Assembly and Labor Cost Calculator

Estimate toy assembly and packing labor from task time, worker count and hourly rate, add overhead, and send the result to your BOM.

How to use this tool

List each assembly, inspection or packing task. Enter seconds per product, the number of workers performing the task and their hourly rate in the project currency. Labor cost is seconds x workers x hourly rate / 3,600. Apply overhead to the labor subtotal, then add any extra cost per product. Check that these charges are not already included in another supplier or electronics line before adding the result to the BOM.

Use measured task times when available. Worker count represents people working on that task for each product, not the total factory headcount. Overhead is a percentage of labor cost; the optional extra is charged once per product, without another overhead multiplier.

Assumptions and limits

These tools support early planning. Example values and rough presets are not live market prices, safety approvals, DFM results or supplier quotations. Replace them with verified project inputs. Calculations require JavaScript; this reference remains readable without it.

Your first visit starts with a blank project. Enter your own costs or explicitly load the fictional example project. New Project creates another blank project; existing saved projects keep their entered costs. Before replacing a project, download a full backup to retain its inputs and saved scenarios.

A known zero cost is valid. A missing or invalid required value needs correction, and a pending quote remains unresolved. Items marked not required or included elsewhere are not charged here. Known partial subtotals may still be displayed, but incomplete results cannot be added to the BOM or copied as a complete quotation. Check exclusions so a cost included elsewhere is actually counted once.

Adding a calculator result saves a BOM snapshot. If you change its source inputs, the imported line is marked pending and its previous cost is kept for review. Add to BOM refreshes the same source line, unless you have adopted a supplier alternative. In that case, explicitly reconfirm the adopted quote or switch back to the calculated estimate. Adding several electronics variants does not select one automatically; mark unused alternatives as not required.

Project values and saved scenarios stay in this browser using local storage. Downloaded backups contain your entered project data; no calculator input or project file is uploaded. Clearing browser storage can remove the local project and scenarios, so keep an independent backup. Starting a new project or loading the example replaces the current local project after confirmation. Separate analytics can count page visits and fixed action names without costs, supplier details, project or scenario names, backup contents or copied text. Your existing analytics privacy choice applies; see the Privacy Policy.

Next step

Review imported costs in the BOM.

Read about validating development assumptions. For a specific development question, see how Ask ToyRD works.

Available calculators

Release notes

0.5.0 · September 11, 2026: Added Silicone & Rubber and Printing & Decoration calculations. Silicone material loss applies only to material cost. Printing operation costs and one-time setup fees enter the BOM separately, with optional setup amortization. All nine calculators have their own help, search metadata and sitemap entries.

First-time use and New Project start with blank project costs; loading the fictional example is an explicit choice. Existing v2 amounts, scenarios and supplier records remain available while optional fields are added. Tool and navigation labels no longer carry release status badges. Planning assumptions, required-cost review and quotation limits remain in place. No project data is uploaded.

0.4.0 · September 10, 2026: Added required-cost confirmation before copying final BOM summaries or quotations, including separate review of manual factory totals. Valid draft calculations remain available while coverage is unconfirmed. Added named project scenarios with saved metrics and formula versions, two-scenario comparison, restore and delete, and validated JSON backup download and restoration. Restored inputs use current formulas; different currencies are not directly subtracted.

Supplier alternatives now cover whole BOM lines, with specification, MOQ, tax, freight and manual currency review before adoption. Adoption saves the previous project as a scenario. Adopted prices remain protected during calculator refreshes and require explicit reconfirmation or a switch back to the estimate. Required save and restore failures preserve the existing project. All project and backup data stays local. Earlier releases remain in version control and private deployment backups.

0.3.0 · September 10, 2026: Added Assembly & Labor, first-batch budgeting and target EXW checks. Contingency now applies to recurring costs only; BOM-based quotes share the BOM rate, and one-time fees can remain separate or be amortized. Missing, invalid and pending costs require review before reuse or quotation copying. Source edits mark imported BOM snapshots pending until refreshed. Wide tables scroll within the page on mobile. Existing local projects are retained, with new optional fields added. No project data is uploaded.

Changing a currency pair clears its manual exchange rate. If browser storage cannot save a project, a persistent message asks you to copy needed results before leaving. Custom mold and variant buttons are excluded from analytics, and supplier-mode mold quotes are validated independently of inactive estimator inputs, including in migrated projects.

0.2.4 · September 7, 2026: Added readable tool instructions, related articles and consistent navigation. Each available calculator now has its own search metadata. Calculation formulas and saved-project format are unchanged. Earlier releases remain in version control and private deployment backups.