Cake & Cookie Pricing Calculator
Price a cake, cookies, cupcakes or any dessert order from what it really costs you: ingredients, your time, packaging, delivery, overhead and payment fees. Set the profit margin you want to keep and the price updates as you type.
Free to use. No sign-in, no email and no card. Your numbers stay in this browser.
Your recommended price
- What are you pricing?
- Ingredients
- Your time
- Packaging and delivery
- Overhead and payment fees
- Profit margin
Profit margin vs markup
Profit margin is the share of the selling price you keep as profit: profit ÷ price. Markup is profit added on top of your costs: profit ÷ cost. The same percentage gives two different prices.
If an order costs you $80.00, a 20% margin means a price of $100.00: you keep $20.00, which is 20% of the price. A 20% markup gives $96.00: you keep $16.00, which is only 16.7% of the price.
This calculator uses true profit margin, after payment fees, and shows the matching markup next to it.
The formula
Each line is rounded to the cent and the total cost is the sum of the lines, so the breakdown always adds up. A price is a starting point: check it against your local market and your state's cottage food rules.
- Ingredients + waste allowance (a percentage of ingredients, for test bakes, trimmings and breakage)
- + Labor: baking and decorating hours × your hourly rate
- + Overhead, entered one of two ways (never both): a percentage of ingredients, waste and labor, or a flat amount per order. It covers utilities, equipment wear, insurance and similar costs
- + Packaging and supplies + delivery = total cost
- Price = (total cost + fixed payment fee) ÷ (1 − profit margin − payment fee %)
- Profit = price − total cost − payment fees, so profit ÷ price equals your margin
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between profit margin and markup?
Profit margin is profit divided by the selling price. Markup is profit divided by your costs. A 20% margin is the same as a 25% markup, and a 20% markup is only about a 16.7% margin, so a price set with markup leaves you less profit than the same percentage of margin.
How does this calculator work out my price?
It adds up your ingredients, waste allowance, labor, overhead, packaging and delivery, then sets the price so that, after payment fees, the profit is the margin you chose. Price = (total cost + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − margin − fee percentage).
What should I include in overhead?
Costs of running your kitchen that aren't tied to one order, such as utilities, equipment wear, insurance, licenses and software. Enter overhead either as a percentage of ingredients, waste and labor, or as a flat dollar amount per order; only the method you choose is counted. Packaging and delivery are entered separately so they're never counted as overhead too.
How do payment processing fees affect my price?
Card processors usually keep a percentage of each payment and sometimes a fixed amount per transaction. Enter your own processor's rates and the calculator raises the price so your profit margin is still what you chose after those fees. Check your processor's current pricing; rates vary.
How do I price per serving, per cookie or per dozen?
Enter how many servings or pieces the order makes. The calculator divides the recommended price by that number, and for cookies and cupcakes it also shows the price per dozen.
Is the calculator really free?
Yes. There's no sign-in, no email and no card, and it doesn't use AI. Your entries are saved only in this browser so they're still there when you come back, and you can clear them at any time.
Decorated Cookie Pricing Calculator · Cottage food laws by state · Bakery business plan · Whisk Manager FAQ
Love having your costs figured out?
Whisk Manager can help you keep your recipes, pricing, quotes and orders together. Ingredient-by-ingredient recipe costing, the overhead calculator and profit per order are part of Studio Pro.