Profitability calculator
Estimate profit per cycle, profit per hour, margin and ROI for every building. Prices are pulled from the live market — and you can override any of them.
Pick a recipe, adjust the building level and quality bonuses, and see at a glance whether to produce or buy on the market. Use "Share result" to generate a permanent link with your configuration.
Labour cost index. 1.0 = base
0 to 2. Reduces input cost by that %
0 to 2. Raises sale price by that %
Used to compute ROI in hours
Sale price — Construction Units
= $2,330.00 (0% bonus)
Inputs
- Reinforced Concrete200 · Market price: $169.00
- Steel Beams80 · Market price: $17.90
- Windows30 · Market price: $99.50
- Tools20 · Market price: $176.00
Results
- Input cost / cycle · $41,737.00
- Wages / cycle · $18,000.00
- Profit / cycle · -$52,747.00
Input breakdown
| Input | Amount | Unit price | Subtotal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reinforced Concrete | 200 | $169.00 | $33,800.00 |
| Steel Beams | 80 | $17.90 | $1,432.00 |
| Windows | 30 | $99.50 | $2,985.00 |
| Tools | 20 | $176.00 | $3,520.00 |
How the math works
The calculator uses a simple, transparent formula so you can sanity-check the numbers by hand:
- Revenue per cycle = output amount × sale price × (1 + output quality bonus).
- Input cost per cycle = sum of (amount × input price × (1 − input quality bonus)).
- Wages per cycle = recipe's base wage × wage multiplier.
- Profit per cycle = revenue − input cost − wages.
- Profit per hour = profit per cycle × (3600 ÷ cycle time in seconds).
- ROI in hours = building cost ÷ profit per hour (only when positive).
Quality bonuses are modelled as a flat percentage on price: 0.20 = +20%. It's a useful approximation for comparing recipes; the full in-game model has quality shelves and non-linear curves that we'll layer on next.
Want the full breakdown of the reasoning? Read our guide: How to tell if a building is profitable .