Studio Cost of Doing Business Calculator

Build your real break-even numbers — then turn them into confident pricing. This tool calculates your annual overhead, required revenue, and your minimum sustainable session average.

How to use this (2 minutes)

1) Add your fixed monthly/annual expenses (subscriptions, insurance, rent, marketing, etc.).
2) Add your per-session variable costs (prints, travel, packaging, assistant).
3) Enter your target owner pay + sessions per year.
4) Click Calculate to see your true minimum session average and pricing “health” zone.

1) Fixed Expenses (Overhead)

Add expenses that exist even if you don’t shoot (software, insurance, rent, education, marketing).

Baseline monthly overhead (if you prefer one number)

Optional. If you add line-items below, we’ll combine them.

Annual one-off expenses (CPA, gear maintenance, etc.)

Optional. This gets added to total annual overhead.

Monthly overhead line-items (recommended)

Examples: Adobe, CRM, website hosting, insurance, studio rent, marketing.

2) Variable Costs (Per Session)

Costs that happen when you book a session: prints, travel, packaging, assistant, outsourcing.

Per-session line-items

Examples: print cost, album cost, gas, assistant, hair/makeup stipend.

3) Targets

Your business should pay you — not just cover expenses.

Target sessions per year

If you’re unsure: beginners often start with 4–8/mo (48–96/yr).

Owner pay goal (annual)

What you want to take home before taxes (estimate).

Profit buffer % (recommended 10–20)

Extra margin for growth + bad months.

4) Results

We’ll calculate your annual requirement and session-level break-even.

Total Annual Overhead

Monthly overhead × 12 + annual one-offs

Variable Cost Per Session

Prints + travel + packaging + assistants (per session)

Required Annual Revenue

Overhead + owner pay + profit buffer

Minimum Sustainable Session Average

Required annual revenue ÷ sessions per year (plus variable costs)

Tip: Save this page as a PDF after you calculate (Print → Save PDF).