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Handcraft

Leather Project Pricing Calculator

Price a leather project from the material and the hours it took, using a clear markup on cost.

Leather Craft
A leather project has three costs: the hide, the hardware and the thread, and the hours at the bench. This calculator adds them into a workshop cost and applies a markup to reach a price, and it shows the hourly return that price actually produces. It uses a MARKUP, which is a multiple of cost, so a hundred dollars of cost at a forty percent markup is a hundred and forty dollar price. If you price on margin instead, the handmade leather pricing tool alongside this one does that calculation.

At a glance

What you enter
Leather used, Leather cost per usable square foot, Thread, Hardware, Lining, finish and consumables, Packaging, Hours at the bench, Rate you want to be paid, Markup on cost, Extra hours for a custom order
What you get
Material cost, Labour cost, Total cost, Markup amount, Suggested price, Price rounded up to the next five, Profit, Margin this price produces, Price as a multiple of cost, Profit per hour, Price per hour of work, Wholesale at half the retail price, Profit at the wholesale price, Wholesale price covers the cost, Profit per hour at wholesale
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 ↓

At the cost per usable square foot, including the share of the hide that never becomes product.

From the leather area calculator, which charges the whole hide to the leather that ships.

Buckle, snaps, rivets, D rings, zip. Hardware does not scale with the pattern.

Lining leather, edge paint or wax, glue, dye and anything else consumed.

Box, tissue, label and bag. Include it here rather than treating it as free.

All of it: marking, cutting, skiving, stitching, edge finishing and burnishing.

A MARKUP, which is a multiple of cost, not a share of the selling price. Forty percent markup on a hundred dollars of cost is a hundred and forty.

Design time, messages and revisions. Only count it if you are not charging for it separately.

Reset

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

How to use the Leather Project Pricing Calculator

  1. 1 Enter Leather used (sq ft), At the cost per usable square foot, including the share of the hide that never becomes product.
  2. 2 Enter Leather cost per usable square foot, From the leather area calculator, which charges the whole hide to the leather that ships.
  3. 3 Enter Thread
  4. 4 Enter Hardware, Buckle, snaps, rivets, D rings, zip. Hardware does not scale with the pattern.
  5. 5 Enter Lining, finish and consumables, Lining leather, edge paint or wax, glue, dye and anything else consumed.
  6. 6 Enter Packaging, Box, tissue, label and bag. Include it here rather than treating it as free.
  7. 7 Enter Hours at the bench (h), All of it: marking, cutting, skiving, stitching, edge finishing and burnishing.
  8. 8 Enter Rate you want to be paid
  9. 9 Enter Markup on cost (%), A MARKUP, which is a multiple of cost, not a share of the selling price. Forty percent markup on a hundred dollars of cost is a hundred and forty.
  10. 10 Enter Extra hours for a custom order (h), Design time, messages and revisions. Only count it if you are not charging for it separately.
  11. 11 Press Calculate. You get Material cost, Labour cost, Total cost, Markup amount, Suggested price, Price rounded up to the next five, Profit, Margin this price produces, Price as a multiple of cost, Profit per hour, Price per hour of work, Wholesale at half the retail price, Profit at the wholesale price, Wholesale price covers the cost, Profit per hour at wholesale, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
  12. 12 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 bifold wallet

A 1.5 square foot wallet at 8 dollars a usable square foot, three and a half hours of work.

You enter

Leather used
1.50 sq ft
Leather cost per usable square foot
$8.00
Thread
$1.20
Hardware
$4.00
Lining, finish and consumables
$1.50
Packaging
$1.80
Hours at the bench
3.50 h
Rate you want to be paid
$25.00
Markup on cost
40%
Extra hours for a custom order
0 h

You get

Material cost
$20.50
Labour cost
$87.50
Total cost
$108.00
Markup amount
$43.20
Suggested price
$151.20
Price rounded up to the next five
$155.00
Profit
$43.20
Margin this price produces
28.6%
Price as a multiple of cost
1.40
Profit per hour
$12.34
Price per hour of work
$43.20
Wholesale at half the retail price
$75.60
Profit at the wholesale price
$-32.40
Wholesale price covers the cost
0
Profit per hour at wholesale
$-9.26

A total cost of 105.5 dollars and a price of 147.70 at a 40 percent markup, which is a 28.6 percent margin and 12.06 dollars of profit per hour.

Open this example in the calculator →

A hand stitched belt

A 2 square foot belt blank at 7 dollars a usable square foot, two hours of work.

You enter

Leather used
2 sq ft
Leather cost per usable square foot
$7.00
Thread
$0.90
Hardware
$12.00
Lining, finish and consumables
$1.20
Packaging
$2.00
Hours at the bench
2 h
Rate you want to be paid
$30.00
Markup on cost
60%
Extra hours for a custom order
0 h

You get

Material cost
$30.10
Labour cost
$60.00
Total cost
$90.10
Markup amount
$54.06
Suggested price
$144.16
Price rounded up to the next five
$145.00
Profit
$54.06
Margin this price produces
37.5%
Price as a multiple of cost
1.60
Profit per hour
$27.03
Price per hour of work
$72.08
Wholesale at half the retail price
$72.08
Profit at the wholesale price
$-18.02
Wholesale price covers the cost
0
Profit per hour at wholesale
$-9.01

A material cost of 30.1 dollars, a total of 90.10, and a price of 144.16, which is 27.03 dollars of profit per hour.

Open this example in the calculator →

A custom order with extra design time

A commissioned bag taking eight hours at the bench plus three hours of messages and revisions.

You enter

Leather used
6 sq ft
Leather cost per usable square foot
$9.00
Thread
$2.50
Hardware
$22.00
Lining, finish and consumables
$5.00
Packaging
$4.00
Hours at the bench
8 h
Rate you want to be paid
$30.00
Markup on cost
50%
Extra hours for a custom order
3 h

You get

Material cost
$87.50
Labour cost
$330.00
Total cost
$417.50
Markup amount
$208.75
Suggested price
$626.25
Price rounded up to the next five
$630.00
Profit
$208.75
Margin this price produces
33.3%
Price as a multiple of cost
1.50
Profit per hour
$18.98
Price per hour of work
$56.93
Wholesale at half the retail price
$313.13
Profit at the wholesale price
$-104.38
Wholesale price covers the cost
0
Profit per hour at wholesale
$-9.49

The unbilled hours are the difference between a good job and a loss, so enter them even when you do not charge for them explicitly.

Open this example in the calculator →

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between markup and margin?
A markup is a multiple of cost, so a hundred dollars of cost at forty percent markup is a hundred and forty dollars. A margin is a share of the selling price, so a hundred dollars of cost at a forty percent margin is a hundred and sixty six dollars sixty seven. Both are correct ways to describe a price, but a forty percent markup produces a 28.6 percent margin. Quoting one and meaning the other is the single most common handmade pricing error.
What markup should I use on leather goods?
A hundred percent markup, which doubles the cost, is a common floor for handmade leather, and 150 to 200 percent is not unusual for well made goods with a strong design. The constraint is rarely the percentage and almost always the hourly return: if doubling the cost still leaves you earning five dollars an hour, the problem is the time the item takes rather than the multiplier. Check the profit per hour figure before you settle on a markup.
Should profit per hour be part of my pricing?
Yes, and it is the figure that tells you whether a product is worth making at all. Profit per hour is the profit divided by the hours at the bench. If a belt takes four hours and sells at a hundred dollars with sixty dollars of cost, the profit per hour is ten dollars, which is less than most part time work. Either the price rises, the process gets faster, or the product is not one to make.
How do I price a wholesale order?
Start from the retail price and halve it, which is the trade convention, then check that the wholesale price still covers the cost and leaves something for your time. If halving the retail price does not cover the cost, the retail price is too low rather than the wholesale request being unreasonable. This calculator shows the wholesale price at half retail and the profit per hour at that price so the decision is visible.
Does packaging belong in the cost of the item?
Yes. A box, tissue paper, a label and a bag are real costs that vary with the number of items sold, so they belong in the material cost of the item rather than in overhead. A handmade item that ships in a two dollar box has two dollars less profit than one that ships in tissue. Include it here, and if you also wrap and post it, use the shipping and packaging tool for that side of the cost.

More money questions answered →

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