FREE CALCULATOR
Job pricing calculator
Add up what a job really costs, choose the profit you want, and see the price to charge. Margin and markup are shown side by side, so the percentage means what you think it means.
How to read this
- Total job cost
- Everything this job uses: labor, materials, other costs, and its share of overhead. A price below this loses money on the job.
- Price to charge
- The cost plus the profit you asked for. Round it to a number that feels natural to quote.
- Margin and markup
- Two ways to describe the same profit. Margin compares it with the price and markup with the cost, so the markup figure is always the larger one.
A worked example
A job costs $1,400 in labor, materials, and overhead. For a 30% margin, divide the cost by 0.70: the price is $2,000 and the profit is $600, which is 30% of the price.
A 30% markup multiplies the cost by 1.30 instead: the price is $1,820 and the profit is $420, only 23.1% of the price. Same cost, the same “30%”, and $180 less profit.
Example figures, not client figures.
FAQ
Questions about pricing a job
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Markup is the profit as a share of your cost. Margin is the profit as a share of the price. On a job that costs $1,400, a 30% markup adds $420 for a price of $1,820, while a 30% margin means charging $2,000, with $600 of profit.
Should I include my own time?
Yes. Count your hours at what you would pay someone else to do the same work. If your time is left out, a price can look profitable while you are working for free.
What is overhead, and how do I spread it across jobs?
Overhead is what the business pays every month whether or not there is a job: insurance, phone, software, a vehicle payment, rent. A simple way to spread it is to divide the monthly total by the number of jobs you usually do in a month.
Does the calculator save my numbers?
No. The calculation happens in your browser, and nothing you enter is stored or sent. You can print the result or save it as a PDF.
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