Okay i have made cakes for family and friends and now others are starting to ask me to make cakes for them as well one problem i feel bad charging when it comes to money i don't do good at all i feel so bad taking thee money so i always give them away for free well at this point its putting a huge dent in my pocket book i know my cakes arnt great but if people are asking for them i need to charge! i just wanted to see if you all would be so kind and share what you charge for cakes so i can make up a sheet with prices i think that way i don't feel so bad taking there money

I still don't have a base price for everything, but if you don't want to charge for the actual cake, why don't you just charge for the supplies/ingredients??? At least this won't put a dent in your pocket!!

I think pricing depends on the area where you live. My cakes start at $25.00 and up. I too have a difficult time pricing. Family and friends are the worst. My immediate family usually gets cakes for free. Extended family and friends get between a $5 and a $10 discount. My cakes are cheaper than a bakery.

If it makes yourself feel better about asking for money think about the money you will spend on their cake while you're telling them how much you charge.
For cakes I won't do one for less than $25.

expenses+ 3x expenses= price of cake

This is a formula someone else published here awhile back. This would solve the out of pocket expenses, plus the less obvious ones such as electricity, food colors, decorator bags etc. plus minium wage for your time.

I did an 8" cake with simple buttercream decorations for a coworker recently. I didn't really want to charge her, but she gave me $20 for it, voluntarilly. (sp? sorry!). She kept saying "if I didn't pay you for the cake, I'd be getting something from a bakery anyway, and I'd rather you have the money for it."

So, don't feel bad about it, at least charge something minimal to cover your supplies, and hopefully your friends and family will think the same thing I wrote above. If they're getting a cake, they might as well pay a friend for it!

I would at least charge for the supplies that you used to make the cake. I just found out that the acme grocery store in my area charge $35 for a barbie cake, which made me feel good because I charge $20 for my first one, so that means when I can actually do one and have it look good I could charge like $40. Thats just a side note, but definitely charge at least for your expenses, even family should understand that! You can't go broke over doing this Generosity doesn't pay the bills!

I think that all kind hearted people have trouble stepping into the world of profiting from their hobby! I have passed thru that stage, and will tell you that I charge about $25 per box mix. for birthday type cakes. For ganache...I add $5. For an edible image... I add $5-10.....for average flowers from BC or Royal or cut-out fondant/gumpaste I don't add. For elaborate fondant/gumpaste I add appropriately..... SOON YOU WILL BURN OUT from all the freebies, and your hobby will cease to be fun. Let it become a cottage business, and reward yourself with the "egg money". It will motivate you and make you a better decorator. Think of it as bartering.....cake for money!!! LOL

For weddings, I start at $2 per serving and up. This is all that my area will support. Someone mentioned location being a big factor in pricing. Very true.

My prices are very, very reasonable. Don't sell yourself short.

Most of my cakes start at $25 and go up. I cut a deal on the smash cakes for first birthdays. I made a deal with my family that they get one free cake from me and then I have to charge them. They were happy with that!

This is what i have so far i want to be very clear and i dont know what to say about fillings, toppers, that they are two layers.... I also want to do a free smash cake with first birthdays!!!


Size  Price
6  15.00
8  20.00
10  30.00
9x13   35.00
½ Sheet  45.00
Fillings 3.00

Prices Based on Butter Cream frosting Fondant and Ganache also available at extra cost

I've been decorating on the side for about 5 months now and while it feels weird talking about money with people, let's face it, they would go out and spend $25 on a cake from a grocery store or SAMs. I usually start my pricing out at $30 and since I'm a newbie I try to keep it around that price mainly to build a customer base for now. I did recently charge $45 for a baby einstein caterpillar and then $60 for the hugs and stitches one but those were more work. Honestly, try to decide on a price per serving and then if the cake requires more extensive decorations you can add on to the price from there. I know that if I ever do a cake all in fondant it would add about $1 to the price per serving. Good luck and you just have to find it in yourself to get over the anxiety of the whole money thing. People will pay for good product and come back!

I don't bake for profit, just for family and friends but I do charge for ingredients only. The best thing to do is to break down the costs of all your ingredients, I've even broken down the price of a tsp of vanilla!! ONce you see how much it really costs you to make a cake, it will be easier for you to ask for reimbursement at the very least. Start with reimbursement then build to profit. I'm at the point now where I don't have to pay for cake supplies out of my pocket anymore. Also, I know longer make unsolicited cakes, if someone outside of the immediate family wants a cake, I tell them up front how much the ingredients are. Good luck!