Labor
Count job-related work consistently, including setup or travel you need to recover. Use employee cost rather than wages alone. If crew members have different costs, use a weighted average for the hours they work.
FREE JOB PRICING TOOL · USD
Free Service Pricing Calculator
Build a service price from labor, materials, equipment and overhead, then choose your profit target.
Updated September 11, 2026 · No signup requiredPrice your next job
Replace the sample numbers with your own job costs. The result is a price estimate before sales tax.
How to calculate a service price
Start with the cost of doing the job, including employee costs, supplies, job-specific equipment and a share of operating overhead. Then add profit using the method you actually intend.
Job cost = labor + materials + equipment and other direct costs + overhead
For a target margin, divide that cost by 1 minus the margin as a decimal. For a fixed profit amount, add the desired dollars to cost. For markup, multiply cost by 1 plus the markup as a decimal.
Example: pricing a landscaping service job
Two people working five hours at a loaded cost of $30 per person-hour cost $300 in labor. Add $250 in materials, $50 in equipment and $100 in overhead: the job costs $700.
To reach a 25% margin, divide $700 by 0.75 and round upward to the next cent. The price is $933.34, leaving approximately $233.34 in profit after those costs. A 25% markup would instead produce an $875 price and a 20% margin.
Choose margin, markup or a profit amount
| Method | Target | Job price | Resulting margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profit margin | 25% of price | $933.34 | 25.00% |
| Markup | 25% of cost | $875.00 | 20.00% |
| Fixed profit | $200 above cost | $900.00 | 22.22% |
These are illustrative targets, not recommended rates for every trade or market. The right price also depends on the scope, demand, customer value and your business goals.
Include the costs your quote needs to cover
Materials & equipment
Include only the quantities this job uses. Keep disposal, rentals and subcontractors in direct costs when they belong to the job. Do not add an expense here if it is already included in overhead.
Operating overhead
Allocate expenses such as office administration, software or general insurance using a consistent team and period. Enter a known job allocation directly, or use monthly costs and billable person-hours.
Keep crew-hours and person-hours separate
A two-person crew working five hours uses ten person-hours. With $3,000 in monthly overhead spread across 300 billable person-hours, overhead is $10 per person-hour. That job receives a $100 allocation.
If your records use elapsed crew-hours instead, convert them to person-hours for the same team before using the monthly method. Alternatively, enter the job’s overhead allocation directly.
Service pricing calculator questions
Can I use this for lawn care, landscaping or tree service?
Yes. Enter the costs of the specific job or service visit. The same model can support snow removal, cleaning and other field services. Sample inputs are not local market prices.
How much should I charge per hour?
The calculator first builds a total job price. Expand the hourly results to see that amount spread across elapsed crew-hours or person-hours. Because those figures also include materials and other costs, they are not pure labor rates.
Can I price recurring service visits?
Yes. Calculate one visit using its expected scope and costs. For a contract, account for the actual visit count, seasonal changes and any work included outside regular visits before setting a total contract price.
Does the calculator include taxes or fees?
No tax rates or payment-processing fees are applied automatically. The displayed price is before sales tax. Include applicable business costs in your inputs when you need the estimate to recover them.
What if I already know my overhead for the job?
Open the overhead section and select the direct job amount. That replaces the monthly allocation; it does not add both amounts together.
Is the calculated price guaranteed to be profitable?
No. It reaches your selected target on the costs you enter. Unplanned work, underestimated time or missing expenses can reduce the actual result. Review the completed job against the estimate to improve future pricing.