Materials Cost
Your Time
Overhead Covers electricity, equipment wear (hooks, winders, blocking mats), workspace costs, packaging materials, internet, and other indirect costs of running your craft business.
Profit Your actual profit on top of all costs. Markup adds the percentage on top of cost (cost × 1.30). True margin makes profit that share of the final price (price = cost ÷ 0.70) — a 30% markup is only about a 23% margin. 30% is a good starting point either way!
Platform Fees (optional)
Cost Breakdown
What you actually keep, by channel
“List at” is the price that still leaves you your minimum after that channel’s fees. “You keep” is what lands in your account if you list everything at the one recommended retail price instead. Item price only — shipping is charged separately and is not modelled here.
| Channel | Fees | List at | You keep at $0.00 |
|---|
How the pricing is worked out
Four numbers stack up into a price, and the order matters.
Materials is what you spent: the yarn (skein price × skeins, including the part of the last skein you did not use) plus buttons, zips, labels, safety eyes, packaging. Labor is your hours × the wage you would accept from an employer for the same hours. Overhead is a percentage on top of materials and labor covering the things no single item pays for — hooks, the sewing machine, electricity, listing photos, the shop subscription. Ten percent is a sane default.
That sum is your true cost: (materials + labor) × (1 + overhead). Selling below it loses money, always, no matter how the item is priced elsewhere.
Then profit, and this is where most calculators mislead. A markup adds a percentage on top of cost: price = cost × 1.30. A true margin makes profit that share of the final price: price = cost ÷ 0.70. They are not the same number. A 30% markup is only about a 23% margin. This tool asks which one you mean and labels it honestly.
Finally the channel. Every marketplace takes a cut of the price the buyer pays, so the price you list has to be grossed up to leave your minimum intact: list price = (minimum + fixed fees) ÷ (1 − percentage fees). On your own site with Stripe that is 2.9% + $0.30. On Etsy it is a 6.5% transaction fee, 3% + $0.25 payment processing and a $0.20 listing fee — about 9.5% + $0.45. Offsite Ads adds 12% on top, but only on orders that came through an ad. A craft fair has no percentage at all, just your booth fee divided by the number of items you realistically expect to sell.
A worked example
A crochet cup cozy: one $5.99 skein makes three of them, so $2.00 of yarn, plus $0.50 of button and tag. It takes you 1.5 hours and you have decided your time is worth $18/hour. Overhead 10%, profit 30% as a markup.
- Materials: 2.00 + 0.50 = $2.50
- Labor: 1.5 × 18 = $27.00
- Base: 2.50 + 27.00 = $29.50. Overhead at 10% = $2.95. True cost = $32.45
- Profit at 30% markup: 32.45 × 1.30 = $42.19 minimum price
- Own site with Stripe: (42.19 + 0.30) ÷ 0.971 = $43.76, so list at $43.99 and keep $42.42
- Etsy: (42.19 + 0.45) ÷ 0.905 = $47.12, so list at $47.99 and keep $42.98. Etsy costs you about $4 more per cozy than your own checkout
- Craft fair with a $75 booth and 20 items sold: 75 ÷ 20 = $3.75 of booth per item, so $45.99 on the table
The uncomfortable part of that example is the labor line: $27 of the $42 is your time. That is correct, and it is why fast small items sell profitably at craft fairs and blankets mostly do not.
Questions people ask
How do I price my crochet items?
Start from true cost: materials + labor (your hours at a fair wage) + overhead. Then add profit — either as a markup on cost or a true margin on the selling price. Never price below true cost.
What is the difference between markup and profit margin?
Markup is a percentage added on top of cost (cost × 1.30 for 30% markup). True margin is profit as a share of the selling price (price = cost ÷ 0.70 for a 30% margin). A 30% markup equals only about a 23% margin — this calculator lets you choose either, labeled correctly.
How much does Etsy take from a sale in 2026?
Etsy publishes its own fee schedule and changes it; check it against these numbers and edit the boxes above if they have moved. As of July 2026: 6.5% transaction fee, 3% + $0.25 payment processing (US), and a $0.20 listing fee — roughly 9.5% + $0.45 per sale before optional ads. This calculator grosses your price up so you still clear your minimum after fees.
Should I charge for my time when pricing crochet?
Yes — labor is usually the largest real cost of a handmade item. Pick an hourly wage you would accept from an employer and multiply by your actual hours. Pricing at materials-only means paying yourself $0/hour.
Is it cheaper to sell crochet on Etsy or on my own website?
On fees alone, your own site wins. Stripe on your own checkout takes 2.9% + $0.30. Etsy takes a 6.5% transaction fee plus 3% + $0.25 payment processing plus a $0.20 listing fee, which is about 9.5% + $0.45. On a $30 item that is $1.17 versus $3.30 — Etsy costs you $2.13 more per sale. Etsy is buying you traffic with that difference, so the honest question is not which fee is lower but whether Etsy sends you more than one extra sale for every four you would have made yourself.
How do I price for Etsy Offsite Ads?
Offsite Ads adds 12% of the order total for shops under $10,000 a year, and 15% once you pass that, but only on orders that actually came through an ad. Shops under $10,000 can opt out; above that it is mandatory. Because it hits only some orders, do not price every listing as if it applies — turn the option on here to see the worst case, and make sure that price still sells.
How much should I charge for a crochet beanie or blanket?
There is no flat answer, because the time is the cost. A worsted beanie is roughly 2 to 3 hours and one $6 skein: at $18 an hour that is $42 to $60 of labor plus $6 of yarn, so around $55 to $80 before fees. A queen blanket is 40 hours and 12 skeins: about $792 of labor and $72 of yarn. That number is why most sellers do well on small fast items and lose money on blankets.