Yield Cost Calculator
Show what yield loss does to the cost of each unit that survives.
In short
Show what yield loss does to the cost of each unit that survives.
Formula: Effective cost per good unit = ((Units started × Cost per unit started) − Salvage) ÷ Good units
What this calculator does
Total run cost, less salvage, divided by good units. Yield is good units over units started, expressed as a percentage.
Use it to turn Currency, Units started, Good units produced, Cost per unit started, and the other shown inputs into a checked result you can compare, copy, or rerun with different assumptions.
The page shows the formula, a numeric worked example, and the assumptions that affect this professional & industry calculation.
Inputs and what they mean
- Currency
- — Amounts are shown in the currency you pick. No exchange rate is applied..
- Units started
- — number value.
- Good units produced
- — number value.
- Cost per unit started
- — number value.
- Salvage recovered from lost units (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result..
How to use it
- Enter your own figures — the calculator never fills in a rate, price or benchmark for you.
- Press Calculate to see the result.
- Read the formula, variables, assumptions and source below the result before you rely on it.
Formula
Effective cost per good unit = ((Units started × Cost per unit started) − Salvage) ÷ Good units.
Inputs used: Currency, Units started, Good units produced, Cost per unit started, Salvage recovered from lost units (optional).
Edge handling: Units started is required.; Units started cannot be negative.; Units started must be no more than 1000000000000.; Good units produced is required.; Good units produced cannot be negative..
Worked example
940 good units out of 1,000 started
- Start with Currency: USD, Units started: 1000, Good units produced: 940, Cost per unit started: 18.50, Salvage recovered from lost units (optional): 0.
- Apply the method: Effective cost per good unit = ((Units started × Cost per unit started) − Salvage) ÷ Good units.
- What the loss does to the cost of each unit that survives.
Reading the result
The headline figure is the main answer. Any breakdown underneath shows the parts that make it up, so you can check the working and see what changes when you adjust an input.
Limitations and assumptions
- Inputs outside the supported range are rejected rather than forced into a result.
- The result depends on the values you enter for this yield cost calculator; it does not supply missing rates, rules, prices, dates, or assumptions for you.
Reference: American Society for Quality — Cost of quality — prevention, appraisal and failure costs
Last reviewed:
Common questions
Where does this formula come from?
ASQ cost of quality — scrap, rework and yield loss are internal failure costs: the cost already invested in output that cannot be sold as it is, less anything recovered. See the source link on this page.
What kind of calculation is this?
The whole cost of the run carried by the good units only, with the yield and the cost of the loss shown. Check the formula, example, and limitations on this page before using the result for a real professional & industry decision.
What are its limits?
Arithmetic over the figures entered — it cannot tell whether the costs, standards or allowances behind them are right. A target cost, an industry benchmark and the organisation's own standard are different things; only the figures entered are used. Assumes the cost is committed at the start; a loss late in the process may carry more cost than a loss early on.
How do I use the Yield Cost Calculator?
Enter the required values for Currency, Units started, Good units produced, Cost per unit started, Salvage recovered from lost units (optional). The calculator applies the formula on this page and shows the main result with any supporting breakdown so you can check the arithmetic.
What formula does the Yield Cost Calculator use?
Effective cost per good unit = ((Units started × Cost per unit started) − Salvage) ÷ Good units The visible formula section above lists the calculation path and the edge cases the page handles, so the result can be checked without relying on the form alone. Check the formula, example, and limitations on this page before using the result for a real professional & industry decision.
Can the Yield Cost Calculator be used for exact decisions?
Use it as a calculation aid, not as a substitute for checking the underlying rule, contract, policy, or professional advice that applies to your situation. When a result depends on local rules, personal details, prices, or dates, enter those values yourself and confirm them before acting.
Formula, source and verification
The whole cost of the run carried by the good units only, with the yield and the cost of the loss shown.
The question it answers: What is the scrap, the rework and the yield loss on this line actually costing us?
The formula
Effective cost per good unit = ((Units started × Cost per unit started) − Salvage) ÷ Good units
- S — Units started
- (count). Units entering the process.
- G — Good units
- (count). Units that come out saleable.
- c — Cost per unit started
- (currency). Cost committed to each unit entering the process.
- V — Salvage recovered
- (currency). Optional. Value recovered from the units lost.
Units: Currency; counts; percentages.
What kind of calculation this is
Deterministic formula. The same inputs always give the same answer. The maths is fixed and does not depend on judgement.
Method
Total run cost, less salvage, divided by good units. Yield is good units over units started, expressed as a percentage.
Assumptions built into the result
- Industry: Every cost, rate and standard is the figure the user entered, in the currency they chose; no exchange rate is applied.
- Mathematical: Costs and output cover the same period or the same job.
Figures this calculator will never guess for you
- No industry average, benchmark or target cost is supplied.
- No standard rate, wage or material price is assumed on the user's behalf.
- Optional components are excluded from the result when left at zero.
- No target or typical yield is supplied or implied.
Limitations
- Arithmetic over the figures entered — it cannot tell whether the costs, standards or allowances behind them are right.
- A target cost, an industry benchmark and the organisation's own standard are different things; only the figures entered are used.
- Assumes the cost is committed at the start; a loss late in the process may carry more cost than a loss early on.
Source and version
- Standard or reference
- Cost of quality — internal failure cost — ASQ (ASQ cost of quality — scrap, rework and yield loss are internal failure costs: the cost already invested in output that cannot be sold as it is, less anything recovered.)
- Published source
- American Society for Quality — Quality resources
- Formula version
- Version 1
- Verification
- Reviewed against the cited source on
- How much weight the source carries
- Standards or government
- Applies to
- Currency
- Amounts stay in the currency you choose; no exchange rate is applied.
Cite this page
Free Calculator. (2026, September 16). Yield Cost Calculator. https://freecalculator.tech/tools/yield-cost-calculator
"Yield Cost Calculator." Free Calculator, 16 Sept. 2026, https://freecalculator.tech/tools/yield-cost-calculator.
Yield Cost Calculator — Free Calculator, https://freecalculator.tech/tools/yield-cost-calculator
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