What size hole do I need?

The diameter of the bottom of the cupcake case, plus a millimetre or two. Standard cupcakes are about 50 mm across the base, muffins about 60. The cupcake stands through the hole with its base on the floor of the box, so the platform height should be about a third of the cupcake’s height.

What size box does it go in?

The insert is worked out from the holes — each hole plus the card between them and round the edge — and the note under the drawing gives the inside size of box to make round it. Use the Box with lid or the Clamshell box at that size.

Will it print on one sheet?

Yes, at the size it opens with: six 50 mm holes make a drawing about 250 × 190 mm, which fits A4 and US Letter sideways. Twelve holes need A3.

Why is there always card left between the holes?

So it does not tear. The card between holes is never less than 6 mm; thinner than that it rips as soon as a cupcake is pushed in.

Cupcake Insert Template — Cupcake Holder

The cupcake insert template, flat and folded

Cupcake insert template — free printable dieline with cut and fold lines, any size — The printable dieline at its standard size. Type your own size above for yours.

Cupcake insert folded up from the template — the finished box — The box it folds into.

What this template is for

A raised platform with a grid of round holes, so cupcakes, muffins or tea lights stand upright and cannot slide about in the box. Sized by the cake.

Also called cupcake box insert · cupcake holder · muffin insert · tea light holder — all the same shape, and this is it.

Cupcake and muffin boxes
Tea lights and small candles
Baubles and ornaments
Test tubes, bottles and jars

How to use this template

All four downloads are the same cupcake insert at the same size — only the format changes.

PDF printing at home: Print at 100 per cent, or hand it to a print shop as "actual size, no scaling".
PNG 300 dpi Canva, Photoshop, Procreate: Upload, lock it in place and design your cupcake insert on top. Free plan and phone included. Full Canva walkthrough →
SVG Cricut, Illustrator, Inkscape, Affinity: Vector, with cuts, folds and labels on separate layers. Cricut and Silhouette walkthrough →
DXF Silhouette, laser and vinyl cutters: Two layers, CUT and FOLD — and the one free Silhouette Studio Basic will open.

Getting it printed properly →

Printing it

Type your size above, then download the PDF.
Print at 100% — never “fit to page”, or every measurement comes out wrong.
Too big for the paper? Tick Split across several sheets: it tiles across as many as it needs, with overlaps and matching letters to tape together.

How to put it together

These pictures are the cupcake insert itself, not a generic diagram — change the measurements above and the template changes, but the three steps never do.

Cut the solid lines
Every solid line is a cut. Do the inside shapes first, while the sheet is still whole and easy to hold.
Score every dashed line
Dashed lines are folds. Score each one first — an empty ballpoint against a ruler — or the card cracks along the outside of the bend.
Fold, glue and hold
Cut the holes out first. Fold the four walls DOWN — they are the legs — and glue each corner tab to the inside of the wall next to it. Turn it over, drop it in the box and stand a cupcake in each hole.

Glue: a glue stick for paper, white PVA on card — hold each seam thirty seconds, and let the box dry standing up.

Questions about the cupcake insert

What size hole do I need?: The diameter of the bottom of the cupcake case, plus a millimetre or two. Standard cupcakes are about 50 mm across the base, muffins about 60. The cupcake stands through the hole with its base on the floor of the box, so the platform height should be about a third of the cupcake’s height.
What size box does it go in?: The insert is worked out from the holes — each hole plus the card between them and round the edge — and the note under the drawing gives the inside size of box to make round it. Use the Box with lid or the Clamshell box at that size.
Will it print on one sheet?: Yes, at the size it opens with: six 50 mm holes make a drawing about 250 × 190 mm, which fits A4 and US Letter sideways. Twelve holes need A3.
Why is there always card left between the holes?: So it does not tear. The card between holes is never less than 6 mm; thinner than that it rips as soon as a cupcake is pushed in.

Print your own design on it

Add a logo, photo or pattern in the panel on the left and drag it onto the cupcake insert. It is trimmed to the cut outline, embedded properly in the PDF, and never leaves your computer — most free template sites hand you the outline and stop there. How printing your own design works.

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In these collections: Food box templates

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