Pottery Cost Calculator

Cost one pot from the clay, glaze, firing and your own time, with a suggested retail price.

Wet clay per piece g

Prepared clay including the throwing loss. Use the clay weight calculator to find this.

Clay price per kilogram

Stoneware is typically 1.50 to 4.00 a kilogram, less in larger quantities.

Glaze cost per piece

A mug uses about 10 grams of dry glaze, which is under 20 pence at 18 a kilogram.

Cost of both firings for one load

Bisque plus glaze firing. The kiln load calculator gives the per piece figure.

Pieces in a load

The number you genuinely fit, not the number you would like to fit.

Your working time per piece min

Throwing, trimming, handles, glazing and finishing. Measure it over a batch rather than guessing one pot.

Your time per hour

What your time is worth. Enter your real figure and then decide what to do with the answer.

Packaging per piece

Box, tissue, label, card. Between 1 and 3 is typical for retail pottery.

Overhead as a percentage of the other costs %

Studio rent or its equivalent, insurance, kiln maintenance, tools.

Failure and seconds allowance %

Ten to twenty percent is realistic for a new form. Failed pieces still consumed clay, glaze, firing and time.

Markup on cost times

A multiple of the total cost. Two to three is common for handmade production pottery.

Gallery commission %

Fifty percent is common. Zero for selling direct.

Reset

Free calculator by Handcraft worked examples and methodology No account, nothing stored.