From package prices to a price per piece
The sample is a batch of 24 chocolate chip cookies with sample prices; type your own over every one.
| Ingredient | Package | Recipe uses | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flour | $4.29 for 5 lb | 280 g | $0.53 |
| Butter | $5.49 for 1 lb | 8 oz | $2.75 |
| Sugar | $3.99 for 4 lb | 200 g | $0.44 |
| Eggs | $4.19 for 12 | 2 | $0.70 |
| Chocolate chips | $3.79 for 12 oz | 12 oz | $3.79 |
| Vanilla extract | $8.99 for 2 fl oz | 1 tsp | $0.75 |
The batch’s ingredients come to $8.95, so $0.37 a cookie. With $0.10 of packaging, 10 % overhead on the ingredients, and an hour of baking at $15 an hour spread over 24 cookies, each one costs $1.14. A 30 % profit on top gives $1.48 a cookie, $17.76 a dozen.
Pricing a bake
- Cost the recipe with the packages you actually bought, and again when prices change.
- Count your time, even if you start at a low rate: it is the cost people forget.
- Try two or three profit levels and compare them with prices around you.
For the bill to a customer there is the invoice generator, and for the notice board the tear-off flyer. More for side jobs and small businesses is on the Work page.
Questions
How do I work out what one cookie costs?
Cost each ingredient in the amount the recipe uses: the package price times the amount used, over the package size, in the same kind of unit. Add the ingredients up for the batch and divide by the number of pieces. Then add the packaging per piece, a share of overhead like the oven's electricity, and your time. This calculator does each step and shows it.
What do I do when the flour is in pounds and the recipe in grams?
Nothing: choose pounds for the package and grams for the recipe, and the calculator converts. Weight converts to weight (g, kg, oz, lb) and volume to volume (ml, l, fl oz, cups, tablespoons, teaspoons). A package bought by weight and used by volume, like flour in cups, cannot be converted without the flour's density, so weigh it or type the grams.
Should my time be part of the price?
If you want to be paid for baking, yes. The calculator counts your time as a cost, at the hourly rate you choose, and puts the profit on top of that. Set the rate to 0 to see what the ingredients and packaging alone cost.
What profit should I add?
That is your call and your market's. The calculator shows the price at the profit you type, so you can try a few and compare them with what others nearby charge. Check also the rules for selling home-baked food where you live.
Is anything uploaded?
No. The recipe and the prices stay in your browser and are remembered there for next time; clearing your browser data removes them. There is no account.