Recipe costing spreadsheet vs production software
A spreadsheet tells you what a recipe cost last time you updated it. Makeable tells you how many units you can make right now, what runs out first, and whether the next order fits. Here is where each one wins.
| Question | Spreadsheet | Makeable |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free plan, paid from $19/mo |
| Recipe cost per unit | Yes, with formulas you maintain | Yes, automatic |
| Ingredient price change updates every recipe | Only if every tab links correctly | Yes |
| How many units can I make today? | Manual | Live, with the bottleneck named |
| Can I take this order by Friday? | Manual | Yes, checked against stock |
| Stock deducted when you produce | Manual | Yes |
| Low stock alerts and reorder list | No | Yes |
| Shopify, Square, WooCommerce orders | Copy and paste | Connected |
| Works offline, fully custom | Yes | No |
When to stay on a spreadsheet
If you make fewer than five products, buy ingredients weekly and rarely have two orders competing for stock, a spreadsheet plus our free pricing calculators is enough.
When to move to Makeable
When you catch yourself asking "can I make 50 by Friday?" and have to count the shelf to answer. Makeable answers that from live stock. Also see the Craftybase comparison.
Common questions
Is a spreadsheet good enough for recipe costing?
For a handful of recipes with stable prices, yes. It stops scaling once ingredients are shared across many recipes and orders compete for the same stock.
What does production software add over a spreadsheet?
Live capacity: how many units your current stock allows, which material limits you, and whether a new order fits, recalculated every time stock or orders change.
Can I import my spreadsheet into Makeable?
Yes. Materials can be imported from CSV, and Smart Import reads recipes from files, screenshots, pasted text or links.
Is there a free alternative to Craftybase or BakeDiary?
Makeable has a free plan for up to three products and fifteen materials. Check each vendor's site for their current plans, as pricing changes.