Cake Pricing Calculator — what to charge for a custom cake

What should you charge for that cake?

Enter the servings, what the ingredients and decoration cost, how many hours each stage takes and what an hour of your time is worth. You get the cost breakdown, the price that leaves your target margin after fees, the price per serving, a deposit amount, and a check of any price you already quoted that shows what you really took home per hour.

Calculated in this browser tab. No account, no upload. The example is made up. A planning estimate, not a quote or business advice.

1. The cake

Servings

Ingredients per serving ($)

Decoration materials ($)

Boards, box, packaging ($)

Baking hours

Decorating hours

Shopping, consultation, admin hours

Your hourly wage ($)

Delivery miles (round trip)

Cost per mile ($)

Delivery driving hours

Overhead (% of materials + labor)

Card / platform fee (% of price)

Target profit margin (% of price)

Price you quoted, optional ($)

Enter the details, or load the example, then click Price the cake.

The arithmetic, and what it leaves out

Materials = servings × ingredients per serving + decoration + packaging. Labor = baking + decorating + other hours × your hourly wage.
Delivery = round-trip miles × cost per mile + driving hours × your wage. Overhead = the overhead percentage × (materials + labor).
Price = total cost ÷ (1 − fee% − margin%). The fee and the margin are both shares of the price, so adding them to cost would under-charge.
Quoted-price check: after-fee income, minus materials, mileage and overhead, divided by all hours including driving. That is what an hour of your time actually earned.
Not modelled: cottage-food laws and licences, insurance, sales tax, tasting and test-bake costs, equipment wear beyond the overhead percentage, and rush or weekend surcharges.

Common questions

How do I price a custom cake?

Add ingredients, decoration and packaging, then your time at a real hourly wage, then delivery and overhead. Divide that cost by one minus your sales-fee percentage and your target profit margin. The result is the price that leaves you the margin you wanted after fees.

Why not just charge three times the ingredients?

Ingredient multiples ignore how long the cake takes. A fondant-covered cake can cost $40 in ingredients and eight hours of work; tripling $40 pays less than $15 an hour before decor, delivery and overhead.

How much should I charge per serving?

It depends on design, region and who is buying, so there is no single number. This tool shows your cost per serving and the price per serving at break-even, your target margin and a premium margin, so you can compare it to local bakeries before you quote.

Should I take a deposit?

Many cake makers take about half up front to hold the date and cover ingredients. The result shows 50% of the target price as a starting point; the policy is yours to set.

What does the quoted price check do?

Enter a price you already quoted. It shows what you keep after fees and after paying yourself, and the real hourly take-home, so you can see whether a past quote lost money.

What does it leave out?

Cottage-food laws and licences, insurance, sales tax, tasting costs, equipment wear beyond the overhead percentage, and rush or weekend surcharges. Add recurring ones to the overhead percentage.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Everything runs in your browser tab and nothing is sent anywhere. There are no accounts.

Is this business or legal advice?

No. It is a planning estimate from numbers you enter. Check your local rules on selling home-baked goods and set prices you can defend.