Price every bar from your real costs.
CraftWiseApp works out what each bar costs from the ingredient prices in your stockroom, adds packaging, labor and overhead, and shows your margin on every product. When a supplier raises a price, your numbers update with it.
Free plan, no card needed. Product costing and margins are included.
Your price list, built from your own records
No formulas to write. Enter what you paid for your ingredients once, and every recipe and product that uses them is priced for you.
- 1
Stockroom prices
What you paid for every oil, butter, fragrance and package. Import a supplier invoice to update them; every change is kept in a price history.
- 2
Cost per bar
Your recipe amounts times your stockroom prices, plus packaging, labor, overhead and sales tax on supplies if you pay it. One click pulls in current prices.
- 3
Margin on every product
Set your retail price and see profit per bar, margin and profit per batch. Your product list flags each margin healthy, caution or weak.
- 4
Real batches, real yield
Each batch keeps the cost it had when you made it, adjusted to the bars you actually got, so your sales and craft show profits use the right number. See everything in our soap making software.
| Ingredient | Used in batch | Unit price | Cost / bar | Batch cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 91.80 oz | $0.1774 / oz | $0.3394 | $16.29 |
| Coconut Oil | 68.40 oz | $0.2381 / oz | $0.3394 | $16.29 |
| Goat Milk | 77.40 oz | $0.1250 / oz | $0.2017 | $9.68 |
| Tallow | 68.40 oz | $0.0619 / oz | $0.0881 | $4.23 |
| Sodium Hydroxide | 34.80 oz | $0.2500 / oz | $0.1812 | $8.70 |
| Honey Fragrance Oil | 4.00 oz | $1.8500 / oz | $0.1542 | $7.40 |
| Total materials (48 bars per batch) | $1.3040 | $62.59 | ||
By hand vs CraftWiseApp
| By hand | CraftWiseApp | |
|---|---|---|
| Ingredient prices | Typed into every sheet | Entered once, or read from an invoice |
| A supplier raises a price | Find and fix every recipe | Pull in current prices with one click |
| Bars per batch | The number you planned | The bars you actually cut |
| Checking margins | One product at a time | Every product, flagged at a glance |
| Shows and sales | Match costs by hand | Each sale uses its batch's cost |
Prefer to work it out by hand? Try the quick calculator.
Type in one batch's totals and see your cost per bar, profit and margin. It's free, with no account. Inside CraftWiseApp these numbers fill themselves in from your stockroom.
Each bar keeps $8.60 at retail and $2.60 at wholesale.
Cost per bar = (ingredients + packaging, plus tax on both, + your time + overhead) ÷ bars. Margin = profit ÷ price. The badge uses the same bands as CraftWiseApp: 50% and up is healthy, 25–50% is caution, under 25% is weak.
Start with what a bar really costs, then choose your price
- 1
Cost the whole batch
Price every ingredient by what you actually used, not the whole jug. Add packaging and labels, any sales tax you paid on supplies, your time and a share of overhead.
- 2
Divide by real bars
Use the number of sellable bars after cutting and trimming. If a 48-bar mold gives you 45 good bars, your cost per bar goes up, and your price should know it.
- 3
Choose a price, check the margin
Many makers start at 2 to 4 times their cost per bar, then adjust for their market. Check the margin at retail and at wholesale before you commit.
Markup and margin are not the same number
Markup compares your price to your cost. Margin is the share of the price you keep. A bar that costs $3.40 and sells for $10.20 has a 3× markup and a 66.7% margin. Selling it for $6.80 (2×) leaves a 50% margin.
Wholesale changes the math
Shops that buy wholesale often expect around half your retail price, so they can mark it up themselves. A price that looks healthy at retail can be thin at wholesale. Check both before you agree to terms.
Pay yourself
If your time isn't in the cost, every bar you sell quietly pays you nothing for making it. Put in an hourly rate you'd be happy with, even if you're just starting.
A 48-bar batch of Goat Milk & Honey: $62.59 of ingredients and $16.80 of packaging, plus 7% tax on those ($5.56), 3 hours at $20 ($60) and $18.25 overhead. That's $163.20 for the batch, or $3.40 a bar.
At $12 a bar, each sale keeps $8.60: a 71.7% margin and $412.80 per batch. Sold wholesale at $6, the margin drops to 43.3%, still profitable but worth knowing before you say yes to a shop.
Know your margin on every product.
Product costing and margins are on the free plan, for up to 10 products.
Questions soapmakers ask
Is the calculator free?
Yes. It works right on this page with no account and no email address.
What markup should I use for handmade soap?
There's no single right answer. Many makers start somewhere between 2 and 4 times their cost per bar, then adjust for their market, their ingredients and what similar soaps sell for nearby. Check the margin at both retail and wholesale.
Does this calculate lye?
No. This page is for cost and pricing only. Always use a dedicated, trusted lye calculator for your recipe.
Should I include my time?
Yes. Without it, your profit has to cover your wages without you realising. Even a modest hourly rate gives you a truer cost per bar.
What does CraftWiseApp cost?
There's a free plan with up to 10 products and 5 recipes, including product costing and margins. Paid plans start at $10 a month and include a 14-day free trial with no card required.