Backyard Beekeeping vs Store Honey Cost Calculator

What this calculator compares

This calculator compares two ways of getting honey over a chosen time horizon:

1. Backyard beekeeping: you pay a one-time setup cost, then ongoing yearly maintenance costs, and you harvest an estimated number of pounds of honey per year.
2. Buying honey at the store: you pay a price per pound for the same total amount of honey you would have produced at home.

The goal is to estimate (a) total costs over Y years, (b) the effective cost per pound of home-produced honey, (c) the store-bought equivalent cost, and (d) whether/when beekeeping breaks even.

Inputs explained (and what to include)

• Hive setup cost ($): One-time startup expenses such as hive bodies/supers, frames/foundation, bees (package/nuc), feeder, smoker, veil/suit, and basic tools. If you plan to buy an extractor specifically for this hive, include it here (or spread it across years in maintenance).
• Annual maintenance cost ($/year): Ongoing costs like mite treatment, feed (sugar), replacement frames, small repairs, supplemental equipment, and routine consumables.
• Annual honey yield (lb): Your best estimate of how many pounds you’ll harvest per year on average. Yield can vary dramatically by climate, forage, colony health, and your management style.
• Store honey price ($/lb): The price per pound for comparable honey (local vs commercial, raw vs filtered). Use the price you’d actually pay, including typical taxes or delivery fees if relevant.
• Years to compare: How long you want to evaluate the decision (e.g., 3, 5, 10 years).

How the math works (formulas)

Let:

• S = setup cost ($)
• M = annual maintenance cost ($/year)
• H = annual honey yield (lb/year)
• P = store honey price ($/lb)
• Y = years to compare

Total honey produced over Y years:

Honey_total = H × Y

Total beekeeping cost over Y years:

Cost_beekeeping = S + (M × Y)

Effective beekeeping cost per pound (if you produce any honey):

Cost_per_lb = (S + M × Y) ÷ (H × Y)

Store-bought equivalent cost (to buy the same amount of honey):

Cost_store = (H × Y) × P

Net difference (positive means beekeeping is cheaper; negative means store is cheaper):

Savings = Cost_store − Cost_beekeeping

The same cost-per-pound formula in MathML:

Interpreting the results

• Total beekeeping cost is your out-of-pocket spending over the selected years (setup + maintenance).
• Total honey produced is the number of pounds you expect to harvest across that time.
• Beekeeping cost per lb is the “all-in” average cost per pound across the horizon. It typically starts high (because setup cost is paid up front) and declines as years increase—if yields remain steady.
• Store-bought equivalent is what you’d pay to purchase the same number of pounds at the store price you entered.
• Break-even: If cumulative store cost becomes greater than cumulative beekeeping cost in some year, that year is your break-even point (the first year when beekeeping has paid back its initial setup cost under your assumptions).

Worked example

Assume:

• Setup cost, S = $600
• Annual maintenance, M = $150/year
• Annual yield, H = 40 lb/year
• Store price, P = $8/lb
• Years, Y = 5

Compute totals:

• Honey_total = 40 × 5 = 200 lb
• Cost_beekeeping = 600 + (150 × 5) = 600 + 750 = $1,350
• Cost_per_lb = 1,350 ÷ 200 = $6.75/lb
• Cost_store = 200 × 8 = $1,600
• Savings = 1,600 − 1,350 = $250 (beekeeping is cheaper over 5 years)

If yield drops to 20 lb/year (all else equal), then Honey_total = 100 lb and Cost_per_lb = 1,350 ÷ 100 = $13.50/lb, making store honey cheaper. This is why yield assumptions matter so much.

Year-by-year comparison (cumulative)

The table below shows the structure of the comparison this calculator makes each year. Your actual values will reflect your inputs.

Limitations and assumptions

• No value for your time/labor: Inspections, feeding, treatments, harvesting, and cleanup take time. This calculator treats labor as $0 unless you bake it into maintenance cost.
• Yield is uncertain: Weather, nectar flows, swarming, mites, and disease can reduce harvests; some years may be zero.
• Hive loss/replacement: If a colony dies and you buy a new package/nuc, that can materially change maintenance costs.
• Equipment lifespan: Boxes and tools can last many years; some items wear out faster. Modeling everything as “setup + annual maintenance” is a simplification.
• Quality differences: Home honey vs store honey may not be strictly comparable (local/raw varietals can command higher prices).
• Doesn’t include other benefits: Pollination, enjoyment, learning, and environmental goals aren’t priced here—this is a financial-only comparison.
• No financing or inflation: The model assumes today’s dollars and constant prices. If you expect store honey prices or your costs to rise, treat inputs as an average.

Tips for realistic inputs

• If you’re unsure about yield, run multiple scenarios (e.g., low/typical/high yield) to see how sensitive the result is.
• If you expect to expand to multiple hives, setup costs per hive may drop (shared tools/extractor), but maintenance and management complexity can rise.
• If you buy premium honey at the store, use that premium price—your “break-even” may arrive sooner.