar, one amigurumi toy, one beaded bracelet), leaving out sets, bundles and patterns. We used the median full list price, not the sale price: candle $21.00 (19 listings), soap bar $8.59 (13), amigurumi toy $48.36 (20), beaded bracelet $33.38 (26). It is a small sample from one day, so treat it as a sanity check, not a price list.
Until October 12, 2026 the default was the classic ×2 ×2 rule. Against this sample it priced the candle at $45.99 (2.2 times the market), the soap at $27.99 (3.3 times) and the crochet toy at $286.99 (5.9 times). Only the bracelet ($37.99, 1.1 times) was close. A 50% margin brings the candle to 9% above the market. It still shows two real problems the classic rule hid: the soap bar costs too much to make at this batch size, and the crochet toy takes about 3.4 hours, so at the market price it pays $9.74 an hour. No formula fixes that. Faster patterns, smaller pieces or a design buyers will pay more for do. Cutting your hourly rate to reach a lower price just hides the loss.
What the calculator does not include
- Sales tax, VAT and income tax. In most US states Etsy collects sales tax from the buyer. Etsy’s payment processing fee is charged on the total including tax, which the calculator does not add.
- Regulatory operating fees and the 2.5% currency conversion fee that Etsy charges some sellers outside the US.
- Etsy Ads (daily budget), shipping labels you buy, discounts and refunds.
- Demand. The market check compares your price with a typical price you enter, but only real sales tell you whether people will pay it.
Results are estimates for planning. They are not tax, legal or accounting advice.
How we keep these numbers current
- We re-check every default fee against the platform’s own fee page at least every three months, and as soon as a platform announces a change.
- Every guide states the date its fee figures were checked and links back here.
- We only use the platforms’ own published pages as fee sources, never another blog’s summary.
Found a rate or a result that looks wrong? Contact us with the numbers you entered and a link to the fee page you are using. We check it against the source and update this page with the date.
We use these same formulas when we test other pricing tools. See how we review maker tools for the test steps and scoring.
Change log
- October 14, 2026: Corrected the Offsite Ads cap in fees and minimum-price calculations. Minimum prices now round up to cents. Preset links initialize once, then reload restores your edits. Blank-product selection clears product-specific data. Invalid inputs clear results and disable results copying, CSV export and printing until corrected. Existing pricing methods, defaults and design are unchanged.
- October 12, 2026: Default pricing method changed from classic ×2 ×2 to a 50% target margin. In margin mode, wholesale is now half of retail (it was halfway between cost and retail). Added the market check and pay per hour, with example market prices from an October 11, 2026 Etsy sample. Test cases updated.
- October 11, 2026: Page published. Etsy, Square and Shopify rates checked against their published fee pages. Test cases recorded for the candle, soap, jewelry and crochet presets.