Can you get there in the hours you have?
Most income goals are set without ever checking whether the time exists to reach them. Tell it what you want to earn, how many hours a week you really have, and one thing you make — it will work out how many you would have to sell, how long that takes, and what has to change if the two do not meet. No account, no sales history needed.
Etsy’s cut is the real one, not an estimate — the same fee engine the app bills against. A year is 48 working weeks here, so four weeks off.
$30,000 a year is $2,500 a month, or $625 a week.
At $19.94 profit per candle, that is 1,505 of them — 126 a month, 32 a week.
1,505 candles at 45 minutes each is 1,129 hours of work, spread over 48 weeks. You said you have 12 hours a week.
So one of three things has to give, and it is worth choosing which rather than discovering it in December:
- The goal — $15,314 a yearwhat 12 hours a week buys at this product’s economics
- The hours — 23.5 hours a week2× what you have
- The price — $53.13 instead of $32.00then 12 hours a week gets you there
All three of these reach the same place. The price is the only one that costs you nothing to try, and it is the one most makers reach for last.
That is one product and your estimate of it. MakerMargin runs the same arithmetic against your real Etsy sales — every product, fees exact off your own statement, ranked by what each one pays you an hour.
See my real numbers14-day trial · $12/mo
Etsy fees are computed by the same engine MakerMargin bills against, at rates effective 22 June 2026. Your own estimates of price, cost and time drive everything else, so the answer is exactly as good as they are. General information, not financial advice.
The same arithmetic, on your real sales
A goal built on one estimated product is a starting point. MakerMargin reads the order file Etsy already exports and runs this against every product you actually sell — fees exact, off your own statement — and ranks them by what each one pays you an hour, worst first.
Setting a goal you can actually reach
How many sales do I need to make $30,000 a year on Etsy?
It depends entirely on what one sale returns after fees and materials, not on the price. On a $32 item with $6 shipping and $14 of materials, Etsy's fees are about $4.06, so one sale returns roughly $18.64. Reaching $30,000 takes about 1,610 of them — which at 45 minutes each is over 1,200 hours of work, or 25 hours every week for 48 weeks.
Why does this ask how many hours a week I have?
Because it is the constraint most income goals quietly ignore. A goal is only real if the hours exist to reach it, and most sellers have never checked whether theirs do. Putting the two numbers side by side is the entire point of this calculator.
Is the goal profit or revenue?
Profit — what is left after Etsy's fees and your materials, but before you pay yourself. That is the money the business actually generates for you. A revenue goal is much easier to hit and tells you almost nothing.
What if the goal does not fit the hours I have?
Then one of three things has to change, and there are only three: the goal, the hours, or the price. This calculator works out each one exactly — what your hours will actually earn at your current prices, how many hours the goal really needs, and what you would have to charge for the hours you have to be enough.
Do I need an Etsy account or a sales export to use it?
No. This works entirely from your own estimates, which is deliberate — it is meant to be useful before you have sold anything. If you are already selling, MakerMargin does the same arithmetic against your real Etsy order export instead of your guesses.
Where these numbers come from
How much does Etsy take per sale?
The full stack of fees on one order, added up on real numbers instead of percentages.
Etsy Offsite Ads fees, and the $100 cap nobody applies
Why one order can cost you $100 in advertising fees, and why it can never cost more.
Does Etsy charge fees on shipping? Yes — here's the math
The fee sellers most often forget to subtract, and why free shipping doesn't dodge it.
How to price a handmade product so the fees don't eat it
Pricing worked backwards from the margin you want, with your own time paid.
What is a good profit margin on Etsy?
Why the margin most sellers quote is two subtractions short of the real one.
Etsy fee changes in 2026: what actually changed
One fee really changed this year. Most articles saying otherwise are wrong.
Etsy vs Shopify fees: where the crossover actually is
The order count where Shopify gets cheaper — and why that isn't the decision.
How to read your Etsy monthly statement
Every row type in the statement CSV, and the two columns people sum by mistake.
Why your Etsy payout doesn't match your sales
Six reasons the number in your bank is smaller than the number in your shop.
Etsy taxes for handmade sellers: what's deductible
Your 1099-K is gross sales. Everything between that and profit is the point.
Etsy SEO: what Etsy actually says ranks
Etsy's own ranking factors, and the four tactics it says don't work.
Wholesale vs retail pricing: can your product survive being halved?
Wholesale halves your price. Here's the one number that decides if you survive it.
An Etsy product stopped selling. What now?
Diagnose it before you discount it — the two reflexes both cost real money.
Which Etsy shop stats actually mean anything
Four numbers on the stats page, one of which is decorative.
How much should you charge for shipping on Etsy?
Free shipping isn't cheaper or dearer — it moves where the money shows up.
Craftybase (now Stocksmith) vs MakerMargin: an honest comparison
They do more than we do. Here's when that's worth paying for.
Is Etsy Ads worth it? Do this calculation first
Ad spend is only affordable if you know your margin per sale. Most sellers don't.
How to cost materials for handmade products properly
Cost per unit made, not per pack bought — and stop skipping the cheap stuff.
What an Etsy refund actually costs you
The sale price is the cheapest part of a refund.
How to raise your prices on Etsy without losing the shop
How many sales you can afford to lose — the number that makes a rise safe.
Is Etsy worth it? An honest answer with the numbers
The fee is a commission on customers. The question is whether Etsy found them.
Planning Q4 on Etsy without losing money in your busiest month
Q4 multiplies your margins, including the ones already underwater.
Tracking Etsy profit in a spreadsheet — and where it breaks
A spreadsheet works fine until three specific things happen.
Is Etsy Star Seller worth chasing?
Etsy says it doesn't affect ranking. So what is it actually for?
What your Etsy processing time actually costs you
A number you set once, that quietly prices itself into everything else.
Your bestseller earns the least. That isn't a coincidence
Etsy's ranking quietly promotes your least profitable product. Here's why.
Why bundles beat single items on Etsy fees
Three $16 orders cost more in fees than one $48 order. Here's how much.
What to charge for personalization on Etsy
The surcharge is taxed like everything else — and that's the smaller problem.
Variations or separate listings? The costs of each
More listings means more search coverage — and a standing bill to keep them.
What selling internationally on Etsy actually costs
Three costs that only show up when the buyer is abroad.
How much should you pay yourself for handmade work?
There's no right rate. There is one that's always wrong.
Etsy product photos: what Etsy says, and what the grid demands
Your first photo is never seen alone. It's seen in a row of competitors.
The Etsy shop expenses you're probably not counting
The costs that never make it into anyone's per-product maths.
Etsy reviews: the 100-day window, and what a review is worth
A 100-day window you can't rush, feeding a ranking factor you can't fake.
Should you open a second Etsy shop?
Allowed, with a disclosure rule most people miss — and a hidden cost.
Etsy sales and coupon codes: what a discount really needs to earn back
25% off needs six times the sales to break even. Most sales don't.
What to do with Etsy listings that never sell
Dead listings renew three times a year. That's the cheapest thing about them.
Etsy vacation mode: what it actually does to your shop
The dip when you come back is real, and Etsy explains exactly why.
Etsy gift wrap: priced properly, or quietly free?
A small option that's charged like everything else — and often underpriced.
A new Etsy shop's first 90 days, in the right order
Ninety days isn't arbitrary. It's when Etsy starts counting you.
Getting repeat customers on Etsy, within Etsy's rules
Most repeat-customer advice for Etsy is against Etsy's rules. This isn't.
Etsy cancellations: the rules, and what one costs you
Cancel early and it's cheap. Cancel after making it and it isn't.
How to research competitor prices without copying them
You can see their price. You can't see whether it's working for them.
Etsy digital downloads: where the money actually goes
No materials and no postage, but the same fees — and a different review clock.
Etsy Purchase Protection: what it covers, and what voids it
Up to $250 covered — unless the listing oversold the item.
The shop policies that actually prevent Etsy disputes
Policies aren't paperwork — they're the thing standing between you and a case.
How many Etsy sales do you need to break even?
The number of orders before you earn a penny. Most sellers have never worked it out.
What to sell on Etsy: choosing products that can actually pay
Demand is necessary and not sufficient. Here's the other half.
Going full-time on Etsy: the number that decides it
It isn't a revenue target. It's a capacity problem with a profit constraint.
Cost of goods sold, explained for people who make things
Not what you spent on materials — what went into what you actually sold.
A 30-minute monthly routine for Etsy bookkeeping
Half an hour a month, or a lost weekend every April. Same work.
Scaling a handmade business without destroying the margin
Handing over work only pays if the margin was carrying a wage already.
Handling a difficult Etsy customer without losing the ranking
Three ranking inputs are in play. That changes when to just refund.
Is Etsy Pattern worth $15 a month?
$15/month and no 6.5% transaction fee. The catch is who finds it.
Which currency should you list in on Etsy?
A 2.5% fee triggered by a setting, not by where your buyer lives.
Etsy for UK sellers: VAT, the threshold, and the fee nobody mentions
£90,000 rolling — and Etsy adds VAT to its fees until you tell it not to.
US sales tax on Etsy: what Etsy handles and what it doesn't
Etsy handles it. The trap is what that does to your revenue figures.
Writing an Etsy listing that gets found and then gets bought
Five parts, three jobs. Most listings only do two of them.
Etsy quantities and stock: what the renewal rule actually costs
Every unit sold renews the listing. Plan stock around that, not against it.
Flat rate or calculated shipping? The decision, with the costs
Simplicity has a price, and it's paid on your heaviest orders.
Shop sections: organising a catalogue that has outgrown itself
What most people wanting a second shop actually need.
Good, better, best: why a price ladder earns more than one price
Three prices change the question from whether to which.
Planning an Etsy year: the quiet months are the ones to plan
December takes care of itself. February is the one to plan for.