Cake Pricing Calculator
A price for a cake or bake that covers ingredients, your hours, overheads and a margin — and what that is per serving.
Start with the ingredients, add your time at an hourly rate, then a share of overheads (power, packaging, equipment, insurance) as a percentage of those costs.
How the cake pricing calculator works
Start with the ingredients, add your time at an hourly rate, then a share of overheads (power, packaging, equipment, insurance) as a percentage of those costs. The margin goes on top of the total cost; a 20–30% margin is common for home bakers, more for elaborate decorated work. Divide by servings to sanity-check against the shops.
Formula: price = (ingredients + hours × rate) × (1 + overhead %) × (1 + margin %)
Worked examples
| Inputs | Price to charge | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 18 ingredients, 3 h at 25, 15% overhead, 25% margin | 133.69 | 133.69 |
| A tray of brownies: 8, 1 h at 20, no overhead, 30% | 36.4 | 36.40 |
| Decorated tiered cake, 12 hours | 655.2 | 655.20 |
FAQFrequently asked questions
What hourly rate should I use?
At least what you could earn elsewhere; many home bakers use the local minimum wage as a floor and more for skilled decorating. Time is the biggest cost in a decorated cake, so undercounting hours is the usual pricing mistake.
What counts as overheads?
Electricity and gas, boards, boxes and packaging, cleaning products, equipment wear, insurance, market or delivery fees, and a share of any registration costs. 10–20% of direct costs is typical.
Is a 25% margin enough?
For a hobby-plus business, yes. A commercial bakery needs more to cover rent and staff, and elaborate custom work commands 40% or more because demand for skilled decorators outstrips supply.
How should I use the per-serving figure?
As a sanity check against local bakeries and supermarkets. If your per-slice price is several times theirs, make sure the cake is clearly a different product — custom, decorated, higher quality.
Where these figures come from
- US FDA — Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures — the internal temperatures the roasting calculator targets
- NIST SP 811 — Guide for the Use of the International System of Units — the exact weight and volume conversions used throughout
- UK Food Standards Agency — food safety and labelling standards
Last checked: September 2026. Baking ratios follow standard baker's percentage practice; roasting guidance follows published safe internal temperatures.