For handmade makers
Price handmade work so your own time is paid
Most makers under-price because they forget their own hours. Enter your time as a cost and see the price that pays you properly.
Quick answer: how should handmade makers price a product?
Add every cost, then the fees that take a share of the price, then choose your margin. For hand-poured soy candle that works out at $21.98, leaving $7.69 profit. Skip a cost and the profit shrinks without you noticing.
Check your best seller in two minutes
Take the product you sell most. If its price was set by adding a mark-up to the materials and you have never counted marketplace fee or failed or rejected pieces allowance, card fees and monthly costs, it may earn less than you think. Some items may even lose money. You will not see it in your till, only in the end-of-month result.
The mark-up trap, worked through
Marking up only the materials by 35% gives a price of $5.13. After the other costs and the fees taken from that price, the sale loses $7.56, not the $7.69 you planned. The same costs priced properly give $21.98.
Illustration with the example costs below. Your numbers will differ.
Where handmade makers usually lose money
Your time
Add hours times your hourly rate as a cost. It is the line makers forget most.
Marketplace fees
Etsy, eBay and others take a share. Pick the preset and see the price you need.
Postage
Charge postage per order, not per piece.
Example: Hand-poured soy candle
These costs go in. The price comes out of the same engine the app uses.
- Materials$3.80
- Your time (hours x your hourly rate)$4.50
- Packaging$0.70
- Postage (per order)$3.20
- Etsy transaction fee6.5% of price
- Etsy payment processing3% of price
- Profit you want35% margin
Sell it for
$21.98
Profit per sale $7.69 on a total cost of $14.29.
What handmade makers see in the app
Real screens. Your own costs and products go in, the same kind of answers come out.
A ready cost list
Pick handmade makers and the usual cost lines appear. You fill in the amounts.
The exact price
Fees that depend on the price are solved exactly, so the profit you ask for is the profit you get.
Products that lose money
Check a whole price list at once and see which items run thin or below cost.
Already set up for handmade makers
Choose this business type in the calculator and these cost lines appear. You only fill in the amounts.
- Materials
- Your time (hours x your hourly rate)
- Packaging
- Postage
- Tool and equipment wear
- Photography and listing time
- Card terminal fee
- Marketplace fee
- Failed or rejected pieces allowance
- Marketplace advertising
- Studio rent (monthly)
- Tools and software (monthly)
- Craft fair stall fees (monthly)
- Insurance (monthly)
What handmade makers get with CostCal Pro
The pricing maths is free. Paid plans add bulk tools and store connections.
Exact selling price
FreeEnter the materials, other costs and fees, choose a margin, and get the price that keeps it.
Catalog check
FreeUpload a product export and see which products lose money or run on a thin margin.
Discount simulator
FreeSee the largest discount that still leaves a profit before you run a sale.
Break-even
FreeAdd monthly costs and see how many sales cover them.
Branded PDF report
FreeSend a clear cost and price breakdown to a customer or partner.
CSV import and typical costs
StarterBring in many products at once and start from ready cost templates.
Store connection
StarterLink calculations to products in your online store by SKU.
Weekly below-cost email
PremiumGet an email when a store product is selling below cost.
Apply prices to your store
PremiumPush approved prices to a connected WooCommerce store.
See plans and prices, all features or a sample report.
Questions handmade makers ask about pricing
How do I price hand-poured soy candle?
Add every cost (materials, your time (hours x your hourly rate), packaging, postage, etsy transaction fee, etsy payment processing), then choose the profit margin you want. With these example costs and a 35% margin, hand-poured soy candle should sell for $21.98, which leaves $7.69 profit on a total cost of $14.29. Your own costs will differ, so enter yours in the calculator.
What is the formula for a selling price that keeps your margin?
Price = fixed costs divided by (1 minus the percentage fees minus your margin). Here the fixed costs are $12.20, the percentage fees are 9.5% of the price and the margin is 35%. Percentage fees must be taken from the selling price, not from the cost, which is why a simple mark-up on cost usually leaves less profit than planned.
What costs do handmade makers often forget?
The easiest to miss are marketplace fee, failed or rejected pieces allowance, marketplace advertising, your own time, and monthly costs such as studio rent, tools and software, craft fair stall fees. Each one is a row in the Handmade / craft maker preset, so you only fill in the amounts.
How do I know if a product is losing money?
Compare the selling price with the total cost, including the share of the price taken by fees. If the price is lower than that total, the product loses money. Catalog check does this for a whole product export and marks every item that loses money or has a thin margin.
Can I price a batch?
Yes. Set the order quantity and cost the batch; the unit price is calculated for you.
Which marketplaces are covered?
Etsy, eBay, Amazon, Shopify, WooCommerce, TikTok Shop and Walmart, plus local shop and market stall.
Is the CostCal Pro calculator free for handmade makers?
Yes. The Free plan never expires and needs no card. It includes the exact price calculation, 5 saved calculations, 5 PDF reports and a catalog check of up to 50 products. Paid plans start at $49 a year and add more saved calculations, CSV import, store connection and API keys.
Last reviewed 2026-11-11. Example figures are illustrations, not advice.
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