There’s no doubt that a wedding cake will be on your “to order” list once you’re engaged. But are you familiar with the pricing? The average prices for a wedding cake can significantly vary, as they depend on if someone you know is baking for you, if you’re buying from a professional, and how many guests will take a slice. 

Let’s look at the breakdowns to know how much you should spend on a wedding cake.

What’s the Average Wedding Cake Cost?

With all the different factors determining the average price for a wedding cake, the average cost is around $550.

Per Slice Cost Average

A slice can range as low as $1.50 to $12.00 as the highest price. Keep in mind that before you book your catering or make a deposit in your banquet hall, have a clear idea of the number of guests you’re expecting.

What Determines the Cost of a Wedding Cake?

There’s no straight answer for determining a fixed wedding cake price.

You might be running into hugely different ranges when finding a cake in Bali. This is because there are so many variables. Let’s look at each one to know which side you should be focusing on.

Ingredients

Let’s start with the essential ingredients of flour, sugar, butter and eggs. Even these ingredients have different ranges of quality. The more experienced your baker is, the more upscale their ingredients are. Plus, add in the fancy toppings like icing, creams, extracts and all those special utensils to create a dream cake, then you’ll be looking at a $100 up to a $1000 wedding cake.

Cake Design

A plainer wedding cake design with decorative edges is a more affordable choice for a wedding cake. But if you want to add pearls, icing petals, 3-D wafer paper, hand-painted elements, and skills needed to make a superb cake design, you’ll receive the high-end paycheck.

The Frosting Used

Generally, there are 5 types of wedding cake frosting:

• Meringue
• Whipped cream
• Fondant Icing
• Buttercream
• Royal
• Ganache

Every frosting needs unique ingredients and some may be a little easier than others. To keep the costs down, you can always go for the increasingly popular “naked” cake look.

Wedding Cake Tiers

Adding tiers after tearing may not seem like much, but the taller the cake, the higher the chance it will fall apart. If you’re going for a 300-pound Queen Victoria, you better order the cake only from the best (and expensive) hands.

Delivery Fees

The final cost of a wedding cake doesn’t usually include the delivery fees. This is because they need to maintain the ideal temperature and ensure the whole structure stays completely intact. Picking a reputable baker in the city might also mean adding more expenses if you want to deliver the cake across town, and it’ll cost significantly more than the ordinary fee.

Equipment

Cupcake displays, cake toppers and cake stands will all be part of your wedding cost if you’ve decided to rent these items from your chosen baker.

Wedding Cake Serving Sizes

It’s not hard to calculate how much square cake you need to please all your guests. However, it can get more challenging when you’re dealing with circular cakes with multiple tiers.

Standard Serving Chart for Wedding Cakes

This chart can help you figure out how much wedding cake you need for your guests.

• 5″ for 8 servings
• 6″ for 12 servings
• 7″ for 16 servings
• 8″ for 24 servings
• 9″ for 32 servings
• 10″ for 38 servings
• 11″ for 47 servings
• 12″ for 56 servings
• 13″ for 67 servings
• 14″ for 78 servings
• 15″ for 89 servings

Note that these figures are based on the average dessert portion and the average cake depth. The deeper the cake means, the thinner the slice, which doesn’t follow these recommendations. Tell your chosen baker who should be familiar with how many people their wedding cakes should be enough for.

For a start, the standard size 3-tier wedding cake should be enough for 50 to 100 guests. If you’re looking to go out of the box with a sheet cake, then we suggest you use these bases:

• Quarter Sheet Cake for 54 servings
• Half Sheet Cake for 108 servings
• Full Sheet Cake for 192 servings

How Much does a Wedding Cake for 100 Guests Cost?

For the average wedding cake, you can serve 100 guests for a moderate price of $365 to $570.

How Much does a Wedding Cake for 150 Guests Cost?

This is considered a more flexible option, where you can achieve it with various tiers and shapes. It’s estimated to cost between $525 – $850

How Much does a Wedding Cake for 200 Guests Cost?

The final cost for a wedding cake depends on where you buy it and how complex the design is. To cater up to 200 people, expect paying between $765 – $1050

For our final thoughts, we recommend you plan for 5 to 10% more than your expectations. There’s a good chance some slices are cut too big, some unexpected guests show up, or some of your guests sneak up and get their second slice.