Ceramic Tile Cost Calculator

The material and firing cost of a batch of hand-made tiles, per tile and per square metre.

Hand-made tiles are costed per tile and sold per square metre, and the two figures have to agree or the price is wrong whichever way the customer asks. This calculator takes the clay weight and the glaze volume per tile, spreads a firing cost and your working time over the tiles in a load, allows for breakages, and returns the cost per tile, the cost per square metre and a suggested price for both.

At a glance

What you enter: Tile length, Tile width, Grout joint, Wet clay per tile, Clay price per kilogram, Glaze slurry per tile, Glaze price per litre of slurry, Tiles in one kiln load, Cost of both firings for one load, Your working time per tile, Your time per hour, Breakage and second allowance, Markup on cost
What you get: Area of one tile, Tiles per square metre of finished wall, Whole tiles to order for a square metre, Clay cost per tile, Glaze cost per tile, Firing cost per tile, Your time per tile, Direct cost per tile, Cost carried by the breakages, Total cost per tile, Suggested price per tile, Cost per square metre, Suggested price per square metre, Margin, Profit from one kiln load, Return per hour at the suggested price, Tiles that have to sell to cover a load, Cost of the tiles ordered for a square metre
Formula shown: Yes, every step, right below your results.
Cost and privacy: Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.

See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓

Tile length mm

Tile width mm

Grout joint mm

The joint the tiles will be laid with. Used for the area one tile covers on a wall.

Wet clay per tile g

Weigh a slab before cutting rather than estimating from the finished tile.

Clay price per kilogram

Glaze slurry per tile ml

About 40 to 60 millilitres per 100 square centimetres at a working thickness.

Glaze price per litre of slurry

A slurry at a specific gravity of 1.45 contains about 40 percent dry material by weight. The glaze mixing calculator gives the dry figure if you prefer to cost it that way.

Tiles in one kiln load

Flat tiles pack badly, so a shelf holds far fewer than its area suggests. Use a figure you have really achieved.

Cost of both firings for one load

Bisque plus glaze firing. The kiln cost calculator gives the electricity figure.

Your working time per tile min

Rolling, cutting, cleaning, glazing and finishing. Measure it over a batch rather than guessing one tile.

Your time per hour

Breakage and second allowance %

Ten to twenty percent is realistic for flat work, because one flawed tile spoils a uniform run.

Markup on cost times

Two to three times the total cost is usual for handmade production work.

Reset

Results are estimates for general information only, always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.

How to use the Ceramic Tile Cost Calculator

1 Enter Tile length (mm)
2 Enter Tile width (mm)
3 Enter Grout joint (mm), The joint the tiles will be laid with. Used for the area one tile covers on a wall.
4 Enter Wet clay per tile (g), Weigh a slab before cutting rather than estimating from the finished tile.
5 Enter Clay price per kilogram
6 Enter Glaze slurry per tile (ml), About 40 to 60 millilitres per 100 square centimetres at a working thickness.
7 Enter Glaze price per litre of slurry, A slurry at a specific gravity of 1.45 contains about 40 percent dry material by weight. The glaze mixing calculator gives the dry figure if you prefer to cost it that way.
8 Enter Tiles in one kiln load, Flat tiles pack badly, so a shelf holds far fewer than its area suggests. Use a figure you have really achieved.
9 Enter Cost of both firings for one load, Bisque plus glaze firing. The kiln cost calculator gives the electricity figure.
10 Enter Your working time per tile (min), Rolling, cutting, cleaning, glazing and finishing. Measure it over a batch rather than guessing one tile.
11 Enter Your time per hour
12 Enter Breakage and second allowance (%), Ten to twenty percent is realistic for flat work, because one flawed tile spoils a uniform run.
13 Enter Markup on cost (times), Two to three times the total cost is usual for handmade production work.
14 Press Calculate. You get Area of one tile, Tiles per square metre of finished wall, Whole tiles to order for a square metre, Clay cost per tile, Glaze cost per tile, Firing cost per tile, Your time per tile, Direct cost per tile, Cost carried by the breakages, Total cost per tile, Suggested price per tile, Cost per square metre, Suggested price per square metre, Margin, Profit from one kiln load, Return per hour at the suggested price, Tiles that have to sell to cover a load, Cost of the tiles ordered for a square metre, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
15 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result, that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.

Worked examples

Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.

A batch of 100 mm tiles

Sixty tiles in a load, 15 percent breakage allowance and a 2.6 times markup.

You enter

Tile length: 100 mm
Tile width: 100 mm
Grout joint: 3 mm
Wet clay per tile: 75 g
Clay price per kilogram: $2.40
Glaze slurry per tile: 50 ml
Glaze price per litre of slurry: $18.00
Tiles in one kiln load: 60
Cost of both firings for one load: $20.00
Your working time per tile: 6 min
Your time per hour: $20.00
Breakage and second allowance: 15%
Markup on cost: 2.60 times

You get

Area of one tile: 100.00 sq cm
Tiles per square metre of finished wall: 94.26
Whole tiles to order for a square metre: 95
Clay cost per tile: $0.18
Glaze cost per tile: $0.90
Firing cost per tile: $0.33
Your time per tile: $2.00
Direct cost per tile: $3.41
Cost carried by the breakages: $0.51
Total cost per tile: $3.93
Suggested price per tile: $10.21
Cost per square metre: $370.00
Suggested price per square metre: $962.00
Margin: 61.5%
Profit from one kiln load: $376.83
Return per hour at the suggested price: $82.81
Tiles that have to sell to cover a load: 23.08
Cost of the tiles ordered for a square metre: $372.91

Direct cost about 4.00 per tile, of which 2.00 is your own time, and 4.60 with the breakage allowance. About 94 tiles cover a square metre, so the cost is 434 per square metre and the suggested price about 1,130.

Open this example in the calculator →

A larger format tile in a small load

A 200 by 200 millimetre tile, 300 grams of clay, 180 millilitres of glaze and only 16 in a load.

You enter

Tile length: 200 mm
Tile width: 200 mm
Grout joint: 3 mm
Wet clay per tile: 300 g
Clay price per kilogram: $2.40
Glaze slurry per tile: 180 ml
Glaze price per litre of slurry: $18.00
Tiles in one kiln load: 16
Cost of both firings for one load: $22.00
Your working time per tile: 20 min
Your time per hour: $20.00
Breakage and second allowance: 18%
Markup on cost: 2.40 times

You get

Area of one tile: 400.00 sq cm
Tiles per square metre of finished wall: 24.27
Whole tiles to order for a square metre: 25
Clay cost per tile: $0.72
Glaze cost per tile: $3.24
Firing cost per tile: $1.38
Your time per tile: $6.67
Direct cost per tile: $12.00
Cost carried by the breakages: $2.16
Total cost per tile: $14.16
Suggested price per tile: $33.99
Cost per square metre: $343.66
Suggested price per square metre: $824.79
Margin: 58.3%
Profit from one kiln load: $317.23
Return per hour at the suggested price: $79.48
Tiles that have to sell to cover a load: 6.67
Cost of the tiles ordered for a square metre: $354.05

About 9.87 direct per tile, which is 11.65 with breakages and 27.96 at a 2.4 times markup. Fewer tiles in the load pushes the firing share to 1.38 a tile, and the area is 0.0409 square metres, so the square metre price is about 683.

Open this example in the calculator →

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Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to make a hand-made tile?

For a 100 by 100 millimetre tile with 75 grams of clay, 50 millilitres of glaze, a 20 pound load shared between 60 tiles and 6 minutes of work, the direct cost is about 4 pounds and the total with a 15 percent breakage allowance about 4.60. The time dominates: at 20 an hour those 6 minutes are 2 pounds on their own. A suggested price at 2.6 times cost is about 12 per tile, which is 1,130 per square metre of finished wall.

Why do flat tiles cost so much to fire?

Because they pack badly. Flat pieces cannot nest and each one needs a kiln washed shelf underneath, so a shelf holds about 55 percent of its area in tiles against 78 percent for round pots and bowls. The cost of a firing does not change with the load, so fewer pieces on the shelf means each one carries more of it. That is the single biggest reason a hand-made tile costs several times a commercial one.

How many tiles do I need per square metre?

About 94 tiles of 100 millimetres with a 3 millimetre joint, because each tile plus half of each surrounding joint covers about 0.0106 square metres rather than 0.01. Without the joint it would be exactly 100. Always order a few more than the arithmetic gives, because a set has to be uniform and one flawed tile in a run is a visible fault, and because a tile laid around a socket or a corner may have to be cut.

Should the breakage allowance be included in the price?

Yes, and it should be explicit. A cracked tile, a warped tile and a tile with a glaze flaw all consumed clay, glaze, shelf space and working time exactly like the ones that sell, so their cost has to be carried by the good pieces. Ten to twenty percent is realistic for flat work. Leaving it out produces a price that looks competitive and quietly loses money over a batch, which is the hardest kind of pricing error to notice.

How do I price tiles per square metre?

Divide the cost per tile by the area one tile covers once laid, including its joint, and multiply by your markup. A tile costing 4.60 that covers 0.0106 square metres costs 434 per square metre, and at 2.6 times cost the retail figure is 1,130. Quote per square metre when a customer is comparing with commercial tiles, and per tile when they are buying a small number, but make sure the two figures are derived from each other rather than set independently.