Pottery Pricing Calculator: the true cost of your ceramics
Price ceramics on what they really cost: the clay, the glaze, the KILN (electricity + wear over two firings, split across the load), and your hands-on time.
Pottery pricing trips on the kiln. The clay is cheap and the glaze is cents, but firing draws kilowatts for hours, twice per piece, and that energy plus the kiln's wear is real money. Anvil HUD prices a piece the honest way: the clay you used, the glaze, your hands-on time, and the kiln cost split across the pieces in a load (a fuller kiln is cheaper per piece) for both the bisque and glaze firings. Firing time is passive, so it isn't billed as labor. Not sure what a firing costs? The built-in firing calculator works out the per-piece cost from your kiln, the hours, and how full it is.
How we price pottery & ceramics
- Clay (by the gram) + glaze + your hands-on time make the base; the kiln adds the firing energy + depreciation, for two firings, split across the pieces in a load.
- A loss buffer (ceramics crack and craze) and overhead load it; your fees and target margin set the list price.
- No file to drop: pick your clay and kiln, set the firing hours and how full the kiln is, and the breakdown is yours. The firing calculator demystifies the kiln cost.
Every line is published at the math. No black box. The engine is free; you only sign in to save your work.
Built-in tools
Questions
How do I price handmade pottery?▾
Add up the clay and glaze, your hands-on time, and the kiln cost (firing energy + depreciation, for two firings, divided by the pieces in the load), then load a loss buffer and overhead and divide by one minus your fees and target margin. The kiln is the line people forget. Anvil HUD does the math and publishes the formula at /the-math.
How much does a kiln firing cost?▾
Use the built-in firing calculator: enter your kiln's power, the firing hours, your $/kWh, and how many pieces share the load and it returns the per-piece firing cost, then sends it into the estimate. A fuller kiln is cheaper per piece. It runs in your browser and it's free.
Is the calculator free?▾
Yes. The cost engine and the firing calculator are always free. Pro unlocks the dashboards, the jobs log, the learned loss rate, inventory, and multi-shop pricing.
Know your craft.
Price your pottery & ceramics on your real numbers, free. Sign in to save your catalog, log jobs, and unlock the dashboards.