Last updated: Jul 21, 2024

Price Per Unit Calculator

Created by Krishna Nelaturu

Krishna Nelaturu

Krishna holds a Master's degree in Applied Mechanics and never shies away from asking questions and digging deeper. He has two years of experience in steel castings and a particular fascination for vehicle dynamics. For his thesis, Krishna developed a new optimization method to reduce squeak and rattle in premium cars. He is passionate about mathematics and physics and constantly wonders about our place in the Universe. He also loves stories and storytelling and hopes to write a book someday. See full profile

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Komal Rafay

A master's in Bioinformatics, with 3+ years of experience as a project manager. She has a vast experience of 7+ years in teaching Math, Computer science, and General Sciences, not only professionally but also to help out the children of the neighborhood. She is an enthusiastic reader with a thirst for knowledge who would even read the shampoo labels. As a side hustle that satisfies her love for art, she is a body art and henna expert. In her free time, you will find her reading books, writing short stories, playing with her pets, or experimenting with food while listening to some bouncy music. See full profile

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Table of contents

Calculating cost per unit How to use this price per unit calculator Similar tools FAQs

Your quest for the best price-per-unit calculator is finally over!🎉 This handy tool can calculate the cost per unit of any item and will help you evaluate your options to get the best value for your money!

This versatile unit cost calculator can handle the following:

Find price per unit weight;
Determine price per unit volume;
Calculate price per item;
Evaluate price per item's weight; and
Compute price per item's volume.

In the following article, we shall go through the fundamentals of this concept, including the formula for calculating the cost per item. We shall go through some examples to help drive the concept home.

Calculating cost per unit

The formula for calculating cost per unit weight is:

\text{Cost per unit weight} = \frac{\text{Total cost}}{\text{Total weight}}

Say a 5-pound rice bag costs $4.00 at your local store. That means the cost of rice per pound is:

\begin{align*} \text{Price per pound} &= \frac{\text{Total cost}}{\text{Total weight}}\\[1em] &=\frac{\$4.00}{5 \text{ lbs}} = 0.8\\[1em] \implies\text{Price per pound} &=\$ 0.80 \end{align*}

The formula for calculating the price per unit volume is similar:

\text{Cost per unit volume} = \frac{\text{Total cost}}{\text{Total volume}}

For example, if a gallon of milk costs $3.50, what does a fluid ounce (fl oz) cost?

\begin{align*} \text{Price per fluid ounce} &= \frac{\text{Total cost}}{\text{Total volume}}\\[1em] &=\frac{\$3.50}{1 \text{ US gal}}\\[1em] &=\frac{\$3.50}{128 \text{ fl oz}}\\[1em] \implies\text{Price per fluid ounce} &=0.027 \equiv \$0.03 \end{align*}

We bet you can already guess what the formula for calculating unit cost per item is:

\text{Cost per item} = \frac{\text{Total cost}}{\text{Number of items}}

Consider you are out to purchase some eggs. At your local shop, you come across an 18-count pack of eggs priced at $4.40. Let's determine the cost per egg using the formula to calculate the cost per item:

\begin{align*} \text{Cost per egg} &= \frac{\text{Total cost}}{\text{Number of eggs}}\\[1em] &=\frac{\$4.40}{18 \text{ eggs}} = 0.244\\[1em] \implies\text{Price per egg} & \equiv \$0.24 \end{align*}

How to use this price per unit calculator

Our price-per-unit calculator is a versatile tool. To start with, you have five different modes to select from:

Price per unit weight.
Price per unit volume.
Price per item.
Price per item's weight.
Price per item's volume.

The last two modes are for cases when a pack includes multiple items, and you want to calculate the price per weight or volume, like a six-pack beer.
Once you select the mode, enter the following details of the item under option A:
- Total cost;
- Weight, volume, or number of items, based on the chosen mode.

❗ For the last two modes, you must provide both the number of items and the weight or volume.

This tool will use the provided inputs to calculate the price per unit.
The calculator also offers a comparison feature. If you have a second option, say, another packet listed at a different price, you can enter its details under the option B section. The calculator will determine which option is cheaper and by how much.

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FAQs

How do you calculate price per item?

To calculate the price per item, follow these steps:

Find the total cost of the items.
Count the total number of items.
Divide the total cost by the number of items to calculate the cost per item.
Verify with our price per unit calculator.

How much does 5 gallons of gasoline cost at $3.25 per gallon?

At $3.25 per gallon, 5 gallons of gas cost $16.25. To calculate this, multiply the cost per gallon by the volume of gasoline:

Cost of 5 gallons of gasoline = $3.25 × 5 = $16.25