Handyman Rate Calculator
Skilled trades carry overhead an hourly-employee wage doesn't: truck and fuel, tools, liability insurance and licensing. Build your rate from those real costs.
Recommended hourly rate
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Break-even rate
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Billable hours/year
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Half-day (4h) job price
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Full-day (8h) job price
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Trade-specific cost considerations
- Materials are typically billed separately with a markup, not folded into the labor rate — this calculator prices labor only.
- Drive time between jobs and free estimates are common unbilled hours; a lower utilization % accounts for this realistically.
- Liability insurance and licensing costs scale with your trade and state — verify current requirements before finalizing overhead.
This tool prices labor only. Add a separate materials markup (commonly 10-20% over cost) on top of the quoted labor price.
Worked example
$65,000 income, $16,000 overhead, 48 weeks, 45 hrs/week, 65% utilization, 10% reserve, 12% margin:
- Billable hours: 48 × 45 × 0.65 ≈ 1,404 hours/year
- Recommended revenue: $81,000 ÷ (1 − 0.22) ≈ $103,846
- Recommended rate: $103,846 ÷ 1,404 ≈ $73.97/hour
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Frequently asked questions
Should I bill drive time?
Some trades bill a trip/travel fee explicitly instead of raising the hourly rate — either approach works if it is applied consistently.
How do I price materials?
Most contractors mark up materials 10-20% over cost to cover procurement time and handling, billed separately from labor.
Turn an hourly target into a profitable service call
Short jobs often carry a disproportionate amount of travel, scheduling, setup and payment time. Use the hourly result to establish a minimum service charge and then add materials and unusual job risk explicitly.
Build a practical price list
- Set a minimum visit charge that covers travel and the first block of labor.
- Use standard labor allowances for repeatable tasks and review them against actual jobs.
- Mark up sourced materials consistently to cover procurement time and warranty handling.
Inspect before quoting
- Hidden damage and older construction can turn a simple repair into diagnostic work.
- Dump fees, parking, permits and specialty tools belong in the estimate.
- Licensed trades should be referred out when the work exceeds your permitted scope.