Floral Cost Calculator
Cost a floral job from stems, foliage, mechanics and labour, and see what a price per stem really earns.
Flower costs are quoted per stem, but a floral business runs on what is left after the foliage, the foam, the ribbon, the delivery and the hours. This calculator takes the stems you need, the price you pay for them, and everything else that goes into a job, then reports the cost, a suggested price and the hourly return. It is the tool for quoting a wedding or a weekly contract without discovering the margin afterwards.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Flower stems, Price per flower stem, Foliage stems, Price per foliage stem, Mechanics, containers and hire, Hours on the job, Your time per hour, Delivery and travel, Waste and shrinkage allowance, Markup on cost, Venue or planner commission
- What you get
- Cost of the flowers, Cost of the foliage, Materials cost, Cost carried by waste and shrinkage, Cost of your time, Direct cost of the job, Suggested price, Profit at that price, Margin, Venue or planner commission, Profit after commission, Return per hour at that price, Direct cost per stem handled, Price per stem handled, Flowers as a share of the direct cost, Your time as a share of the direct cost
- 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 ↓
Results are estimates for general information only, always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Floral Cost Calculator
- 1 Enter Flower stems, The flowers only. Count the foliage separately below.
- 2 Enter Price per flower stem, Your own figure, from the wholesale list you are actually buying from.
- 3 Enter Foliage stems
- 4 Enter Price per foliage stem, Divide the bunch price by the number of stems in it.
- 5 Enter Mechanics, containers and hire, Foam, wire, tape, ribbon, wrap, containers and any hire charge.
- 6 Enter Hours on the job (h), Include buying, conditioning, making, delivering and clearing up, not just the arranging.
- 7 Enter Your time per hour, A realistic figure for skilled floristry work.
- 8 Enter Delivery and travel, Fuel, van share and the time already counted above if you prefer to keep them separate.
- 9 Enter Waste and shrinkage allowance (%), Bruised stems, broken heads, wilted flowers and substitutions. Five to ten percent is normal.
- 10 Enter Markup on cost (times), Two and a half to three and a half times direct cost is the usual range for retail floristry.
- 11 Enter Venue or planner commission (%), Some venues and planners charge a referral percentage. Zero if there is none.
- 12 Press Calculate. You get Cost of the flowers, Cost of the foliage, Materials cost, Cost carried by waste and shrinkage, Cost of your time, Direct cost of the job, Suggested price, Profit at that price, Margin, Venue or planner commission, Profit after commission, Return per hour at that price, Direct cost per stem handled, Price per stem handled, Flowers as a share of the direct cost, Your time as a share of the direct cost, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
- 13 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 wedding of ten table arrangements
A hundred and twenty flowers, eighty foliage stems, six hours of work.
You enter
- Flower stems
- 120
- Price per flower stem
- $1.40
- Foliage stems
- 80
- Price per foliage stem
- $0.45
- Mechanics, containers and hire
- $25.00
- Hours on the job
- 6 h
- Your time per hour
- $18.00
- Delivery and travel
- $20.00
- Waste and shrinkage allowance
- 7%
- Markup on cost
- 3 times
- Venue or planner commission
- 10%
You get
- Cost of the flowers
- $168.00
- Cost of the foliage
- $36.00
- Materials cost
- $229.00
- Cost carried by waste and shrinkage
- $16.03
- Cost of your time
- $108.00
- Direct cost of the job
- $373.03
- Suggested price
- $1,119.09
- Profit at that price
- $746.06
- Margin
- 66.7%
- Venue or planner commission
- $111.91
- Profit after commission
- $634.15
- Return per hour at that price
- $142.34
- Direct cost per stem handled
- $1.87
- Price per stem handled
- $5.60
- Flowers as a share of the direct cost
- 45.0%
- Your time as a share of the direct cost
- 29.0%
Materials of 229, direct cost about 373 with labour and delivery, so a price near 1,119 and about 124 an hour after the commission.
A weekly contract of twenty bouquets
Three hundred flowers, a hundred and fifty foliage stems, eight hours.
You enter
- Flower stems
- 300
- Price per flower stem
- $0.90
- Foliage stems
- 150
- Price per foliage stem
- $0.40
- Mechanics, containers and hire
- $40.00
- Hours on the job
- 8 h
- Your time per hour
- $18.00
- Delivery and travel
- $30.00
- Waste and shrinkage allowance
- 6%
- Markup on cost
- 2.50 times
- Venue or planner commission
- 0%
You get
- Cost of the flowers
- $270.00
- Cost of the foliage
- $60.00
- Materials cost
- $370.00
- Cost carried by waste and shrinkage
- $22.20
- Cost of your time
- $144.00
- Direct cost of the job
- $566.20
- Suggested price
- $1,415.50
- Profit at that price
- $849.30
- Margin
- 60.0%
- Venue or planner commission
- $0.00
- Profit after commission
- $849.30
- Return per hour at that price
- $124.16
- Direct cost per stem handled
- $1.26
- Price per stem handled
- $3.15
- Flowers as a share of the direct cost
- 47.7%
- Your time as a share of the direct cost
- 25.4%
A lower markup because the work repeats: direct cost about 592 and a price near 1,480 for the week, which is about 111 an hour.
A single large sympathy arrangement
Forty flowers at a high price, sixty foliage stems, two hours.
You enter
- Flower stems
- 40
- Price per flower stem
- $3.20
- Foliage stems
- 60
- Price per foliage stem
- $0.50
- Mechanics, containers and hire
- $18.00
- Hours on the job
- 2 h
- Your time per hour
- $18.00
- Delivery and travel
- $12.00
- Waste and shrinkage allowance
- 8%
- Markup on cost
- 3.50 times
- Venue or planner commission
- 0%
You get
- Cost of the flowers
- $128.00
- Cost of the foliage
- $30.00
- Materials cost
- $176.00
- Cost carried by waste and shrinkage
- $14.08
- Cost of your time
- $36.00
- Direct cost of the job
- $238.08
- Suggested price
- $833.28
- Profit at that price
- $595.20
- Margin
- 71.4%
- Venue or planner commission
- $0.00
- Profit after commission
- $595.20
- Return per hour at that price
- $315.60
- Direct cost per stem handled
- $2.38
- Price per stem handled
- $8.33
- Flowers as a share of the direct cost
- 53.8%
- Your time as a share of the direct cost
- 15.1%
A high flower price and a low stem count, but the same two hours: direct cost about 226 and a price near 790, which is what a large one off piece has to earn.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I price a floral arrangement?
Add the flowers, the foliage, the mechanics and your time to get the direct cost, add a waste allowance, then multiply by two and a half to three and a half. A job with 120 flowers at 1.40, 80 foliage stems at 0.45 and 25 of mechanics is 229 of materials, and with six hours at 18 it is about 353 direct. At three times cost the price is nearly 1,060, which is why an hourly figure matters more than the stem price.
How much should I mark up flowers?
Two and a half to three and a half times the direct cost is the usual retail range, which is a margin of 60 to 71 percent. Floristry is seasonal, perishable and labour heavy, and the shop, the van, the cooler and the quiet weeks all have to be paid for out of the busy ones. Below two times cost, a venue commission of 10 percent will take most of the profit, which is why the commission field is worth filling in even when you think there is none.
How do I allow for flowers that die or arrive damaged?
Add a waste percentage to the materials cost, five to ten percent for a well planned job and more for a large order bought well in advance or one that depends on a single fragile variety. Flowers are perishable, they are handled several times between the grower and the venue, and a substitution may be forced on you. The waste still has to be paid for, so it belongs in the quote rather than in the margin.
Should I charge separately for delivery?
Usually yes, because it has a real cost: fuel, vehicle, time and the risk of damage in transit. Many florists include the time in the labour hours and charge the mileage separately, which keeps the labour rate honest. A wedding two hours away has four hours of driving on top of the making, and hiding that inside a per stem price makes the flowers look expensive and the delivery look free.
Why is foliage so important in a quote?
Because it fills space for a fraction of the price of flowers. Foliage is often 30 to 50 percent of the stems in a design and typically 20 to 30 percent of the material cost, so shifting a design toward more greenery keeps the same apparent size for less money. A quote that is dominated by flower cost is one where the design has not yet used enough foliage to carry it.