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Handcraft

Wood Project Cost Calculator

Total the lumber, hardware, finish, consumables and labour in a woodworking project, then see a suggested price.

Woodworking
Woodworking hides its costs in small purchases. The hinges, the finish, the sanding discs and the glue are each trivial and together they can rival the lumber bill. This calculator collects every category, adds your time at a rate you choose, and returns a production cost and a suggested selling price.

At a glance

What you enter
Lumber needed, Price per board foot, Hardware, Finish, Consumables, Anything else, Hours worked, Your hourly rate, Target profit margin
What you get
Production cost, Suggested selling price, Profit at that price, Profit per hour worked, Materials share of price, Labour share of price
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 ↓

Hinges, slides, handles, fasteners, inserts.

Stain, oil, varnish, wax.

Glue, sandpaper, blades, tape, rags.

Delivery, a hired tool, a specialist jig.

Reset

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

How to use the Wood Project Cost Calculator

  1. 1 Enter Lumber needed (bf)
  2. 2 Enter Price per board foot (USD/bf)
  3. 3 Enter Hardware (USD), Hinges, slides, handles, fasteners, inserts.
  4. 4 Enter Finish (USD), Stain, oil, varnish, wax.
  5. 5 Enter Consumables (USD), Glue, sandpaper, blades, tape, rags.
  6. 6 Enter Anything else (USD), Delivery, a hired tool, a specialist jig.
  7. 7 Enter Hours worked (h)
  8. 8 Enter Your hourly rate (USD/h)
  9. 9 Enter Target profit margin (%)
  10. 10 Press Calculate. You get Production cost, Suggested selling price, Profit at that price, Profit per hour worked, Materials share of price, Labour share of price, and every intermediate step stays visible under "How is this calculated?"
  11. 11 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.

Walnut side table

20 board feet of walnut at 8 dollars, hardware, finish and consumables, 30 hours at 25 dollars.

You enter

Lumber needed
20 bf
Price per board foot
$8.00
Hardware
$45.00
Finish
$30.00
Consumables
$20.00
Anything else
$0.00
Hours worked
30 h
Your hourly rate
$25.00
Target profit margin
30%

You get

Production cost
$1,005.00
Suggested selling price
$1,435.71
Profit at that price
$430.71
Profit per hour worked
$14.36
Materials share of price
17.8%
Labour share of price
52.2%

Production cost 895 dollars, suggested price 1,278.57 dollars.

Open this example in the calculator →

Pine shelving unit for a market stall

12 board feet of pine at 3 dollars, minimal hardware, 8 hours at 20 dollars.

You enter

Lumber needed
12 bf
Price per board foot
$3.00
Hardware
$12.00
Finish
$10.00
Consumables
$5.00
Anything else
$0.00
Hours worked
8 h
Your hourly rate
$20.00
Target profit margin
40%

You get

Production cost
$223.00
Suggested selling price
$371.67
Profit at that price
$148.67
Profit per hour worked
$18.58
Materials share of price
17.0%
Labour share of price
43.0%

A small item can carry a higher margin because buyers compare it with shop furniture.

Open this example in the calculator →

Oak dining table

60 board feet of oak at 7 dollars, 80 hours at 30 dollars, a 35 percent margin.

You enter

Lumber needed
60 bf
Price per board foot
$7.00
Hardware
$60.00
Finish
$70.00
Consumables
$45.00
Anything else
$0.00
Hours worked
80 h
Your hourly rate
$30.00
Target profit margin
35%

You get

Production cost
$2,995.00
Suggested selling price
$4,607.69
Profit at that price
$1,612.69
Profit per hour worked
$20.16
Materials share of price
12.9%
Labour share of price
52.1%

Over half the production cost is labour, which is typical for a large piece.

Open this example in the calculator →

Guides that go with it

Wood Calculator Guide: Calculate Lumber, Board Feet, Cabinet Materials & Project Costs

A wood calculator turns a vague "how much do I need?" into a number you can hand to a lumber yard. By the end of this guide you will be able to measure a project, convert odd dimensions into board fee...

How to Measure Wood Correctly for DIY Handcraft Projects

You bought a board, measured twice, cut once, and it still came up short. Or worse, the "1 x 6" you ordered arrived looking nothing like an inch thick or six inches wide. If that sounds familiar, the...

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 price a piece of handmade furniture?
Cost the materials at what you paid, including the finish and the hardware, add your hours at a rate you would accept for other work, then divide by one minus your target margin. A 595 dollar production cost at a 30 percent margin gives a price of 850 dollars. Then check that number against what comparable makers charge, because the arithmetic and the market do not always agree.
How much of a furniture price is materials?
Usually between twenty and forty percent on a custom piece, and lower on small items where the labour dominates. If materials are above half of your price, either the design uses too much expensive stock for the market you are selling to, or the price is too low. The shares at the bottom of this tool show you which side of that line the project sits on.
Should I include my own labour in the cost?
For pricing, yes. For a hobby project where you are making it for yourself, entering zero and reading the material cost alone is a perfectly good use of the tool. The mistake is to price work for sale with zero labour, which tells you nothing about whether the work is worth doing and quietly sets a low expectation for the whole market.
What consumables should I count in a woodworking project?
Glue, sandpaper, saw blades and their sharpening, tape, rags, disposable gloves and the electricity for a dust extractor all count. Sandpaper is the one that surprises people: a full furniture build can use thirty dollars of abrasives. Track your actual purchases on one project and you will have a reliable percentage to apply to the next.

More money questions answered →

Terms used here

Short, plain-language definitions of the words this calculator uses.

Board foot A unit of lumber volume equal to 144 cubic inches, which is a board one inch thick, twelve inches wide and twelve inches long.

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