Contractor Hourly Rate Calculator
Work out what to charge per hour from the pay you want, the hours you can actually bill, your yearly overhead and a profit margin for the business. Built for owner operators and small crews in the trades and home services.
| Billable hours per year | 1,380 |
| Break even hourly rate | $56.52 |
| Hourly rate to charge | $70.65 |
| Yearly revenue at that rate | $97,500 |
Before sales tax, GST or HST. Example numbers only: replace them with your own.
Why billable hours matter most
Much of the gap between a wage and a business rate comes from hours you cannot bill: driving, quoting, buying materials, invoicing and slow weeks. If you work 45 hours a week but can bill 30, your rate has to cover all 45 from those 30.
What to put in overhead
- Insurance and licences
- Vehicle payments, fuel and repairs
- Tools and equipment, and their replacement
- Phone, software, website and marketing
- Accounting and bank fees
Worked example
With $60,000 of yearly pay, 30 billable hours a week for 46 weeks (1,380 hours), $18,000 of overhead and a 20% margin, the break even rate is $56.52 an hour and the rate to charge is $70.65 an hour. Materials are billed on top, at cost plus your markup.
The Contractor Estimate & Job Costing workbook (C$19.00, Excel, also opens in Google Sheets) keeps your rates and markup in one price book, builds a printable client quote, and tracks what each job really cost and made. Trade editions are listed on the store home page.
More free tools: pricing calculators for trades and home services and the markup and margin calculator. This is a planning tool, not financial or tax advice.