MeasureLabGuide · 7 min read
How to price by the square metre (or square foot) on Shopify
Flooring, wall panels, glass, signs, prints, sheet materials: anything flat and cut to size is priced by its area. The customer has a width and a height; you have a rate. Here's why Shopify's built-in tools struggle with that, how area pricing works, and the small rules that keep it profitable.
Three ways to sell by area
1. A variant for each size
List 60 × 90, 90 × 120 and so on as variants, each with its own price. That works if you only sell standard sizes. The moment you offer every width and height, the combinations multiply: 20 widths × 20 heights is 400 variants, each needing a price, and a customer who wants 117 × 64 cm still can't order it.
2. The quantity box counts square metres
Set the price per m² and ask customers to work out their area and type it as the quantity. It needs no app, but it hands the customer a sum they can get wrong, only allows whole numbers, and doesn't record the actual width and height you need to cut to.
3. A calculator on the product page
The customer types width and height, the calculator works out the area, applies your rate and rules, and shows the price before they add to cart. The exact measurements go onto the order. This is the only way that sells every size without manual work, and it's what the rest of this guide sets up.
A worked example
Say your vinyl panels cost £38 per square metre, with a minimum charge of £15. A customer wants 120 × 75 cm: that's 1.2 × 0.75 = 0.9 m², so 0.9 × £38 = £34.20. A small 30 × 30 cm piece would come to £3.42, so the minimum charge applies. Try your own:
Width × height ÷ 10,000 turns square centimetres into square metres. A calculator does this on your product page as the customer types.
The rules that protect your margin
Pure area pricing undercharges in a few predictable places. Each has a simple fix:
- Small pieces. A 20 × 20 cm offcut takes as long to cut, pack and post as a big panel. Add a minimum charge, or bill a minimum area such as 0.5 m².
- Offcuts and waste. If cutting a size wastes part of a sheet, add a waste percentage, or round the area up to what you actually use (for example to the next 0.1 m²).
- Cutting itself. A one-off cutting or setup fee covers the time each order takes, however small.
- Very large sizes. Set a maximum width and height that matches your largest sheet or roll, so nobody orders something you can't make.
- Options that change the rate. A thicker board, a premium finish or a printed design can multiply the rate, or add their own price per m².
Setting it up with a calculator
Here's how it looks with MeasureLab, the calculator app we make. The same ideas apply to any calculator app.
- Open the product in MeasureLab and start from a template close to what you sell, such as “Flooring” or “Glass & acrylic panels”, or start blank.
- Add Width and Height inputs in the unit you measure in (cm, say), each with a sensible minimum and maximum.
- Price the area: width × height ÷ 10000 × 38 gives the price at £38 per m² from centimetres.
- Add your rules in Pricing rules: a minimum charge, a setup fee, a waste percentage, and how the total is rounded.
- Let customers measure their way: turn on the unit switch so they can type inches or millimetres; it's converted before the price is worked out.
- Publish, then place the calculator block on your product page in the theme editor. The app links you straight there.
The order then shows the width and height the customer chose, and the price is checked again at checkout, so nobody can edit it on the way.
Questions
How do I turn centimetres into square metres?
Multiply width by height and divide by 10,000. A 120 × 75 cm panel is 9,000 cm², which is 0.9 m². From millimetres, divide by 1,000,000; from inches to square feet, divide by 144.
Should I charge for a minimum area?
Usually, yes. A small piece takes as long to cut, pack and ship as a large one. A minimum charge (or a minimum billable area such as 0.5 m²) keeps small orders worth doing.
Can customers measure in inches while I price per square metre?
Yes, if your calculator converts units. In MeasureLab, turn on the unit switch: customers type in the unit they prefer and it's converted before the price is worked out.
What's the difference between a square metre and a square foot?
One square metre is about 10.764 square feet, so a price of £38 per m² is about £3.53 per sq ft.