Contractor Hourly Rate Calculator
Stop guessing your pricing. Calculate exactly what you need to charge per billable hour to cover your overhead, pay yourself, and hit your profit margins.
Your Numbers
Financial Goals
Capacity
Results Analysis
What this means:To achieve your goals with 1,440 billable hours per year, your absolute break-even rate is $104. To hit a 20% profit margin, you must charge $130 per hour.
Compare Against Contractor Planning Ranges
Planning ranges, not guarantees. Benchmarks vary by market, season, trade, offer, ad platform, service mix, and sales process. Use your own CRM, call tracking, accounting, and ad platform data where possible.
Cost Per Qualified Lead
Depends on season and market.
Lead-to-Booked Rate
Varies by speed-to-lead.
Estimate Close Rate
Impacted by in-home sales skills.
Average Job Value
Blended service vs. replacement.
Gross Margin
Targeting 50%+ is ideal.
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Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Many contractors guess their hourly rate based on what competitors charge. This leads to underpricing and shrinking profit margins. Calculating your exact hourly rate ensures you cover overhead, pay yourself properly, and achieve your net profit targets.
Your break-even rate covers your salary and business overhead. If you charge this, you make $0 profit at the end of the year. Your target rate includes your desired net profit margin.
A 40-hour work week does not mean 40 billable hours. Between drive time, supply runs, and administrative tasks, most solo contractors average 20-30 billable hours per week per technician.