How Much Does A Wedding Cake Cost? (Everything You Need To Know)

As you begin to decide upon the flavors and style of your wedding day dessert, you may be wondering how much does a wedding cake cost?

Luckily, this article is here to break down average wedding cake costs and help you and your partner make an informed decision when it comes to planning out your cake.

There are a variety of different factors that will affect the ultimate price of your wedding cake. You’ll need to consider the size, the style, the flavors, the frosting, and the number of guests you wish this cake to feed.

All these choices come with a corresponding price tag, but by better understanding these factors, you’ll be able to customize the perfect wedding cake to fit your desired wedding budget.

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How Much Does A Wedding Cake Cost?

The average wedding cake cost is around $500. Of course, this figure will differ depending on your wedding size.

In general, wedding cake pricing will fall within the range of $300 to $650. Wedding cakes on the cheaper side can fall around $125 while more expensive cakes can cost $800 or more.

When you break down the pricing to have the cost per slice, the average wedding cake cost will equate to between $2.50 and $8 per slice. Larger cakes with multiple tiers will likely be closer to $12 per slice.

Wedding Cake Cost Factors

Your wedding cake cost will ultimately depend upon a combination of factors. Let’s look into 5 different factors that will affect the cake’s cost.

1. The Cost Of The Bakery

First, you must consider who will be making your cake. Higher-end cakeries specializing in wedding cakes might be more costly than a local bakery for example. The time it takes to make your cake will be another factor. If you need your wedding cake finished faster, you’ll be paying more for the rushed service. 

2. The Ingredients

Another factor would be the ingredients needed to make your desired wedding cake. If you’re opting for a rather standard cake with standard flavors, you’ll pay an average price for your wedding cake.

However, if you’re looking for unique ingredients that need to be outsourced or if you have a specialty request to make it vegan, gluten-free, keto, or allergy-friendly, you’ll likely have to pay more.

3. Flavors And Frosting Costs

Now let’s discuss wedding cake flavors and frosting. When going wedding cake taste testing, you’ll be deciding on the perfect cake, frosting, and filling flavor combinations. While wedding cakes don’t have to be filled, if you do decide to add a filling, this will be an additional cost. As for the icing, buttercream is typically a popular choice.

However, frostings such as cream cheese will likely cost more. If you’re looking for a smoother cake look and opt for gum paste or fondant, that, too, will increase the overall cost of your wedding cake.

4. The Design And Extra Details On Your Wedding Cake

Next, you and your partner will need to decide on the design and details of your wedding cake.

How big will it be? How many layers do you want? What shape would you like it to be? What colors are you interested in? Do you plan on having additional cake embellishments like fondant flowers or edible gold leaf accents? 

The answers to each of the questions will also affect the price of your wedding cake. Obviously, the bigger you need it and the more details you wish to include will increase your wedding cake cost.

5. Delivery Fees

Once you’ve settled on the size, style, and flavors of your cake, you’ll need to take into account the delivery fees associated with ordering a wedding cake. Transporting a cake to your reception is quite the task as it must be done very carefully while leaving the cake at the proper temperature to ensure the tasty treat arrives in one beautiful piece.

How far your cake must travel to be delivered is another factor that will affect how much you’ll pay for your wedding cake. Tipping your delivery drivers for their service will be an additional expense.

Furthermore, you’ll also need to consider the setup for your wedding cake and if you need to purchase additional accessories such as a wedding cake stand, a dessert display, or even a funny wedding cake topper.

Wedding Cake Sizing

Figuring out how large you need your wedding cake to be will directly correlate to the number of guests you’ve invited. Let’s go over the average servings each single-tier size cake can offer:

• 5-inch round cake: serves 8
• 6-inch round cake: serves 12
• 7-inch round cake: serves 16
• 8-inch round cake: serves 24
• 9-inch round cake: serves 32
• 10-inch round cake: serves 38
• 11-inch round cake: serves 47
• 12-inch round cake: serves 56
• 13-inch round cake: serves 67
• 14-inch round cake: serves 78 
• 15-inch round cake: serves 89
• 16-inch round cake: serves 100

For those looking for a wedding cake with two tiers, here are some popular tier size combinations and their corresponding servings:

• 7-inch round cake base with 5-inch round cake top: serves 23
• 8-inch round cake base with 6-inch round cake top: serves 36
• 10-inch round cake base with 7-inch round cake top: serves 54
• 2 stacked 8-inch round cakes: serves 48
• 2 stacked 10-inch round cakes: serves 76

Now let’s move on to 3-tiers, the cake sizes, and the average servings:

• 9-inch round cake base, 7-inch round cake middle, 5-inch round cake top: serves 45
• 11-inch round cake base, 8-inch round cake middle, 6-inch round cake top: serves 83
• 12-inch round cake base, 9-inch round cake middle, 7-inch round cake top: serves 104
• 14-inch round cake base, 11-inch round cake middle, 8-inch round cake top: serves 138
• 15-inch round cake base, 12-inch round cake middle, 9-inch round cake top: serves 177

For couples having larger weddings with 100 to 200+ guests, you may want to consider a 4-tiered wedding cake. Below are the cake size combinations and their average servings.

• 12-inch round cake base, 9-inch then 7-inch cakes in middle, 5-inch round cake top: serves 112
• 13-inch round cake base, 10-inch then 8-inch cakes in middle, 6-inch round cake top: serves 139
• 14-inch round cake base, 11-inch then 8-inch cakes in middle, 6-inch round cake top: serves 161
• 16-inch round cake base, 13-inch then 10-inch cakes in middle, 7-inch round cake top: serves 218

How Much Does A Wedding Cake Cost: Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much is a wedding cake for 150 guests?

The average wedding cake cost for a reception with 150 guests is around $600 considering the average cost per slice is $4. 

2. What is the most expensive wedding cake?

The most expensive wedding cakes have been tens of thousands of dollars. These are often commissioned by celebrities or royalty who order large cakes that end up multiple feet high with many tiers, excessive embellishments, customizations, and even gold or crystal accents.

3. Is it cheaper to do cupcakes at a wedding?

Deciding on wedding cupcakes over a wedding cake can be a cheaper option for some couples depending upon the bakery and the style they’re looking for. If you’re truly looking to cut down on your wedding cake cost, you may want to consider opting for a DIY wedding cake instead.

4. What’s a naked wedding cake?

A naked wedding cake is a stylized cake that is bare on the outside with icing only added between the layers of the cake. This wedding cake style has recently become quite popular, especially to fit a rustic wedding theme.

Start Budgeting For Your Dream Cake

As you begin to put together your wedding budget and figure out the cost of your wedding, you’ll get a better understanding of how much you can allocate towards your wedding cake cost.

On average, couples spend around 2% of their overall budget on their wedding cake.

We hope that this article has helped make you and your partner more aware of the various factors that affect your overall wedding cake cost. By understanding those factors, you’ll be able to customize a delicious wedding cake that fits both your needs and your budget. Enjoy!