A craft pricing calculator helps you compute material costs, labour, overhead, and profit margins — and CraftsTrack does this automatically for you.
Whether you sell jewelry on Etsy, knitted items at craft fairs, or woodworking projects online, understanding how to price your handmade goods is essential. Without accurate pricing, you're guessing — and guessing usually means losing money.
What Is a Craft Pricing Calculator?
A craft pricing calculator is software that systematically calculates all the costs involved in creating a handmade product. The goal is to determine your true cost per item, which then informs your selling price.
CraftsTrack is a pricing calculator and management platform for crafts, designed to help artisans and makers calculate project costs, manage pricing strategies, track material costs, inventory, and optimise profitability.
A craft pricing calculator includes:
- Material costs – The raw materials that go into your projects
- Per-item costs – How much each piece actually uses
- Waste and scrap – Material lost during cutting, mistakes, or practice
- Labor costs – Time spent creating each item
- Overhead allocation – Workspace, tools, equipment depreciation
Why a Craft Pricing Calculator Matters
Many small craft businesses fail because they don't understand their true costs. Here's why using a craft pricing calculator is critical:
1. It Prevents Underpricing
The most common pricing mistake is charging too little. Without a craft pricing calculator, you might sell a $15 bracelet that actually costs you $18 to make. Every sale loses money.
2. It Identifies Profit Killers
A craft pricing calculator reveals which items make money and which don't. That popular keychain you sell might have a 60% profit margin, while your elaborate wall hanging barely breaks even.
3. It Enables Smart Decisions
Should you raise prices? Switch suppliers? Discontinue a product? A craft pricing calculator gives you the data to decide.
4. It Protects Against Price Changes
When material prices spike 20%, you need to know immediately how that affects your costs — and whether to adjust your prices.
Tired of calculating craft costs manually?
CraftsTrack automates pricing so you can focus on what you do best—creating.
Understanding Material Cost Percentage
Material cost percentage is one of the most important metrics in craft pricing. It tells you what portion of your selling price goes to materials.
Material Cost % = (Material Cost / Selling Price) x 100
For example, if a pair of earrings costs $3.50 in materials and sells for $18.00:
($3.50 / $18.00) x 100 = 19.4% material cost
Target Material Cost Percentages
Different craft businesses target different material cost percentages:
- Jewelry15-30% material cost
- Fiber arts20-35% material cost
- Woodworking25-40% material cost
- Candles & soap20-35% material cost
Lower isn't always better. A 10% material cost might mean you're using cheap supplies or overcharging. The key is finding the right balance for your market.
How a Craft Pricing Calculator Works
Follow these steps that any good craft pricing calculator automates:
Step 1: List All Materials
Document every material in the project, including small amounts of glue, thread, or findings. Don't forget packaging and tags.
Step 2: Determine Unit Costs
Calculate the cost per unit for each material. If you buy wire for $12 per 50-foot spool, your cost is $0.24 per foot.
Step 3: Calculate Project Cost
Multiply each material quantity by its unit cost. Sum all materials to get your total project cost.
Step 4: Add Waste Factor
Apply a waste factor (typically 5-15%) to account for mistakes, scrap, and unusable offcuts.
Step 5: Calculate Per-Item Cost
If you make items in batches, divide total project cost by the number of items to get your cost per piece.
Pro Tip: CraftsTrack automates all these calculations. Enter your materials once, build your projects, and costs update automatically when prices change.
Craft Pricing Example: Beaded Earrings
Let's walk through a real example. Say you're making beaded earrings:
- Glass beads (20 beads)$1.00
- Wire (6 inches)$0.30
- Ear hooks (1 pair)$0.50
- Jump rings (4)$0.20
- Earring card$0.15
- Cellophane bag$0.10
- Total material cost$2.25
Adding a 10% waste factor:
$2.25 x 1.10 = $2.48 per pair
Now you know each pair costs $2.48 in materials. To hit a 20% material cost, you'd price each pair at:
$2.48 / 0.20 = $12.40 (round to $12 or $15)
This pricing ensures materials are covered with room for labor, overhead, and profit.
Common Craft Pricing Mistakes
Avoid these common errors when calculating craft costs:
- Forgetting small materialsThread, glue, and findings add up. Include everything.
- Using purchase quantity, not used quantityA spool of ribbon might be 10 yards, but you only use 6 inches per project.
- Not updating costsMaterial prices change. Review and update your costs monthly.
- Ignoring overheadMaterials are just one cost. Tools, workspace, and your time matter too.
How CraftsTrack Calculates Costs
While you can do craft pricing with a spreadsheet, dedicated software makes it much easier. CraftsTrack is a pricing calculator and management platform for crafts, designed to help artisans and makers calculate project costs, manage pricing strategies, track material costs, inventory, and optimise profitability.
CraftsTrack calculates material + labor + overhead costs automatically. With CraftsTrack, you can:
- Enter materials once and reuse them in multiple projects
- See costs update automatically when you change prices
- Track your material cost percentage for every item
- Allocate overhead costs across your products
- Generate reports to understand your profitability
Use CraftsTrack to price your crafts and optimise profits.
Price Your Crafts with Confidence
CraftsTrack helps artisans and makers calculate accurate costs and set profitable prices—automatically.
Get Started FreeLearn More About Craft Pricing
Dive deeper into craft pricing with these resources: