A PR package costs the sum of the product at your cost, the box, inserts, packing time and shipping. Enter your own numbers to get the all-in cost per package, per send and per post.
Every number below is a placeholder so the calculator has something to show. Replace all of them with your own costs; the result and the page URL update as you type.
Costs per single package.
Cost of goods, not retail price.
Card, tissue, stickers, samples.
Label cost to the creator's address.
Minutes to pick, pack and label one package.
Duties, insurance, gift wrap.
A starting guess, not a Seed statistic or an industry benchmark. Use your own post rate.
Recalculates as you type. Nothing here is sent anywhere.
All-in cost of one PR package
Next: see whether that cost per post pays back in the gifting ROI calculator, or plan the whole send with the gifting campaign budget planner.
Seed turns a gifting plan into sent product: share one branded link, the creator picks a product and types their address, and a $0 draft order lands in your Shopify admin.
Install Seed on ShopifyThe table breaks your package into the six cost lines the calculator uses. Shipping and the product itself usually dominate; the box, inserts and packing time are small per package but they repeat on every send.
| Cost line | Per package | Share | x 25 packages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product (your cost, not retail) | $8.00 | 45% | $200 |
| Box or mailer | $1.50 | 8% | $38 |
| Inserts (card, tissue, stickers, samples) | $0.75 | 4% | $19 |
| Packing time | $1.67 | 9% | $42 |
| Shipping | $6.00 | 33% | $150 |
| Other (duties, insurance, gift wrap) | $0.00 | 0% | $0 |
| Total | $17.92 | 100% | $448 |
These are levers, not promises. Plug a change into the calculator to see what it does to your numbers.
Carriers can price by dimensional weight as well as actual weight, so a box that is bigger than the product needs can cost more to ship. Check your carrier's current rules, then pick the smallest box that protects the product.
A travel size or a single hero product costs less to make and ship than a full kit. Reserve the full kit for creators who have already posted about you.
One thin card with a link or code is cheaper than a stack of printed pieces, and it will not push you into a heavier postage band.
Packages to people who never reply or never post are the biggest hidden cost. A branded gifting link where the creator picks a product and enters their own address means you only ship to people who opted in.
Packing time per package falls when you set up a station and pack in runs rather than one at a time. Track your real minutes and put them in the calculator.
Rates differ by carrier, service level and volume. Get quotes for your usual weight and destinations, and recheck them when you start sending abroad. Duties and VAT on international sends are covered in the customs and VAT checker.
Sending outside your own country? Check the gifting customs and VAT checker. Not sure how many creators to send to? Try the how many influencers to gift calculator. Browse every free tool on the tools page.
It depends on what is inside and where it ships, so there is no honest single figure. Add up your product cost, the box, any inserts, the time spent packing and the postage. Enter your own numbers above and the calculator returns the all-in cost per package and the cost of the whole send.
Count everything that leaves your business: product at your cost rather than retail, the box or mailer, inserts such as cards or tissue, packing time, shipping, and any duties or insurance for international sends. Leaving out packing time and postage is the most common reason brands underestimate their per-package cost.
Use your cost, because that is the cash you actually spend. Retail value is useful for the creator's disclosure and for customs paperwork, but it overstates your expense. If you are not sure what a unit really costs you, include materials, manufacturing and inbound freight, not just the factory price.
The levers are a smaller or lighter box, fewer or flatter inserts, a travel size instead of a full product, negotiated carrier rates, and sending only to creators who confirm interest. A branded link that collects the creator's address avoids shipping to people who never post. The tips section below lists each lever.
It can be, but it depends on your country and your accountant's view of gifts, samples and marketing expenses, so we will not give a rule here. This calculator only works out what you spend and is not tax advice. Keep receipts and a list of recipients, and ask a qualified accountant how your jurisdiction treats them.
Last updated: October 29, 2026. The calculation is a plain sum, so you can reproduce it on paper:
packing cost = (minutes ÷ 60) × value of your time per hour
cost per package = product + box + inserts + packing cost + shipping + other
total = cost per package × packages
cost per post = total ÷ (packages × post rate)
Inputs are yours. The defaults are placeholder values chosen so the page shows a worked example; they are not averages and not Seed data. The post rate in particular is an assumption you should replace with your own. We do not publish typical PR box costs here because they vary too widely by product, carrier and destination for a single number to be honest.
Not included. Creator fees, agency or software fees, and tax treatment. This is a cost estimator, not tax or accounting advice.
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The regulator, required label and gifted-product rule in 10 countries, each with an official source. Not legal advice.
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Share one branded link. The creator picks a product and types their address, and a $0 draft order lands in your Shopify admin.