Free tool

Camp price calculator: find your break-even price

Enter your session's costs, any grants or donations, how many children you expect and how many will attend on a full scholarship. See what you need to charge each paying child to break even.

Fixed costs for the session ($)

Staff pay for the number of children you expect, facility rental, insurance and other costs that don't change with each child. For after-school, use one month or the whole school year, and use the same period for every other number. The price will be for that period.

Per-child costs ($)

Supplies, food, T-shirts and other costs for each child.

Total children expected

Include children on scholarship.

Full scholarships

Children attending free. Count two half scholarships as one (decimals are fine).

Other funding for the session ($)

Grants, donations or contracts that pay part of the cost. Use 0 if families pay it all.

Card fee rate (%)

Use 0 if you pass the fee on to families, or if they pay by cash or check. If only some pay by card, multiply: 3% × 70% paying by card = 2.1%.

Total cost of the session$14,400.00

Average cost per child$360.00

Cost left for paying families$12,400.00

Paying children36

Break-even price per paying child$355.10

We've filled in example numbers. Replace them with your own. This includes only the percentage card fee, not any flat fee per payment. With a payment plan, that flat fee applies to every installment. If fewer children sign up than you expect, this price won't cover your costs. Nothing you enter is sent to BackPR.

The calculator runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to BackPR.

The math

How it works

Total cost is your fixed costs plus per-child costs times the number of children.

Other funding, such as grants and donations, comes off the total. Children on full scholarships attend free, so paying families cover the rest.

Before card fees, the price is that remaining cost divided by the number of paying children. If you absorb card fees, the price goes up so that what you keep after fees still covers your costs: price = (remaining cost ÷ paying children) ÷ (1 − card fee rate).

FAQ

Questions, answered

Should we price at break-even?

Break-even is the floor, not the target. Many programs add a cushion for unexpected costs, empty spots and next year's scholarships.

How do partial scholarships fit in?

Add them up as full-scholarship equivalents: two 50% scholarships count as one full scholarship. The calculator accepts decimals, such as 1.5.

Can we use this with the scholarship budget calculator?

Yes, but count scholarships in one place only. If your price already covers scholarship spots, you don't need to raise that money again. If you'll fund scholarships separately, enter 0 scholarships here and use the scholarship budget calculator for the money to raise.