Free job pricing calculator
Price a job and see your markup and margin.
Add labor, materials, and overhead, then set the margin you want on the selling price. The result shows your price, profit, margin, and markup on cost.
Your estimate · updates instantly
$100.00
Suggested price to charge
- Total cost
- $75.00
- Estimated profit
- $25.00
- Actual margin
- 25.0%
- Markup on cost
- 33.3%
Price = total job cost ÷ (1 − target margin). Profit equals price minus cost.
Example assumptions are illustrative, not market benchmarks. The price does not include taxes, and it is not a quote or tax advice.
This calculator uses only the values entered here. Editing inputs does not send them to a server.
How to price a job
A good price covers everything the job costs and still leaves the profit you want. Build it from costs, in this order.
- Estimate the total worker hours for the job, across everyone working on it.
- Multiply the hours by your labor cost per hour.
- Add materials, such as parts, supplies, or disposal fees.
- Add overhead per job, such as insurance, vehicle, tools, software, and admin time.
- Choose the profit margin you want, then divide total cost by one minus that margin to get the price.
Margin vs markup
Margin and markup both describe profit, but they divide by different numbers. Margin is profit as a share of the selling price. Markup is profit as a share of your cost. A markup percentage is always higher than the margin on the same job.
Margin = profit ÷ price × 100. Markup = profit ÷ cost × 100. Price for a target margin = cost ÷ (1 − margin).
Example only, not a recommendation
- Cost 100, price 125, profit 25.
- Margin: 25 ÷ 125 = 20%.
- Markup: 25 ÷ 100 = 25%.
- To earn a 25% margin on a cost of 100, the price is 100 ÷ 0.75 = 133.33. That is a 33.3% markup.
Adding the margin you want straight onto cost underprices the job. For a 30% margin you need roughly a 42.9% markup on cost. This calculator starts from the margin you want and shows the markup on cost next to it.
To convert any cost and markup into a selling price, or margin into markup, use the free markup calculator.
Service pricing calculator by trade
Choose your trade above to start from an example that fits your work: landscaping, house cleaning, plumbing, lawn care, or HVAC. Every example is illustrative and editable.
Trade pricing calculator questions
Use your own records and assumptions. Examples are illustrative and results are not guarantees.
- How do I calculate a profitable job price?
- Add labor, materials, and overhead to find total job cost. Divide that total by one minus your target margin as a decimal. For example, a 25% margin means price = cost ÷ 0.75.
- What is the difference between margin and markup?
- Margin is profit divided by selling price. Markup is profit divided by cost. This calculator uses target margin, so a 25% margin is not the same as a 25% markup.
- Are the example job costs typical for my trade?
- No. Examples are illustrative starting inputs only, not market benchmarks. Replace them with your own hours, labor cost, materials, overhead, and target margin.
- How do I price a service job?
- Estimate total worker hours and multiply by your labor cost per hour. Add materials and overhead per job, then divide that total cost by one minus your target margin. The result is the price that earns that margin.
- How do I calculate markup on cost?
- Markup is profit divided by cost, times 100. If a job costs 100 and sells for 125, profit is 25 and markup is 25%. The same job has a 20% margin because margin divides profit by the selling price.
- What markup gives me a 30% margin?
- Markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin). A 30% margin needs a markup of about 42.9% on cost, because 0.30 ÷ 0.70 = 0.4286. Pricing at a 30% markup gives only about a 23.1% margin.
- Does this price include tax?
- No. The result does not calculate sales tax, income tax, fees, or other legal and accounting obligations. Check the rules that apply to your business.
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