What should I charge for contracting?

Solo contractors carry real overhead — licensing, bonding, liability and vehicle insurance, tools, and a truck — before a single billable hour. Build each bid from your materials, labor, and direct costs, then add a markup that covers that overhead and your profit.

Price a job the way contractors actually do it: add up what the job costs you, then add a markup for your overhead and profit. Fill in your numbers — your bid updates as you type.

What this job costs you

Materials & supplies ($) — your cost for everything you'll buy for this job

Other direct costs ($) — fuel, equipment rental, disposal fees, permits

Your labor

Not sure what to charge for your time? Employed construction laborers earn a median of about $22.66/hr (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A self-employed labor rate is typically higher — roughly $35–$45/hr (about 1.5–2×) — because it also has to cover self-employment tax, the benefits an employer would otherwise pay, and the hours that cannot be billed.

Hours this job will take

Your hourly labor rate ($) — what your time is worth per hour; e.g. $35–$45

Hired help ($) — paid to a helper or subcontractor; leave blank if solo

Your markup — overhead & profit

This is where your business actually makes money. Industry standard is roughly 20–30% overall for contractors; solo operators often need the higher end to cover insurance, tools, truck, admin time, and slow weeks. Adjust to fit your business.

Markup on your costs (%)

Materials & supplies	$0
Your labor (0 hrs × $0)	$0
Hired help	$0
Other direct costs	$0
Your costs (subtotal)	$0
Markup (30% — overhead & profit)	$0
Bid price	$0

Pricing method and standard percentages from contractor-industry sources (Angi, Buildern, NAHB): overall contractor markup 20–30%, materials markup 7.5–35%, labor markup 25–50%, recommended profit margin 15–25%. A markup is a percentage of your costs; the resulting margin (share of the bid that's profit) is lower — both are shown above. These are general benchmarks, not a guarantee for your market.

What your markup has to cover

The markup in your bid covers the costs no single job shows. For contracting, your overhead typically includes liability insurance and bonding, license renewals, truck payment/fuel/repairs, tool and equipment replacement, dump fees, phone, and bid software. None of that appears on one job, but all of it is paid out of the markup added to every job. Published contractor guidance (Angi, NAHB) puts a typical overall markup at 20–30%.

Be realistic about your hours

Estimating, material runs, inspections, and callbacks are unbillable but unavoidable — most solo contractors bill 28–34 hours in a 45-hour week. Bid jobs at billable-hour rates and your unbillable time stops being free.

Contractor pricing FAQs

What is the difference between my hourly rate and my bid price?

Your hourly labor rate covers labor only. A bid adds materials with markup, subcontractors with markup, permit costs, and a contingency. Labor hours × this rate is the floor a bid should never drop below.

How much should I mark up materials?

Published contractor guidance puts a typical materials markup at 7.5–35%, varying by trade and market (Angi, Buildern, NAHB). It covers procurement time, delivery coordination, returns, and the financing cost of buying materials before the client pays.

Should I price differently for time-and-materials vs. fixed bid?

Fixed bids deserve a higher effective rate (often +10–20%) because you carry the risk of overruns. Time-and-materials shifts risk to the client, so the rate can sit closer to your floor.