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Craft Fair Profit Calculator

Heading to a market or craft fair? Add your booth fee, sales, costs, and travel to see what you actually take home — and how many sales you need to break even.

Last Updated: June 2026

Reviewed for current platform fees and pricing rules.

Materials only unless you add your own labor here. This calculator does not price your making time or studio overhead.

Anything else the day costs you. Add your hours here (or into product cost) if you want your labor counted.

Optional tax

Only fill this if tax comes out of your revenue rather than added on top.

Net profit here is the money left from the event. It does not pay you for the hours you spent making stock, setting up, or standing at the table, and it excludes ongoing overhead such as studio rent, tools, or insurance — count those separately before calling a fair worthwhile.

Nice — you walked away with about $486.00 after every expense.

Total revenue

$1,000.00

Total product costs

$270.00

Total expenses

$514.00

Net profit

$486.00

Profit margin

48.6%

High Profit Potential

Break-even sales

13 units

Real Profit Snapshot

After platform fees

Estimated monthly profit

$24,300.00

Verdict: Healthy margin — this product has strong room to scale with ads or volume.

Expense breakdown

Booth fee
$150.00
Travel
$40.00
Food / misc
$25.00
Product + packaging
$270.00
Card processing
$29.00
Tax remitted
$0.00
Net profit
$486.00

Selling online too? Cross-check with the Etsy Profit Calculator, set your prices with the Handmade Pricing Calculator, or compare with the Shopify and Print-on-Demand profit calculators.

All calculations are estimates based on average platform fees. Real profits may vary depending on category, ads, and shipping.

Free worksheet for your next step

Use this worksheet to turn material costs and time into a real price.

  • PlannerHandmade

    Craft Fair Profit Planner

    A planning worksheet for estimating craft fair costs, pricing, sales goals, and booth profit.

    Open the planner →
  • WorkbookHandmade

    Handmade Product Pricing Workbook

    A practical pricing workbook for handmade sellers who want to price products with confidence.

    Open the worksheet →
  • PlannerHandmade

    Handmade Profit Planner

    Plan profit goals, costs, and sales targets for your handmade business.

    Open the planner →

How to use this calculator

  1. Enter your numbers in each field above — the calculator updates instantly as you type, so there's nothing to submit.
  2. Use your real figures when you have them, or sensible estimates while you're planning. If a field doesn't apply, leave it at zero.
  3. Compare the results, then change one input at a time to see how each lever (price, cost, fees, volume) moves the outcome.

Formula

Revenue = Avg price × Units sold · Net profit = Revenue − (Product + packaging)×Units − Card% − Tax% − Booth − Travel − Misc

Worked example

A $150 booth, 40 items sold at $25 each, $6 materials + $0.75 packaging per item, 2.9% card processing, $40 travel, $25 food, no extra tax.

  1. Revenue = 25 × 40 = $1,000
  2. Product + packaging = (6 + 0.75) × 40 = $270
  3. Card processing = 1,000 × 0.029 = $29
  4. Fixed costs = 150 booth + 40 travel + 25 food = $215
  5. Total expenses = 270 + 29 + 215 = $514
  6. Net profit = 1,000 − 514 = $486 (≈48.6% margin)

Answer: ≈ $486 profit on the day (≈48.6% margin)

How it works

A craft fair feels great when the cash drawer is full — but the real number is whatever's left after the booth, the gas, the lunch, and the credit card fees. This calculator strips a market day down to its true bottom line so you can decide which fairs are worth your weekend.

Revenue is simply average price times units sold. From there we peel off your variable costs (materials and packaging per item, plus card processing on every swipe), then your fixed costs for the day (booth fee, travel, food, and any extras). What's left is your net profit.

Break-even tells you the minimum number of sales at your average price that would cover the booth, travel, and misc — useful for setting a goal before the doors even open. If the answer is "unreachable", your average price is lower than your per-unit cost and even a sold-out booth would lose money.

How to interpret your results

  • Dollar values are shown per sale, per order, or per item unless a result is explicitly labelled monthly, weekly, or daily.
  • Percentages (margin, ROI, conversion rate) are easier to compare across products and price points than raw dollars — use them when you benchmark.
  • A positive result means you're ahead after the costs and fees you entered. A negative result means the current numbers don't work — change a lever (raise price, cut a cost, lower ad spend) and recalculate.
  • Treat the output as a planning estimate, not a guarantee. Fees, taxes, and conversion rates shift over time — re-run the numbers whenever a key input changes.

Common mistakes

  • Counting gross sales as profit and forgetting the booth fee was already paid weeks ago.
  • Leaving out card processing — 2.9% on every $25 sale really does add up by the end of the day.
  • Forgetting travel time and gas, especially for out-of-town markets that require a hotel.
  • Using the cheapest item's cost as your average — average per-item cost should reflect what people actually bought.
  • Confusing tax collected from customers (a pass-through) with tax that comes out of your margin.

Related Guides

Go deeper with plain-English guides on the same topic.

FAQ

What's a realistic profit margin at a craft fair?
30–50% net margin is healthy for handmade goods sold direct. Smaller local markets with low booth fees can run higher; large juried shows with $500+ booths often run lower because the fixed costs are bigger.
Do I need to include tax?
Only if sales tax comes out of the price you charge. In most US states you add tax on top, collect it from customers, and remit it — that's a pass-through and you can leave the tax field at 0.
How do I handle cash vs card sales?
If most sales are cash, lower the card processing % to reflect the actual share that went through your reader. For a rough average, multiply your full processor rate by the fraction of sales taken on card.
What goes in misc expenses?
Anything you spent for the day that isn't materials, packaging, or travel — lunch, parking, a last-minute extension cord, tip jar change, signage you printed that morning.
How does break-even work?
It's the number of sales at your average price needed to cover booth + travel + misc, after each sale pays for its own materials, packaging, and card fees. Hit that number and you've broken even on the day.
Can I use this for a multi-day event?
Yes. Use totals for the whole event: total units sold across all days, total booth fee, total travel, and total food/misc. The result is your profit for the event as a whole.
Should I include my own labor?
This calculator measures cash profit from the event itself. If you also want to pay yourself for your time, divide net profit by your hours worked to see your effective hourly rate — and compare to the Handmade Pricing Calculator for product-level labor.

Why trust this calculator?

This tool uses standard mathematical formulas and commonly accepted calculation methods, shown openly in the Formula section above so you can verify the math yourself. Results are estimates based on the information you enter and do not account for every individual circumstance. For important financial, tax, legal, medical, or business decisions, please double-check with a qualified professional before acting on the numbers.

Keep going

One calculator rarely tells the full story. Pair this one with a related tool below to pressure-test your numbers from a different angle, or browse Work & Money Calculators for more in the same category.

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