The craft show booth ROI calculator determines whether a craft fair or market is worth attending. Enter all costs and your product margins to find your break-even, target sales, and effective hourly rate.
Show Cost Calculator
Product Margins
Add Actual Sales to History
How to Evaluate Craft Show ROI
Not every craft show is worth doing. The craft show booth ROI calculator helps you decide before you pack the car — and track results over time to identify your best shows.
Step 1: Add Up All Costs Honestly
Most sellers forget half their costs. A $150 booth fee is the starting point. Add gas ($30), parking ($10), helper food and coffee ($20), display refresh ($20), and 12 hours of your time at $20/hour ($240). That's $470 total cost — not $150. You need to sell $470 worth of profit (not revenue) to break even, which at $17 profit per item is 28 items.
Step 2: Know Your Break-Even Before You Go
Break-even units = total show cost ÷ profit per item. If your items sell for $25 with $8 material cost ($17 profit), and the show costs $300 total: you need to sell at least 18 items to break even. Target 36 items for 2× ROI. If the show historically has 200 shoppers and your category conversion is 5-10%, that's 10-20 sales — potentially below break-even for this show size.
Step 3: Track Historical Performance
Use the history feature to log actual sales at each show. After 5-6 shows, patterns emerge: certain venues consistently outperform, certain times of year are slow, certain price points move faster than others. Your effective hourly rate (profit ÷ total hours) is the ultimate metric — if it's below your alternative use of that time, reconsider the show.
FAQ
How do I calculate if a craft show is worth it?
Add all costs: booth fee + travel (gas, hotel if overnight) + display supplies + assistant pay + your time at the show. Divide by your profit per item (selling price minus material cost). That's your break-even quantity. If you realistically can't sell that many, the show isn't worth it. Also track your effective hourly rate: total profit ÷ hours spent (including setup, show, teardown, and travel).
What is a good ROI for a craft show?
A 2× ROI (returning twice what you invested) is a solid baseline. For a $200 booth fee, target $400+ in profit above all costs. Your effective hourly rate should beat what you'd earn doing something else with that time. Many craft sellers target 3-5× their booth cost in total sales, not profit — with 60-70% margins, that's roughly 2-3× cost in profit.
What should I include in my craft show costs?
Booth fee (usually $50-500), travel (gas + mileage wear = ~$0.22/mile), parking at the venue, hotel if it's an overnight show, display setup supplies (table, covers, stands, signs), food for the day, assistant pay if applicable, and the value of your own time at the show (at your hourly rate). Don't forget inventory carrying cost if items don't sell.
How many items should I bring to a craft show?
A useful rule: bring 3-5× what you expect to sell. If your break-even is 20 items and you target 2× ROI (40 items), bring 120-200 units. A visually full table attracts more buyers — people skip nearly-empty tables. The unsold inventory carries over to your next show or online store, so it's not wasted.
Is this craft show calculator free?
Yes, completely free with no signup required. Show history is saved locally in your browser for comparison across events.