Labor Cost Calculator
Put a figure on the hours a piece takes, with the prep, the finishing and the admin time that usually goes uncounted.
Labour is the largest cost in most handmade goods and the one most often left out. This calculator works out what the hours are worth at a rate you choose, including the preparation, the finishing and a share of the admin that surrounds every order. It deliberately separates making time from non making time, because a piece that takes three hours at the bench and two hours of messages and listing work does not earn the same as one that takes five hours at the bench.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Making hours per unit, Preparation hours per unit, Finishing hours per unit, Packing hours per unit, Admin time as a share of the above, Rate you want to be paid, Units, Complexity multiplier
- What you get
- Total hours per unit, Effective rate, Labour cost per unit, Cost of the main making time, Cost of the preparation, Cost of the finishing, Cost of the packing, Cost of the admin time, Hours for the whole run, Labour cost for the whole run, Main making time as a share of the total, Prep, finishing and packing as a share, Admin as a share of the total, Cost per minute at bench, Units per hour including all the surrounding time, Units per year at 1400 working hours, A single unit takes under four hours in total, Labour per unit before the complexity multiplier
- 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 Labor Cost Calculator
- 1 Enter Making hours per unit (h), The bench time: marking, cutting, assembly and the main work.
- 2 Enter Preparation hours per unit (h), Sourcing, pattern work, setting up, mixing, winding, preparing materials.
- 3 Enter Finishing hours per unit (h), Sanding, burnishing, blocking, pressing, quality checking, photographing the finished piece.
- 4 Enter Packing hours per unit (h), Wrapping, boxing, labelling and writing the note.
- 5 Enter Admin time as a share of the above (%), Listings, messages, ordering, post office and bookkeeping. Fifteen percent is a fair figure; twenty five is realistic at low volume.
- 6 Enter Rate you want to be paid
- 7 Enter Units
- 8 Enter Complexity multiplier, One for routine work. Above one for careful hand finishing, skilled work or a commission that carries risk.
- 9 Press Calculate. You get Total hours per unit, Effective rate, Labour cost per unit, Cost of the main making time, Cost of the preparation, Cost of the finishing, Cost of the packing, Cost of the admin time, Hours for the whole run, Labour cost for the whole run, Main making time as a share of the total, Prep, finishing and packing as a share, Admin as a share of the total, Cost per minute at bench, Units per hour including all the surrounding time, Units per year at 1400 working hours, A single unit takes under four hours in total, Labour per unit before the complexity multiplier, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
- 10 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 hand stitched wallet
Three hours at the bench plus preparation, finishing, packing and admin.
You enter
- Making hours per unit
- 3 h
- Preparation hours per unit
- 0.50 h
- Finishing hours per unit
- 1 h
- Packing hours per unit
- 0.25 h
- Admin time as a share of the above
- 15%
- Rate you want to be paid
- $25.00
- Units
- 10
- Complexity multiplier
- 1
You get
- Total hours per unit
- 5.46 h
- Effective rate
- $25.00
- Labour cost per unit
- $136.56
- Cost of the main making time
- $75.00
- Cost of the preparation
- $12.50
- Cost of the finishing
- $25.00
- Cost of the packing
- $6.25
- Cost of the admin time
- $17.81
- Hours for the whole run
- 54.63 h
- Labour cost for the whole run
- $1,365.63
- Main making time as a share of the total
- 54.9%
- Prep, finishing and packing as a share
- 32.0%
- Admin as a share of the total
- 13.0%
- Cost per minute at bench
- $0.42
- Units per hour including all the surrounding time
- 0.18
- Units per year at 1400 working hours
- 256
- A single unit takes under four hours in total
- 0
- Labour per unit before the complexity multiplier
- $136.56
About 5.46 hours in total and 136.56 dollars of labour per wallet, of which 17.81 is admin time that most costings miss entirely.
A batch of ten candles
A short making time but a large packing and admin share.
You enter
- Making hours per unit
- 0.40 h
- Preparation hours per unit
- 0.10 h
- Finishing hours per unit
- 0.10 h
- Packing hours per unit
- 0.15 h
- Admin time as a share of the above
- 20%
- Rate you want to be paid
- $18.00
- Units
- 10
- Complexity multiplier
- 1
You get
- Total hours per unit
- 0.90 h
- Effective rate
- $18.00
- Labour cost per unit
- $16.20
- Cost of the main making time
- $7.20
- Cost of the preparation
- $1.80
- Cost of the finishing
- $1.80
- Cost of the packing
- $2.70
- Cost of the admin time
- $2.70
- Hours for the whole run
- 9.00 h
- Labour cost for the whole run
- $162.00
- Main making time as a share of the total
- 44.4%
- Prep, finishing and packing as a share
- 38.9%
- Admin as a share of the total
- 16.7%
- Cost per minute at bench
- $0.30
- Units per hour including all the surrounding time
- 1.11
- Units per year at 1400 working hours
- 1,555
- A single unit takes under four hours in total
- 1
- Labour per unit before the complexity multiplier
- $16.20
About 0.9 hours each and 16.20 dollars of labour, which on a candle is nearly half the selling price.
A commissioned formal piece
Careful work that carries risk, so the complexity multiplier goes above one.
You enter
- Making hours per unit
- 12 h
- Preparation hours per unit
- 2 h
- Finishing hours per unit
- 5 h
- Packing hours per unit
- 0.50 h
- Admin time as a share of the above
- 25%
- Rate you want to be paid
- $35.00
- Units
- 1
- Complexity multiplier
- 1.40
You get
- Total hours per unit
- 24.38 h
- Effective rate
- $49.00
- Labour cost per unit
- $1,194.38
- Cost of the main making time
- $588.00
- Cost of the preparation
- $98.00
- Cost of the finishing
- $245.00
- Cost of the packing
- $24.50
- Cost of the admin time
- $238.88
- Hours for the whole run
- 24.38 h
- Labour cost for the whole run
- $1,194.38
- Main making time as a share of the total
- 49.2%
- Prep, finishing and packing as a share
- 30.8%
- Admin as a share of the total
- 20.0%
- Cost per minute at bench
- $0.82
- Units per hour including all the surrounding time
- 0.04
- Units per year at 1400 working hours
- 57
- A single unit takes under four hours in total
- 0
- Labour per unit before the complexity multiplier
- $853.13
About 24.38 hours and 1194 dollars of labour, which is why a hand made formal piece is priced the way it is.
Guides that go with it
How to Calculate the True Cost of a Handmade Product
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How to Calculate Material Costs for Handmade Products
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Standard Paper Sizes for Crafts and Handmade Projects
If you are pricing a paper project, the honest headline is this: most small handmade paper projects cost somewhere between a few dollars and about $30 in materials, and a bigger run of cards, journals...
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out what to charge for my time?
Decide the annual income you want, decide the hours a week you are realistically prepared to work, multiply to get annual hours, and divide. Forty hours a week for forty eight weeks is 1920 hours, but only about 1400 of those are productive once holidays, illness, admin and the slow season are taken out. Wanting 35,000 dollars means a rate of about 25 dollars an hour, and then the question is whether the products can carry it.
Should I count packing and admin time in the labour cost?
Yes. Wrapping, boxing, labelling, answering messages, ordering materials, going to the post office and doing the accounts are all hours your business consumes. If they are not charged for, they are worked for free, and they are usually fifteen to twenty five percent of the total. This calculator adds them as a percentage of the bench time, which keeps them visible rather than buried.
Why does my item take so much longer than I estimated?
Because estimates measure the enjoyable part. Almost every timing exercise finds that the finishing, the quality checking, the packing and the admin take more time than the main making. Time one batch properly, stage by stage, rather than estimating, and the real figure usually comes out thirty to fifty percent above the guess. That gap is exactly why a handmade costing built on an estimate is nearly always too low.
Is there a point where an item simply takes too long to make?
Yes, and it is worth recognising early. Above about four hours a unit including everything, an item is hard to sell at a price the general market will pay unless it is genuinely high end or bespoke. That does not mean it should not be made, but it should be made for customers who understand what they are buying, priced clearly, and with a waiting list rather than a stock level.
What is the complexity multiplier for?
For the fact that not all hours are equal. An hour of careful hand finishing on a piece that cannot be redone, or of skilled work that a beginner could not produce, or of a commission that carries the risk of a difficult customer, is worth more than an hour of repetitive cutting. The multiplier raises the value of the whole labour line, which is the simplest honest way to reflect that. Leave it at one for routine production work.
Terms used here
Short, plain-language definitions of the words this calculator uses.