How much should I charge? Your real numbers.
Add up a year of real costs and the hours each wedding really takes. You'll see what you need to charge to pay yourself, and what you keep today.
"When I was shooting, adding up a year of real costs showed me how little I was taking home. That's what gave me the confidence to charge what I was worth."
The numbers filled in are examples to start from, not industry averages. Change anything. Nothing is saved unless you ask us to email your results.
To pay yourself $60,000, you need to charge about $5,553 per wedding.
That's $2,053 more than you charge now.
How we calculate this
Gear per year = gear cost ÷ years it lasts. Yearly costs = gear per year + every yearly cost.
Cost per wedding = yearly costs ÷ weddings + costs for each wedding.
Salary before tax = take-home ÷ (1 − tax rate).
Price needed = (yearly costs + salary before tax − other paid work) ÷ weddings + costs for each wedding.
Break-even = (yearly costs − other paid work) ÷ weddings + costs for each wedding.
You keep per wedding = (your price − costs for each wedding − (yearly costs − other paid work) ÷ weddings) × (1 − tax rate). Per hour = that ÷ hours per wedding.
Weddings needed = (yearly costs + salary before tax − other paid work) ÷ (your price − costs for each wedding), rounded up.
The tax rate is a simple estimate, not tax advice. Inspired by the idea behind the NPPA cost-of-doing-business calculator.
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