How many servings does a half sheet cake give?

A 12 x 18 inch half sheet about 4 inches tall gives about 108 wedding servings or 72 party servings. A single layer about 2 inches tall, cut in 2 x 2 inch squares, gives about 54.

How many servings does a 3 tier cake give?

A 6, 8 and 10 inch round stack gives about 74 wedding or 56 party servings. An 8, 10 and 12 inch stack gives about 118 wedding or 88 party servings.

What is the difference between wedding and party servings?

Slice size. Wedding slices are 1 x 2 inches and about 4 inches tall, served as a small dessert after a meal. Party slices are 1.5 x 2 inches, which is why the same pan gives fewer of them.

Which cake pan sizes should a home baker own first?

A pair of 6 inch and 8 inch rounds covers most small celebrations, a 10 inch round handles parties of around 30 to 40, and a 9 x 13 inch sheet covers casual orders.

Free tool

Cake serving chart by pan size

A cake serving chart tells you how many slices a pan gives: an 8-inch round, 4 inches tall, gives about 24 wedding servings (1 x 2 inch slices) or about 20 party servings (1.5 x 2 inch slices). Below is the full chart for round, square and sheet pans, the servings for common tiered cakes, the formula behind it so you can work out any pan, and a worked example that turns servings into a price.

Cost my cakes free

Worked example: pricing a party cake for 40 guests

Example numbers for a 12 inch round, 4 inches tall, cut into 40 party servings. Your costs will differ; the method is what matters.

Servings (12 in round, party slices): 40
Ingredients, including buttercream: $18.40
Cake board and box: $3.50
Labor: 2.5 hours at $15.00: $37.50
Oven, mixer and overhead share: $4.00
Full cost of the cake: $63.40
Cost per serving ($63.40 ÷ 40): $1.59
Target margin (a 150% markup on cost): 60%
Price: $63.40 ÷ 0.4, the same as $63.40 × 2.5: $158.50, about $3.96 per serving

Round to a number you are happy to quote, such as $160 or $4.00 per serving.

Cake serving chart for round and square pans

These are the approximate figures cake decorators commonly use for cakes about 4 inches tall (two or three layers with filling). Wedding servings are thin 1 x 2 inch slices; party servings are 1.5 x 2 inch slices.

Sheet cakes are cut in a grid, so their counts are whole rows times whole columns: a 9 x 13 sheet gives 9 rows of 1 inch by 6 columns of 2 inches, 54 wedding slices. Sheet sizes vary by supplier; a half sheet is often sold as 11 x 15 instead of 12 x 18. A single-layer sheet about 2 inches tall is usually cut in 2 x 2 inch squares: about 24 from a 9 x 13, 54 from a 12 x 18 and 108 from an 18 x 24.

When a customer says how many guests are coming, read across to the smallest pan that covers them, or stack tiers and add their servings.

Cake servings chart by pan size (cakes about 4 inches tall, approximate)
Pan	Wedding servings (1 x 2 in)	Party servings (1.5 x 2 in)
6 in round	12	8
8 in round	24	20
9 in round	32	24
10 in round	38	28
12 in round	56	40
14 in round	78	63
6 in square	18	12
8 in square	32	20
10 in square	50	30
12 in square	72	48
9 x 13 in sheet (quarter sheet)	54	36
12 x 18 in sheet (half sheet)	108	72
18 x 24 in sheet (full sheet)	216	144

Tiered cake serving chart: common tier combinations

For a tiered cake, add each tier's servings from the chart above. These are the stacks customers ask for most, with round tiers about 4 inches tall.

Many couples keep the top tier to freeze for their first anniversary. If they do, take its servings off the total before you match the cake to the guest list.

Servings for common tiered cake combinations (round tiers about 4 inches tall, approximate)
Round tiers	Wedding servings (1 x 2 in)	Party servings (1.5 x 2 in)
6 + 8 in	36	28
6 + 8 + 10 in	74	56
6 + 9 + 12 in	100	72
8 + 10 + 12 in	118	88
6 + 8 + 10 + 12 in	130	96
8 + 10 + 12 + 14 in	196	151

How to calculate servings for any cake pan size

The chart rests on one idea, rounded to the figures decorators are used to: the top area of the cake divided by the top area of one slice.

Use these steps for a pan that is not in the chart, such as a 9 x 13 inch sheet:

Find the top area. Square or rectangle: length x width. Round: 3.14 x radius x radius (a 10 inch round has a 5 inch radius, so 78.5 square inches).
Pick the slice footprint: 2 square inches for wedding (1 x 2), 3 for party (1.5 x 2), 4 for a generous 2 x 2 sheet-cake square.
Divide area by slice footprint and round down. For a square or sheet, count whole slices along each side and multiply: a 9 x 13 sheet cut in 2 x 2 inch squares gives 4 x 6 = 24, fewer than its 117 square inches ÷ 4 = 29 suggest, because the edge strips are too narrow for a full square.
For a tiered cake, work out each tier and add them. A 6, 8 and 10 inch round stack gives about 12 + 24 + 38 = 74 wedding servings.

How much cake batter each pan needs

Pan size changes batter more than people expect, because area grows with the square of the width. A 10 inch round has about 1.56 times the area of an 8 inch round (100 ÷ 64), so it needs about 1.56 times the batter at the same depth.

To estimate from scratch, take the pan volume (top area x depth) and fill it about two thirds. An 8 inch round, 2 inches deep, holds about 100 cubic inches, roughly 7 US cups to the brim, so plan on about 4.5 to 5 cups of batter.

Price per serving, not per pan

Customers think in guests, so quoting per serving keeps the conversation simple and makes upgrades easy to explain.

The serving count is the yield of the recipe. Divide the full cost of the cake by it, then set the price. If you think in margin, price = cost ÷ (1 − target margin): a 60% margin means price = cost ÷ 0.4. Farinu asks for a markup on cost instead, and a 60% margin is a 150% markup: cost × 2.5 gives the same price.

Let Farinu cost every size for you

In Farinu you enter a recipe once with its yield set to the number of servings, and it costs ingredients, packaging, sub-recipes like buttercream or ganache, labor, machines and overhead. It suggests a price from your target markup, or uses a target price you set, and you put that price on each of your price lists, such as retail or wholesale.

When a rise in butter or chocolate prices leaves a cake selling below its target, Farinu raises a margin alert with a new suggested price. The free plan costs up to 10 recipes and takes up to 50 orders a month with deposits and production planning; Team adds unlimited orders, sales and the monthly P&L.

Questions

How many servings does an 8 inch round cake give?: About 24 wedding servings (1 x 2 inch slices) or about 20 party servings (1.5 x 2 inch slices) for a cake around 4 inches tall.
How many servings does a half sheet cake give?: A 12 x 18 inch half sheet about 4 inches tall gives about 108 wedding servings or 72 party servings. A single layer about 2 inches tall, cut in 2 x 2 inch squares, gives about 54.
How many servings does a 3 tier cake give?: A 6, 8 and 10 inch round stack gives about 74 wedding or 56 party servings. An 8, 10 and 12 inch stack gives about 118 wedding or 88 party servings.
What is the difference between wedding and party servings?: Slice size. Wedding slices are 1 x 2 inches and about 4 inches tall, served as a small dessert after a meal. Party slices are 1.5 x 2 inches, which is why the same pan gives fewer of them.
Which cake pan sizes should a home baker own first?: A pair of 6 inch and 8 inch rounds covers most small celebrations, a 10 inch round handles parties of around 30 to 40, and a 9 x 13 inch sheet covers casual orders.

Know what every serving costs you

Create a free Farinu account, add your cake recipes with their servings, and see the full cost and a suggested price for each size. Free for up to 10 recipes.