Pottery Cost Calculator
Cost one pot from the clay, glaze, firing and your own time, with a suggested retail price.
A pot costs clay by weight, glaze by area, a share of a firing, and time. The clay and glaze are easy; the firing share is the one that gets forgotten, and the time is the one that gets undervalued. This calculator adds the four together per piece, marks the result up to a retail price, and shows what a gallery commission leaves, so a batch can be priced before it is made rather than after.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Wet clay per piece, Clay price per kilogram, Glaze cost per piece, Cost of both firings for one load, Pieces in a load, Your working time per piece, Your time per hour, Packaging per piece, Overhead as a percentage of the other costs, Failure and seconds allowance, Markup on cost, Gallery commission
- What you get
- Clay cost per piece, Firing cost per piece, Your time per piece, Direct cost per piece, Overhead share per piece, Cost carried by the failures, Total cost per piece, Suggested retail price, Profit per piece at full price, Margin, Gallery commission, Profit through a gallery, Return per hour at the retail price, Cost of a kiln load of these pieces, Profit from a kiln load, Your time as a share of the 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 Pottery Cost Calculator
- 1 Enter Wet clay per piece (g), Prepared clay including the throwing loss. Use the clay weight calculator to find this.
- 2 Enter Clay price per kilogram, Stoneware is typically 1.50 to 4.00 a kilogram, less in larger quantities.
- 3 Enter Glaze cost per piece, A mug uses about 10 grams of dry glaze, which is under 20 pence at 18 a kilogram.
- 4 Enter Cost of both firings for one load, Bisque plus glaze firing. The kiln load calculator gives the per piece figure.
- 5 Enter Pieces in a load, The number you genuinely fit, not the number you would like to fit.
- 6 Enter Your working time per piece (min), Throwing, trimming, handles, glazing and finishing. Measure it over a batch rather than guessing one pot.
- 7 Enter Your time per hour, What your time is worth. Enter your real figure and then decide what to do with the answer.
- 8 Enter Packaging per piece, Box, tissue, label, card. Between 1 and 3 is typical for retail pottery.
- 9 Enter Overhead as a percentage of the other costs (%), Studio rent or its equivalent, insurance, kiln maintenance, tools.
- 10 Enter Failure and seconds allowance (%), Ten to twenty percent is realistic for a new form. Failed pieces still consumed clay, glaze, firing and time.
- 11 Enter Markup on cost (times), A multiple of the total cost. Two to three is common for handmade production pottery.
- 12 Enter Gallery commission (%), Fifty percent is common. Zero for selling direct.
- 13 Press Calculate. You get Clay cost per piece, Firing cost per piece, Your time per piece, Direct cost per piece, Overhead share per piece, Cost carried by the failures, Total cost per piece, Suggested retail price, Profit per piece at full price, Margin, Gallery commission, Profit through a gallery, Return per hour at the retail price, Cost of a kiln load of these pieces, Profit from a kiln load, Your time as a share of the cost, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
- 14 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 thrown stoneware mug
900 grams of clay, 35 minutes of work, a 25 piece load.
You enter
- Wet clay per piece
- 900 g
- Clay price per kilogram
- $2.40
- Glaze cost per piece
- $0.25
- Cost of both firings for one load
- $20.00
- Pieces in a load
- 25
- Your working time per piece
- 35 min
- Your time per hour
- $20.00
- Packaging per piece
- $1.80
- Overhead as a percentage of the other costs
- 15%
- Failure and seconds allowance
- 12%
- Markup on cost
- 2.60 times
- Gallery commission
- 40%
You get
- Clay cost per piece
- $2.16
- Firing cost per piece
- $0.80
- Your time per piece
- $11.67
- Direct cost per piece
- $16.68
- Overhead share per piece
- $2.50
- Cost carried by the failures
- $2.30
- Total cost per piece
- $21.48
- Suggested retail price
- $55.85
- Profit per piece at full price
- $34.37
- Margin
- 61.5%
- Gallery commission
- $22.34
- Profit through a gallery
- $12.03
- Return per hour at the retail price
- $78.92
- Cost of a kiln load of these pieces
- $536.99
- Profit from a kiln load
- $859.18
- Your time as a share of the cost
- 54.3%
Direct cost about 14.88, total cost about 19.16 with overhead and failures, and a retail price near 50. Through a gallery at 40 percent that leaves about 11 profit rather than 31.
A large serving bowl
2.4 kilograms of clay, an hour and a half of work, twelve in a load.
You enter
- Wet clay per piece
- 2,400 g
- Clay price per kilogram
- $2.40
- Glaze cost per piece
- $0.80
- Cost of both firings for one load
- $22.00
- Pieces in a load
- 12
- Your working time per piece
- 90 min
- Your time per hour
- $20.00
- Packaging per piece
- $3.50
- Overhead as a percentage of the other costs
- 15%
- Failure and seconds allowance
- 15%
- Markup on cost
- 2.40 times
- Gallery commission
- 40%
You get
- Clay cost per piece
- $5.76
- Firing cost per piece
- $1.83
- Your time per piece
- $30.00
- Direct cost per piece
- $41.89
- Overhead share per piece
- $6.28
- Cost carried by the failures
- $7.23
- Total cost per piece
- $55.40
- Suggested retail price
- $132.97
- Profit per piece at full price
- $77.57
- Margin
- 58.3%
- Gallery commission
- $53.19
- Profit through a gallery
- $24.38
- Return per hour at the retail price
- $71.71
- Cost of a kiln load of these pieces
- $664.85
- Profit from a kiln load
- $930.79
- Your time as a share of the cost
- 54.1%
The firing share rises to 1.83 because fewer bowls fit, and the total cost is around 55 before a 2.4 times markup.
A small batch of test cups
600 grams, 25 minutes each, only eight in the load.
You enter
- Wet clay per piece
- 600 g
- Clay price per kilogram
- $2.40
- Glaze cost per piece
- $0.30
- Cost of both firings for one load
- $20.00
- Pieces in a load
- 8
- Your working time per piece
- 25 min
- Your time per hour
- $20.00
- Packaging per piece
- $1.50
- Overhead as a percentage of the other costs
- 20%
- Failure and seconds allowance
- 20%
- Markup on cost
- 3 times
- Gallery commission
- 0%
You get
- Clay cost per piece
- $1.44
- Firing cost per piece
- $2.50
- Your time per piece
- $8.33
- Direct cost per piece
- $14.07
- Overhead share per piece
- $2.81
- Cost carried by the failures
- $3.38
- Total cost per piece
- $20.27
- Suggested retail price
- $60.80
- Profit per piece at full price
- $40.53
- Margin
- 66.7%
- Gallery commission
- $0.00
- Profit through a gallery
- $40.53
- Return per hour at the retail price
- $117.27
- Cost of a kiln load of these pieces
- $162.12
- Profit from a kiln load
- $324.25
- Your time as a share of the cost
- 41.1%
A half empty kiln puts 2.50 of firing on each cup, which with a 20 percent failure rate and a 3 times markup nearly doubles the price of a full load version.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I cost a handmade mug?
Add the clay, the glaze, a share of the firing, your time and the packaging. A 900 gram mug at 2.40 a kilogram is 2.16 of clay, about 0.25 of glaze, perhaps 0.80 of firing if twenty five fit in a load costing 20, and 11.67 of time at 35 minutes and 20 an hour. That is about 14.88 direct, and with overhead, failures and a 2.6 times markup the retail price lands near 48. The time dominates, which is true of most handmade pottery.
How much should I mark up handmade pottery?
Two to three times the total cost is the usual range for production pottery sold retail, which corresponds to a margin of 50 to 67 percent. Below two times, a gallery commission of 40 to 50 percent will wipe out the profit entirely, because commission comes off the retail price while the cost stays the same. Check the resulting price against comparable work in the market before settling on a markup.
Should I include my own time in the cost?
Yes, at least on paper. Time is the largest line in almost every handmade pot, and leaving it out produces a price that looks competitive and pays nothing. Many makers start by entering a modest hourly figure and aiming to raise it as the market and the speed of working improve. What matters is that the decision is deliberate: a price that quietly assumes free labour cannot be improved, because the number you need to fix is invisible.
How do I allow for pots that fail?
Add a failure percentage to the cost of the pieces that survive. Ten to twenty percent is realistic for a new form, a new glaze or a new firing schedule, and lower once a process is settled. The failed pots consumed clay, glaze, firing space and time exactly like the good ones, so their cost has to be carried by the pieces that sell. Ignoring it makes every batch slightly less profitable than the calculation suggests.
Does a half full kiln really change the cost?
Yes, substantially. Firing is a fixed cost per load, so if a load costs 20 and holds twenty five pieces, each carries 80 pence. The same 20 spread over twelve pieces is 1.67 each, more than double. Batching work so the kiln is full is the single biggest cost lever in a pottery, and the kiln load calculator will tell you how full your loads realistically are.