Free tool
Commission Pricing Calculator
Most makers lose money on their first commissions because they price from materials alone. Add your actual costs, hours, and overhead to see what you should charge and what you'll really earn per hour. Every number comes from 40+ real sources.
Price your next commission from real data
This calculator gives you a starting number. Costumary tracks your actual materials, hours, and profit across every commission you take. After a few builds, you'll quote from your own history instead of guessing.
Start tracking commissions freeFrequently asked questions
How much should I charge for cosplay commissions?
Simple sewn costumes typically go for $200-800. Complex armor builds with multiple materials run $1,000-3,000+. The formula most makers use: materials + (hours × your hourly rate) + 10-20% overhead. Intermediate cosplay commissioners charge $20-25/hr. Plug your actual material costs into the calculator above for a real number.
How much does a fursuit commission cost?
Fursuit heads start around $800 for new makers and $2,000-3,000 for established ones. Full plantigrade suits range from $2,200 to $7,000+. Materials run $300-400 total. The rest is labor, and a full suit takes 100-600 hours. Most fursuit makers earn $10-20/hr effective after taxes and overhead.
What hourly rate should I charge for craft commissions?
Beginner makers charge $15-18/hr, intermediate $20-25/hr, experienced $30-40/hr, and experts $45-60/hr. The rate that matters is your take-home after Etsy fees (up to 9.5%), PayPal (2.9%), self-employment tax (15.3%), and shipping. Those costs can eat 25-40% of your listed price.
How do I know if I'm undercharging?
Calculate your effective hourly rate: (total price - materials - overhead) ÷ hours. If it's below $15, you're earning less than minimum wage for skilled work. A hand-embroidered pouch with $4.55 in materials and 80 minutes of labor should sell for $93, not $9. Most new makers underprice by 50% or more.
What's the 2-3-2 pricing method?
Multiply your material cost by 2-3x, then add 20% for overhead like equipment wear, time overruns, and shipping. For example, $150 in materials × 3 + 20% = $540. It's a quick sanity check, but the hourly rate method is more accurate because it accounts for how long the build actually takes.
How much do Etsy fees actually cost?
Etsy charges $0.20 per listing + 6.5% transaction fee + 3% payment processing + $0.25 per order. On a $500 commission, that's roughly $49 in fees. With mandatory offsite ads (if you make over $10K/year), the effective rate hits 20-30% of your sale price. Toggle Etsy fees in the calculator to see the exact impact.
How much should I charge for miniature painting commissions?
Tabletop standard infantry: $10-15 per 28mm model. Display quality: $25-35. Competition-level with NMM and freehand: $47-143 per model. Batch painting drops to $4-6 per model at budget tier. A full 2,000-point Warhammer army at professional quality runs $1,500-3,000.
Where do the prices in this calculator come from?
Every price comes from real sources: CosplayPros, FursuitSupplies, Citadel retail, Vallejo distributors, maker price sheets (SourCitrus, CityMutt, Paintedfigs), and community discussions on Reddit, RPF, and DakkaDakka. Click "Sources & citations" at the bottom to see all 40+ linked sources. Verified May 2026.