Pricing one box of cookies
Say this batch fills 12 boxes. You spend 24 minutes making and packing it at $12 per hour. Your monthly bills come to $120, without production wages; normal monthly active production time is 20 hours. Here's what that puts into each box.
- Ingredients
- $18.00 for the batch ÷ 12 boxes = $1.50 per box
- Packaging
- Box and label = $0.40 per box
- Production labor
- 24 minutes ÷ 60 × $12 per hour ÷ 12 boxes = $0.40 per box
- Share of monthly costs
- $120 ÷ 20 hours × (24 minutes ÷ 60) ÷ 12 boxes = $0.20 per box. The $120 monthly fixed-cost total excludes production wages.
- Breakeven
- $1.50 + $0.40 + $0.40 + $0.20 = $2.50 per box
For a 30% target margin: $2.50 ÷ 0.70 = $3.5714. The calculator rounds this to $3.57 per box, giving an actual margin of 29.97% after rounding.
We're using 30% to show the calculation, not to tell you what your margin should be. Use your own costs and check the fees or other expenses you haven't entered.
Breakeven comes before the price tag
Before adding profit, cover the ingredients, packaging, your working time, and the item's share of monthly bills. That total is the break-even cost here. Sell for exactly that amount and there's nothing left above the costs you entered.
If you leave monthly fixed costs at zero, the calculator won't add any overhead. It still counts your hands-on time at the hourly rate you enter.
Margin is not the same as multiplying cost
Adding 30% to a $2.50 cost gives $3.25. But only about 23.1% of that price is left above the cost—not 30%. For a 30% target margin, divide $2.50 by 0.70 instead, then round the price to cents.
Prefer a set amount on each box? Choose a target profit per item. The calculator adds that amount to the same complete cost.
Check the costs the form cannot know for you
Count mixing, shaping, decorating, packing, and cleanup as active production time. Don't add unattended oven or cooling time. Waste is not a separate input, so check the ingredients used and the number of good items you can sell before quoting.
Check the receipt and count how many pieces you can really sell. The calculator can do the arithmetic; it can't tell you what customers in your area will pay.
Before you put a price on the menu
What is the difference between cost and breakeven here?
The calculator's breakeven amount is its complete calculated cost per sellable item: ingredients, packaging, production labor, and fixed-cost allocation.
Can I choose my own margin?
Yes. Enter a target margin below 100%. The example on this page does not set a default margin for your business.
Does the result include my decorating hours?
Yes, when you include decorating in the batch's active production time and enter your production hourly rate.
Need to check the inputs first?
If the result looks too low, check whether you missed the box, labels, or a smaller-than-planned batch yield. Then run the price again.