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Free carpenter rate check

Carpenter hourly rate calculator

Tools, blades, offcuts, and the hours spent measuring and quoting all cost you before the first cut. Price off your wage and the waste eats your margin. See what you should really charge.

Truck, insurance, tools, phone. Everything that bills you whether you work or not.

What goes into a carpenter's real rate

Carpentry hides its costs in the offcuts and the setup. The waste on every board, the blades and bits, the shop space, and the hours spent measuring and quoting rarely make it onto the invoice. Price like an hourly worker and all of that comes out of your take. This calculator counts the real costs of the work and shows the rate that keeps you in the black.

  • ✓Tools, blades, and consumables
  • ✓Material waste and offcuts
  • ✓Shop or storage space
  • ✓Insurance and vehicle costs
  • ✓Unbilled measuring and quoting

QuoteMate does this on every job, not just once. Answer a few questions on the call and read out a price that protects your margin, with a peer benchmark showing what other carpenters near you charge.

Carpenter rate questions

How much should a carpenter charge per hour?
There is no single right number. Your rate depends on your overhead, your billable hours, and the margin you want to keep. Most carpenters who price off their wage alone land below their true break-even once you add tools, blades, and consumables and material waste and offcuts. The calculator above finds your real number in about a minute.
What should a carpenter's hourly rate cover?
Everything that costs you money whether you are on a job or not: tools, blades, and consumables, material waste and offcuts, shop or storage space, insurance and vehicle costs, unbilled measuring and quoting. If your rate only covers your wage and materials, those costs come straight out of your profit.
How do I know if I am undercharging as a carpenter?
Work out your true break-even — your wage plus overhead spread across your billable hours — and compare it to what you charge. If you are at or below break-even, every hour is costing you. The calculator above shows the gap and what you would earn at a proper margin.

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