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Contractor Labor Rate Calculator

Charging the wrong hourly rate is one of the fastest ways for a service business to stay busy and still lose money. Enter your costs and profit goal to see the billable hourly rate you need, and your break-even rate.

$

Wages plus payroll taxes and benefits.

$

Vehicles, insurance, rent, office, marketing, tools.

$

Example values

Hourly rate you need to charge

$116.07

Break-even rate
$94.64
Total billable hours
5,600
What each billable hour has to cover
  • Technician cost$50.0043%
  • Overhead$44.6438%
  • Profit$21.4318%

These are example values, not industry figures. Adjust the controls to match your business.

Free, no sign-up. Everything runs in your browser and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

How it works

Hourly rate = (technicians × loaded cost per tech + overhead + target profit) ÷ (technicians × billable hours per tech). Break-even rate leaves out profit.

Use the result in the flat-rate price calculator, and check individual jobs with the job profit calculator.

Frequently asked questions

What are billable hours?

Hours a technician spends on work you can charge for. Drive time, training, callbacks and admin usually aren't billable, so billable hours are well below paid hours.

What should go into overhead?

Everything that isn't direct technician labor or job materials: vehicles, fuel, insurance, rent, software, office staff, marketing, tools and equipment.