Farmers Market Planner

Know exactly how much to bake — and whether the market will actually make you money. Enter your booth fee, products, and prices below.

Heading to a farmers market, craft fair, or weekend pop-up? This free planner shows you exactly how much to bake, your break-even point, and how much profit you'll actually make after the booth fee — so you don't sell out in the first hour or carry half your table back home. Enter your booth fee, products, and prices below.

The market
$

What the market charges you for the day.

$

Gas, parking, permit, ice — one-offs for the day.

hrs

Prep + travel + selling. Used for your $/hour.

Expected foot traffic

Sets how much of your stock you're likely to sell: 70%. New markets are usually slower than you hope — start low.

What you're bringing
$
$
Profit each: $5.50
$
$
Profit each: $4.20

Not sure what each item costs to make? Use the recipe cost calculator →
Not sure what to charge? Try the pricing calculator →

Expected profit · selling 70%

$94.50

$266.00 sales · 17 left over

Break-even

$171.50

25 of 55 items (45%)

Your pay rate

$15.75/hr

at 70% sell-through

If you sell…

SoldRevenueProfit$/hr
60%$228.00$56.50$9.42
80%$304.00$132.50$22.08
100%$380.00$208.50$34.75

Most profitable per item

1. Sourdough loaf$5.50/ea
2. Cookies (6-pack)$4.20/ea

Bring more of your top earners and lead with them.

Your bake list

ProductBakePriceIf sold out
Sourdough loaf25$8.00$200.00
Cookies (6-pack)30$6.00$180.00
Total55$380.00

Money out for the day (booth + ingredients + costs): $171.50. Everything you sell above $171.50 is profit.

Run your whole bakery, not just the market

BakeProfit keeps the numbers for you

Cost every recipe automatically, track expenses and orders, print compliant ingredient labels, and take orders through your own website — so planning your next market is one click, not a spreadsheet rebuild.

Recipe costingExpense & order trackingIngredient labelsYour own order website

How to read your numbers

The two numbers that decide whether a market is worth it.

Break-even sell-through

This is the share of your stock you must sell just to cover the booth fee, ingredients, and day costs. Under 60% is comfortable — a slow day still leaves you in profit. Over 80% is risky: you only win if the day goes well. You lower it by raising prices, bringing fewer items, or paying a cheaper booth.

Profit at every sell-through

You almost never sell 100%. The scenarios show what you actually pocket if you sell 60%, 80%, or 100% of what you bring — after subtracting every cost, including the ingredients for the items you carry home unsold. If "100% sold" still pays you a poor hourly rate, the market math is broken before you even bake.

Why unsold stock counts against you

You bake everything you bring, so you have already paid for the ingredients whether they sell or not. That is why the planner charges the full ingredient cost up front. Non-perishable items you can sell later (jars, dry mixes) are less of a loss — mentally add those back.

Effective hourly rate

Your profit divided by the hours you put in — prep, travel, setup, and standing at the table. A market that nets $90 for a 9-hour day is paying you $10/hour. Knowing this helps you decide which markets to keep and which to drop.

Common questions

How much should I bake for my first farmers market?

Start conservative. New vendors usually sell 40–60% of what they bring, so bringing a smaller, focused range you can sell through beats a huge spread you carry home. Enter your products at "New / quiet market" traffic and aim for a break-even under 70%. It is better to sell out and take names for next week than to dump unsold stock.

How do I decide how many of each item to bring?

Lead with your highest-margin, most popular items — the planner ranks them by profit per item. Bring the most of those, a moderate amount of mid-range items, and only a few of anything slow or fragile. Adjust the quantities and watch the break-even and profit update live.

Should I count my own time as a cost?

For deciding whether a market is worth it, yes. Enter your total hours (prep, travel, setup, selling) and watch the effective hourly rate. The booth might "make money" on paper but pay you $6/hour once you count the whole day — that is the number that tells you to raise prices or find a better market.

What about sales tax and card fees?

This planner gives you pre-tax profit. If your area charges sales tax on baked goods, collect it on top of your prices. If you take cards, card readers take roughly 2.6–3% per sale — shave that off your prices or build it into your margin.