📦 Pick & Pack Cost Calculator

Calculate your fully-loaded fulfillment cost per order and the ROI of warehouse automation.

Labor Inputs

Orders per Day

orders

Avg Lines per Order

lines

Pick Time per Line

min

Pack Time per Order

min

Labor Rate

$/hr

Days per Month

days

Overhead per Order (optional)

Supplies Cost

$/order

Facility Cost

$/order

Fulfillment Cost Benchmarks

Pick and pack costs vary widely by operation size, SKU complexity, and automation level. Use these industry benchmarks to evaluate your performance.

Cost per Order

$2 – $8

Typical range for manual small-to-mid operations (labor only)

Pick Time Benchmark

1 – 3 min

Per line item; faster for high-velocity, organized pick paths

Pack Time Benchmark

1 – 4 min

Per order; depends on packaging complexity and kitting

3PL Fully-Loaded

$3 – $12

Typical 3PL rate per order including receiving, storage, and handling

Reducing Pick & Pack Costs

Slotting optimization — Position fast-moving SKUs closest to packing stations to cut pick time by 20–30%. Batch picking groups similar orders so workers travel less. Pick-to-light or barcode scanning reduces errors and rework costs. For high-volume operations, semi-automated conveyor systems can cut labor time by 30–60% while improving accuracy.

Before investing in automation, calculate your payback period above. A $50,000 automation investment that saves $5,000/month pays back in 10 months — often a compelling ROI for operations running 200+ orders per day.