Price guide · updated September 2026
The prices actually charged by pastry chefs and cake designers in France, cake by cake, and what explains them.
Short answer: a custom cake from an artisan costs from €45 for a simple birthday cake to more than €1,000 for an 80-slice wedding cake. The median custom order placed through Patissio is €474. The table gives ranges by cake type; each chapter details what makes the price vary.
| Cake type | Observed price | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Birthday cake | 45 – 120 € | Decorated cake, 8 to 12 slices |
| Wedding cake | 7 – 15 € / part | Per slice, 30 to 100 slices |
| Croquembouche | 3,50 – 6 € / pers. | Per person, 2 to 3 choux |
| Number cake | 40 – 90 € | One digit, 6 to 10 slices |
| Cupcakes | 3 – 5 € / pièce | Per piece, by 6 or 12 |
Ranges from the Patissio barometer (surveyed 12 August 2026): orders of magnitude observed among French artisans, delivery excluded. A pastry chef sets their own prices; only their quote is binding.
45 – 120 €
Expect €45 to €120 for a personalised birthday cake of 8 to 12 slices, i.e. €5 to €10 per slice. At the bottom: a cream-decorated layer cake with a message. At the top: fondant, modelled figurines, a theme (character, unicorn, football) requiring several hours of decoration.
A supermarket cake costs €15 to €30, but it is industrial and not personalised. From a pastry chef you pay for fresh ingredients, a handmade decoration and a date reserved for you. Beyond 12 slices, expect about €5 to €8 per extra slice.
7 – 15 € / part
A wedding cake is priced per slice: €7 to €15 depending on the number of tiers and the decoration work. For 50 guests, expect €350 to €750; for 80, €560 to €1,200. Highly sculpted pieces with sugar flowers or gilding exceed €1,000 from 50 slices.
The price often includes a tasting and delivery with assembly at the venue, which requires refrigerated transport and an hour of setup. Ask for a quote three to six months ahead: cake designers only take one or two weddings per weekend.
3,50 – 6 € / pers.
A choux croquembouche costs €3.50 to €6 per person, on a basis of 2 to 3 choux per guest, nougatine and decoration included. For 30 people, expect €105 to €180; for 50, €175 to €300. It is the most economical celebration cake per guest.
The top of the range covers decorated wedding pieces (worked nougatine, flowers, ribbons, sugar figure) and delivery, delicate for a piece that tolerates neither heat nor jolts. A christening or communion sits rather at the bottom of the range.
40 – 90 €
A number or letter cake costs €40 to €90 for a single digit (6 to 10 slices) and €80 to €180 for two digits. The price varies with the filling (diplomat cream, ganache) and the toppings: fresh fruit, macarons, flowers, meringues, chocolates.
It is a quick cake for a pastry chef to produce, hence a contained price. It is ordered a week ahead, sometimes less; on the other hand it keeps poorly and is delivered flat, which limits distance.
3 – 5 € / pièce
Personalised cupcakes cost €3 to €5 each from a pastry chef, often sold by 6 or 12. The price rises with the topping (worked buttercream, fondant decoration, printed logo) and falls on large quantities for a corporate event.
For a child’s birthday or a buffet, 2 cupcakes per person replace an 8-slice cake for a comparable budget, with the advantage of serving without cutting.
Two cakes of the same size can cost three times as much. Five factors explain almost the whole gap.
The median observed on custom orders paid through Patissio is €474, with half of orders between €180 and €850. A birthday cake alone sits rather between €45 and €120; wedding cakes and event pieces pull the median up.
Because it is made to order, by hand, for your date: fresh ingredients, 3 to 15 hours of skilled work, equipment, fragile delivery, and the margin that keeps the artisan going. An industrial cake spreads all of that over thousands of units.
Between €100 and €200 for a decorated birthday or layer cake of 20 slices, €70 to €120 for a 20-person croquembouche, and €140 to €300 for a 20-slice wedding cake depending on decoration.
Yes, in most cases: 30% of the quote is the most common practice, sometimes 50% for a wedding cake. The deposit secures the date and covers ingredient purchases; the balance is paid when the cake is handed over.
Add up ingredients, working time paid at an hourly rate, fixed costs and delivery, then apply your margin. Patissio’s cake pricing calculator does the exercise for free, and the software then automates it for every creation and every quote.
These ranges are benchmarks, not your price. Yours is calculated: ingredients, hours, overheads, margin. Our calculator does it in two minutes, and Patissio then automates it for every creation, quotes included.