Product Pricing Calculator

Enter what a product truly costs you to make, and get a wholesale and retail price that actually pays you — updated live as you type.

📖 How it works & FAQ

Materials cost per unit ($)

Labor time per unit (hours)

Your hourly rate ($/hr)

Overhead (% of materials + labor)

Target profit margin (%)

Retail markup on wholesale

Why underpricing is the #1 handmade-seller mistake

Most makers price by gut feel: glance at competitors, knock a couple of dollars off, and hope. That approach almost always forgets two real costs — your labor and your overhead. If you spend 45 minutes on a piece and don’t pay yourself for it, you haven’t made a profit; you’ve bought yourself a low-wage job. This calculator forces every cost into the open first, then adds profit on top.

How the formula works

The calculator builds your price in layers. Materials plus labor (hours × your hourly rate) form your base cost. Overhead — packaging, fees, utilities, software, booth rent — is added as a percentage of that base. Your true cost per unit is the sum of all three. Wholesale price then uses the margin formula: cost ÷ (1 − margin%). That’s deliberately different from simple markup — a 30% margin means 30% of the selling price is profit, which is how buyers and accountants talk. Retail applies a multiplier to wholesale; 2× is the classic “keystone” markup stores expect, and it means you can sell to boutiques someday without losing money.

How to use it

Enter the materials cost for one finished unit, including waste.
Enter how long one unit takes and an hourly rate you’d accept as a wage.
Set overhead as a percentage — 10–20% is a common starting range.
Pick a target profit margin (25–40% is typical for handmade goods).
Choose a retail markup — keep keystone 2× unless your niche supports more — and read your wholesale and retail prices in the cards below.

Everything runs privately in your browser, and these numbers are estimates only — not financial, tax, or legal advice.

FAQ

What’s the difference between margin and markup?: Markup is a percentage added to cost; margin is the share of the final price that’s profit. A 30% margin equals roughly a 43% markup. This tool uses margin, the standard in wholesale conversations.
Why price for wholesale if I only sell direct on Etsy?: Selling at your retail price while only paying wholesale-level costs means direct sales earn you double profit — and you’re ready the day a shop asks to stock you.
What hourly rate should I use?: At minimum, your local living wage; $15–$30/hr is common for skilled handmade work. If the retail price looks too high, speed up production — don’t cut your wage.
The suggested retail price seems high — should I lower it?: Try trimming material costs or production time first. Cutting price below true cost means every sale loses money, no matter how many you make.

Estimates only — not financial, tax, insurance, or legal advice.