Work out the profitability of a makers' market
Free, no sign-up needed. Updated on 31 October 2026.
A market is profitable if you keep enough once the cost of your items and all expenses (pitch, travel, meals) are taken off, relative to the time spent. Revenue alone isn't enough: compare what you keep per hour from one market to the next.
- Sales
- €600
- Cost of your items
- − €180
- Market costs
- − €120
- You keep
- €300
- That is, per hour
- €30 / h
To cover your costs, you need to sell at least €171. To pay yourself €15 per hour, you would need to sell €386.
Comptartisan does this calculation at every market, based on the sales noted at the stall.
Try free for 30 daysThe method, step by step
You keep = sales − cost of items sold − market expenses.
What the market earns you per hour = what you keep ÷ total hours spent.
Sales needed to cover costs = expenses ÷ (1 − share of item cost). On each sale, only the part not spent on materials pays back the pitch and travel.
Example with the values above: €600 of sales, items that cost 30% of their price (€180) and €120 of costs. You keep 600 − 180 − 120 = €300, or €30 an hour over 10 hours. Just to cover the €120 of costs, you needed to sell 120 ÷ 0.70 ≈ €171.
Do this calculation for every market and compare what you keep per hour, rather than the revenue. To go further: find out whether a craft market is profitable.
Frequently asked questions
How do you work out the profitability of a market?
What you keep = sales − cost of items sold − market costs (pitch, fuel, tolls, meals, accommodation). Divide this amount by the number of hours spent, including preparation, travel and setting up, to find what the market earns you per hour.
How much do you need to sell to make a pitch pay?
Divide your costs by the share you keep from each sale. If your items cost 30% of their price, you keep 70% of each sale: with €120 of costs, you need to sell 120 ÷ 0.70 ≈ €172 to break even, before even paying yourself.
Is revenue enough to judge a market?
No. Two markets with €600 in sales can leave very different amounts depending on the pitch fee, the distance, a night in a hotel and the time spent. Compare what you keep, and what you keep per hour.
Should I count preparation time?
Yes: loading, travel, setting up, selling, packing down. That is the time the market costs you, and it is what lets you compare a one-day market with a three-day fair.
Doing this calculation yourself, at every market
Comptartisan records your sales at the stall, even without signal, and shows you what you keep after each market, once your items and costs are paid.
Try free for 30 days