Contractor hourly rate calculator

Your hourly rate has to pay for more than wages. This calculator adds labor burden, overhead and non-billable time, then your profit, so you can see the rate you need to charge.

Average hourly wage per worker ($)Labor burden (% of wage)Payroll taxes, workers' comp, insurance, benefitsMonthly overhead ($)Truck, fuel, insurance, phone, software, marketing, your office timePaid hours per worker per monthShare of paid hours that are billable (%)Drive time, estimates and shop time aren't billableField workersTarget profit margin (%)

Billable rate per worker-hour$92.08

Billable rate for the whole crew per hour$184.15

Break-even cost per billable hour (per worker)$73.66

Burdened wage per paid hour$37.50

Billable hours per month (crew)224

Add this calculator to your website

Free for contractors, trade associations, suppliers and bloggers. Paste this code into any page (in WordPress, use a Custom HTML block). Please keep the credit link.

<iframe id="fsp-contractor-hourly-rate-calculator" src="https://fastsnappro.com/embed/contractor-hourly-rate-calculator" title="Contractor hourly rate calculator" width="100%" height="820" style="border:0;max-width:760px;width:100%" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="font-size:13px;margin:4px 0 0">Free <a href="https://fastsnappro.com/tools/contractor-hourly-rate-calculator">contractor hourly rate calculator</a> by <a href="https://fastsnappro.com">Fast Snap Pro</a></p>
<script>addEventListener("message",function(e){if(e.origin==="https://fastsnappro.com"&&e.data&&e.data.fspEmbed==="contractor-hourly-rate-calculator"){document.getElementById("fsp-contractor-hourly-rate-calculator").height=e.data.height}})</script>

Put these numbers to work on every quote

Fast Snap Pro turns customer photos into itemized estimates priced from your own rates and markup, so every quote hits your margin without the math.

Try Fast Snap Pro free

Frequently asked questions

How do contractors calculate their hourly rate?

Add up the full cost of a paid hour (wage plus labor burden), add overhead, then divide by the hours you can actually bill. Finally, divide by (1 minus your target margin) to add profit.

Why does billable time matter so much?

Workers are paid for drive time, estimates, supply runs and shop time, but customers only pay for billable hours. If only 70% of paid hours are billable, each billable hour has to carry the cost of the other 30%.

What is labor burden?

The cost of an employee on top of their wage: payroll taxes, workers' compensation, liability insurance and benefits. It's often expressed as a percentage of wages and varies by trade and state.

Should solo contractors pay themselves a wage in this calculation?

Yes. Enter a fair wage for your own field time, and include your office time in overhead. Otherwise profit is just your unpaid wage.