How Much Does Engraving Cost Per Letter?
Calculate engraving cost per letter for personalized items like tumblers, cutting boards, jewelry, and plaques. Enter character count, laser runtime, and blank item cost to instantly see your cost per letter, total job cost, and profitable selling price. Perfect for quoting custom names, monograms, and personalized text.
Display only — amounts are not converted between currencies.
Letter count, blank and runtime
Recommended total price
$32.97
- Total cost
- $14.34
- Recommended price
- $32.97
- Profit
- $16.49
- Profit margin
- 50.0%
- Effective price per letter
- $1.32
Cost breakdown
| Blank item | $6.76 |
|---|---|
| Laser machine cost | $0.42 |
| Design & setup | $3.00 |
| Labor | $2.67 |
| Waste allowance | $0.26 |
| Packaging | $1.50 |
| Fees | $2.14 |
Printed · Craft Pricing Tools · CraftPricingTools.com
Recommended total price
$32.97
When to use this calculator
Calculates engraving cost and pricing per character or letter for personalized gifts, monograms, cutting boards, and tumblers.
Factors in the blank product cost, laser machine runtime, setup/design preparation, and packaging.
How this calculator works
How engraving per letter is calculated
- Machine runtime cost = (laser minutes / 60) × machine hourly rate
- Labor cost = (prep & cleanup minutes / 60) × labor rate
- Total cost = blank item + machine cost + labor cost + setup fee + packaging + waste
- Recommended price = total cost / (1 − target margin − platform fee %)
- Effective price per letter = recommended price / character count
Example
Example: 25-letter name & date on a wood cutting board
25 letters, $6.50 blank cutting board, $3.00 setup share, 5 min laser runtime ($0.42 machine cost), 8 min labor ($2.67), $1.50 packaging, 50% margin.
- Total production cost is $14.59.
- Recommended total price is $33.54 after 6.5% fees.
- Effective price per letter is $1.34.
How much should I charge?
Standard custom engraving adds $10–$25 on top of the blank item price.
Charge $0.75–$2.00 per letter if offering standalone text personalization.
Pricing tips
- Set a minimum engraving fee ($10–$15) so single-word jobs remain profitable.
- Test font burn depths on scrap wood before running expensive customer pieces.
Common mistakes
- Charging only per letter and giving away the blank item or graphic setup time.
- Not factoring in masking tape application and residue cleanup time.
FAQ
How much does engraving cost per letter?
Engraving typically costs between $0.50 and $2.50 per character for personalized gifts like tumblers, cutting boards, and jewelry. Most professional shops also charge a base setup fee between $10 and $20 to cover machine alignment and graphic file preparation.
How much should I charge per letter for laser engraving?
Most custom engravers charge $0.50 to $1.50 per character, with a $10 to $20 minimum job fee plus the cost of the blank.
Is it better to charge per letter or a flat rate for custom engraving?
Charging per letter works best for variable-length names where customers understand longer text requires more laser runtime. For standard gifts or monograms, a flat rate with a character limit (e.g., $15 for up to 10 letters) simplifies ordering.
Related calculators
- Laser Engraving Pricing Calculator — Calculate laser cost from material and runtime, then a selling price after fees.
- Laser Cutting Cost Calculator — Calculate laser cutting cost from nested material, cut time, machine rate and setup.
Related articles
- How Much Does Engraving Cost Per Letter? [2026 Pricing Guide] — Most shops charge $1–$2 per letter for basic laser engraving. The real cost per character includes blank cost, runtime, setup, and margin.