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Recipe Cost Calculator — Free Production Costing Tool for UK Makers

Calculate the true cost of your artisan product recipe. Add ingredients, quantities, and prices — see per-unit production cost with margin analysis.

Ingredients (total for batch)

Enter the total quantity used for the full batch, not per unit. The price per unit must match the selected unit — e.g., if you select "kg", enter the price per kg.

Labour (optional)

Monthly overheads (optional)

Why per-unit costing matters

Most artisan makers know roughly what their ingredients cost. Few know their true cost per unit — the number that includes materials, labour, and overheads divided by actual batch yield.

The gap matters. A soap maker who only counts ingredients might think each bar costs £0.80. Add labour (2 hours for a batch of 48 at £15/hour = £0.63/bar), packaging (£0.30/bar), and monthly overheads spread across production (insurance, energy, equipment = £0.15/bar), and the real cost is £1.88/bar — more than double the ingredient-only figure.

If you're selling that bar for £4.50 at a market, your actual margin is £2.62 (58%), not £3.70 (82%). Both are viable — but the difference changes how you think about wholesale pricing, volume discounts, and whether to accept that £3.00 wholesale offer.

For a step-by-step guide to the full costing method, see our recipe costing guide for artisan makers.

Related guides

The Complete Guide to Recipe Costing for Artisan Makers

Learn the COGS formula for artisan products. Step-by-step recipe costing method for UK makers — ingredients, labour, overheads, and true per-unit cost.

How to Choose Recipe Costing Software as an Artisan Maker

What to look for in recipe costing software if you're an artisan maker. Key features, pricing traps, and what most tools get wrong for small producers.