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 will really earn per hour. Every number comes from 40+ real sources.
0%
Commission
You keep every dollar you earn.
Etsy takes 6.5% off every sale. PayPal skims 2.9%. Platforms eat 10 to 25% of your revenue before you buy materials. Costumary takes 0% commission. Just a flat $19/month for tracking your builds, quotes, and client communication.
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 will quote from your own history instead of guessing.
Start tracking commissions freeHow to price cosplay and craft commissions
Most cosplay makers lose money on their first few commissions because they price from materials alone. A foam breastplate that costs $40 in materials takes 20 hours to build. At $200, you are earning $8 an hour before taxes, fees, and shipping eat another 25 to 40% of that. The calculator above shows your real take-home so you can price from data instead of guessing.
The formula that works
Materials + (hours x hourly rate) + overhead. Beginner makers charge $15 to $18 per hour, intermediate $20 to $25, experienced $30 to $40, and experts $45 to $60. Overhead includes Etsy fees (up to 9.5%), PayPal (2.9%), self-employment tax (15.3%), shipping materials, and equipment wear. These costs can eat 25 to 40% of your listed price.
Commission rates by craft type
Cosplay: simple sewn costumes go for $200 to $800, complex armor builds $1,000 to $3,000+. Fursuits: heads start at $800 for new makers, full suits $2,200 to $7,000+. Miniature painting: tabletop-standard infantry $10 to $15 per model, display quality $25 to $35, competition-level $47 to $143. Sewing: a lined jacket $150 to $400, a full gown $500 to $1,500.
The undercharging test
Take your total price, subtract materials and overhead, divide by hours. If that number is below $15, you are 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. Run every quote through this test before sending it.
What happens after you set your price
Pricing is step one. The full commission workflow covers intake, quoting, building with client approval gates, and delivery tracking. Most makers lose time (and money) not on the build itself, but on the process around it.
Client intake
Ref sheets, measurements, timeline expectations, and your terms of service. One form, no back-and-forth.
Line-item quote
Materials, labor hours, overhead, and platform fees. The client sees exactly what they are paying for.
Approval gates
Each milestone gets a client checkpoint. Signed-off foam base means no redo after fur goes on.
Delivery and tracking
Final photos, shipping, payment status. See your effective hourly rate across all commissions.
Related guides
Deep dives and cost breakdowns for this topic.
Rush Commission Fees: How Much to Charge
9 min read
A $2,500 fursuit commission rushed to 3 weeks? That's $4,375. Exact multipliers for moderate, significant, and emergency rush tiers.
Price Commissions Without Losing Money
12 min read
The real formula for pricing cosplay commissions so you stop working for less than minimum wage. Materials, labor, overhead, and profit margin.
Cosplay Commission Cost Breakdown
11 min read
A $2,000 cosplay commission isn't a ripoff. Here's exactly where the money goes: materials ($150-400), labor (60-80 hours), overhead, and the margin most makers skip.
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Start with a template, customize the milestones and materials, and build without losing track.
Harley Quinn
~4wThe Suicide Squad Harley Quinn: a customized red and blue satin bomber jacket, distressed "Daddy's Lil Monster" tee, sequined shorts, dip-dyed pigtail wig, smudged dual-tone eyeshadow, and an oversized foam mallet. This is a beginner-intermediate build. The jacket and wig are the two skill checks. Covers 7 components, 12 materials with cost estimates, a 10-step build plan across 5 phases, and a realistic 4-week, $90 to $280 budget.
Sung Jinwoo
~7wSolo Leveling's Shadow Monarch in his iconic default hunter outfit: a long black coat with purple inner lining, structured shoulder armor, fitted pants, and dual daggers. This is an intermediate hybrid build that combines garment sewing with foam armor crafting for the shoulder details, plus prop work for the daggers. The coat and its glowing purple lining are the make-or-break detail. Includes 7 components, 19 materials with cost estimates, a 15-step build plan, and a realistic 5-7 week, $120 to $320 budget.
Captain America
~6wThe star-spangled Avenger in his Endgame suit: scaled chest armor over a tactical blue base, a white star emblem, red gauntlets and boot details, a foam cowl helmet with ear wings, and the iconic round shield. This is an intermediate build with repetitive detail work on the scales and some prop-making for the shield. Covers 7 components, 12 materials with cost estimates, a 12-step plan across 5 phases, and a realistic 6-week, $150 to $400 budget.
Tanjiro Kamado
~6wDemon Slayer's water-breathing hero, built from the green-and-black checkered haori down to the hanafuda earrings. The haori is the signature piece, it needs clean seams and a pattern scale that reads on camera, while the black wig requires burgundy-dyed tips and structured front bangs. This is an intermediate build for someone who can sew straight seams and follow a wig styling tutorial. The forehead scar and leg wraps add the finishing touches that take it from a costume to a character. 8 components, 15 materials, about 6 weeks, $120 to $350.
Used by makers from r/cosplay, The RPF, Cosplay.com, r/Gunpla, and r/minipainting
Have questions about pricing or managing commissions? We'll get back to you within 24 hours.
Email the founderFrequently 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.