Tradesman Hourly & Day Rate Calculator
Stop guessing your hourly rate or copying competitors. Calculate your exact cost floor, overhead share, and target margin based on realistic billable hours.
1. Your Target Income & Operating Costs
What you need to take home to cover mortgage, living costs, and personal savings.
Van lease/finance, fuel, public liability, tool replacement, software, accountant, phone.
52 weeks minus 4 weeks holiday, bank holidays, training, and sick leave (typically 44–47).
⚠️ Most tradespeople only spend 5 to 6 hours on site. The rest is travel, quotes, and admin.
Surplus profit above your personal wage to build company reserves and invest in new tools.
Includes your salary, overheads, and a 15% planned profit margin.
Describe the job in plain English and get an instant UK benchmark including merchant materials, skips, and labour.
Try the Free Job EstimatorWhy Most Tradespeople Underprice Their Hourly Rate
When tradespeople leave employment to go self-employed, they often take their old pay rate (e.g. £20/hour) and round it up to £30/hour, assuming a massive pay rise. A year later, they find themselves working 60 hours a week with barely enough in the bank to pay tax and van insurance.
1. The 40-Hour Illusion
You only earn money when tools are in your hands. Travel, estimating, chasing payments, and merchant runs consume 25% to 35% of your work week. If you need £1,200/week to survive, that £1,200 must be recovered across 25 to 28 billable hours, not 40.
2. Hidden Business Overheads
Van fuel, commercial vehicle insurance, tool theft cover, accountant fees, scheme memberships (NICEIC, Gas Safe, FMB), and mobile software easily total £10,000 to £16,000 every year before you take home a single pound.
3. Wage vs Profit Margin
Your labour rate pays your personal groceries and rent. Profit margin is what keeps the business alive when a customer pays 30 days late or when your van alternator blows up on a freezing Monday morning.
Learn more about quoting and pricing work profitably
Explore our full step-by-step guides on calculating jobs, overheads, and minimum fees:
Hourly Rate & Pricing FAQs
Clear answers to common questions about setting trade rates and avoiding undercharging.