Tool 1 of the Get Paid Kit · For carpenters

Carpenter hourly rate calculator

This free calculator works out the hourly rate a self-employed carpenter should charge for their time, starting from the income you need, then builds the day rates and job prices clients actually pay out of the hours a job really holds. Clients rarely buy “an hour of carpentry”; they buy the fitted wardrobe that closes flush, the doors that hang true, the staircase that does not creak — your measuring, cutting, fitting and finishing, most of it invisible once it is done well. The timber, sheet materials and hardware are materials, billed as their own line; the rate prices your skill and your hours. With the honest presets below the rate lands near $92 an hour, $733 for a full day — and the jobs built from it: a three-day fitted-wardrobe build at twenty-four hours, $2,200 of labour — with a half day of repairs and snagging at four hours, $367.

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The pricing reality for carpenters

A job is bought flat and earned across more hours than the finished piece suggests. Inside the price sit the site measure, the cutting list, the machining and cutting, the fitting, the adjustments nobody sees and the final snagging round. A rate copied from the carpenter across town carries all of that whether it covers it or not. Price the hour first, and the job becomes an assembly: so many hours of your skill, at a rate that adds up.

Materials are a separate honesty. Timber, sheet goods, hardware and finishes are bought for the job and billed as their own line — at cost or with a stated mark-up, agreed up front. A carpenter who buries materials inside an hourly rate looks expensive on small jobs and bleeds money on big ones. Your rate prices time, skill and the workshop; the wood is the client's, on the client's line of the invoice.

The numbers below are starting presets, not a survey: a $56,000 target income, $16,000 a year of expenses — vehicle and fuel leads, with tools and machinery upkeep, a workshop or storage share, consumables like blades, bits, abrasives and fixings, liability insurance, marketing and admin, and workwear — a 25% tax estimate, four weeks of vacation, a 40-hour week and 60% billable time. With those starting numbers the calculator lands near $92 an hour.

Your numbers — carpenter presets

Your recommended rate

$0 / hour
$0Day rate (8 hours)
0Billable hours per year
Income + expenses needed$0
Grossed up for tax$0
With profit margin$0
Working weeks0
Total working hours0
Billable hours0

Your rate is saved on this device only, so the Proposal Generator can show it when you price a project.

Easy to miss

Costs carpenters forget to put in the rate

  • The blade and bit wear. Saw blades, router bits, drill bits and abrasives are consumed by every job and rarely appear on an invoice. They are a cost of every billable hour and belong in the expenses line, estimated honestly from last year's receipts, not discovered in December.
  • The workshop. Bench space, machinery and storage for timber and sheet goods are the business's factory floor. Rent, power and upkeep — or your share of them — are paid by the rate or not at all. A rate built as if you work from free space is borrowing from the landlord.
  • The measuring trips. Site measures, template-making and quoting visits for jobs you do not win are skilled hours spent in traffic. Some carpenters fold a measure fee into the job price; everyone else must let the billable percentage carry them.
  • The second visit. Snagging, adjustments as timber settles, the door that swells in the first wet month — return visits are part of honest carpentry and part of its cost. Quotes that price only the install make every callback a small loss.
  • The machinery's upkeep. Saws, planers and routers wear, drift out of true and eventually get replaced. Their servicing and replacement are paid for by the rate or by next year's overdraft. A rate that ignores depreciation is borrowing from the breakdown.
The maths

How this calculator works

Start with the hours you can genuinely sell. Take 52 weeks, subtract your vacation weeks, multiply by your hours per week, then multiply by your billable percentage. With the carpenter presets — four weeks off, 40 hours a week, 60% billable — that is 1,152 billable hours a year: the measuring, cutting, fitting and finishing clients can pay for, once quoting, travel and workshop time have taken theirs.

Next, work out what those hours must bring in. Add your desired income and your annual business expenses together — $72,000 on the presets — gross the total up for tax by dividing by one minus your tax rate — at a 25% estimate, divide by 0.75 to get $96,000 — then add your profit margin to reach $105,600 and divide by your billable hours. That final number, $92, is the rate below which the year stops adding up.

Now translate the hour into the prices clients actually buy. A full day on site or in the workshop is the day rate, $733. A fitted-wardrobe build — measure, machine, fit and finish — at about twenty-four hours across three days is $2,200 of labour; a half day of repairs, adjustments and snagging is four hours, $367. The timber, sheet materials and hardware sit on their own invoice line, agreed before the work starts. Small one-hour fixes can carry a minimum charge built from the same rate — an hour's work with an hour of travel either side is not an hour's job — stated when the booking is made, not when the bill goes out.

Disclaimer: This is a planning estimate, not tax advice. Tax rates, deductions and allowances vary by country, state and business structure. Enter the rate you expect to pay, and check significant decisions with a qualified accountant.
Next: build a proposal with this rate Use the general rate calculator
Questions

Carpenter rate questions

No — keep them as their own line. Timber and hardware vary enormously between jobs; buried inside a rate they make small jobs look dear and large jobs quietly loss-making. Bill materials at cost, or with a stated mark-up agreed in advance — the mark-up honestly covers your ordering time, your supplier account and the offcuts in every sheet. The rate stays for what it should price: your hours, your skill and your workshop.
Both are built from the same hour — they are presentations, not different prices. Multi-day work usually suits a job price: the client buys the finished wardrobe or staircase, and you price it as honest hours at your rate plus materials. Small repairs and snagging suit a day rate or a half day, because the scope is discovered as you go. What never works is quoting the job price first and hoping the hours fit inside it afterwards.
For an established solo carpenter with steady work, yes, as a starting point: measuring, quoting, travel, workshop maintenance, invoicing and the hunt for the next job take the rest. In your first year, or in a quiet market, set it lower and let the rate rise to tell you the truth — the calculator is not being unkind, it is showing what the year needs. As the diary fills, the same expenses spread over more billable hours and the rate can ease, or the income can grow.

Rates differ by trade — the same maths runs with different presets for graphic designer rates, freelance writer rates, web developer rates, marketing consultant rates, photographer rates, video editor rates, virtual assistant rates, social media manager rates, bookkeeper rates, translator rates, business coach rates, illustrator rates, copywriter rates, UX designer rates, SEO consultant rates, data analyst rates, motion designer rates, technical writer rates, podcast editor rates, email marketer rates, life coach rates, proofreader rates, event planner rates, voice actor rates, online tutor rates, personal trainer rates, interior designer rates, music producer rates, grant writer rates, UX researcher rates, book editor rates, transcriptionist rates, presentation designer rates, brand strategist rates, video producer rates, art director rates, WordPress developer rates, mobile app developer rates, 3D artist rates, game developer rates, Shopify developer rates, online business manager rates, podcast producer rates, data entry specialist rates, UX writer rates, copy editor rates, wedding photographer rates, resume writer rates, data scientist rates, instructional designer rates, business analyst rates, email designer rates, interpreter rates, audiobook narrator rates, landscape designer rates, wedding planner rates, wedding videographer rates, personal chef rates, dog trainer rates, music teacher rates, florist rates, cake baker rates, tour guide rates, pet groomer rates, house painter rates, handyman rates, locksmith rates, home organizer rates, pressure washer rates, carpet cleaner rates, chimney sweep rates, pool cleaner rates, window cleaner rates, tattoo artist rates, massage therapist rates, barber rates, makeup artist rates, hairstylist rates, nail technician rates, tailor rates, house cleaner rates, electrician rates, plumber rates, pest control technician rates, ppc specialist rates, content strategist rates, wedding DJ rates, dog walker rates, audio engineer rates, caterer rates, mover rates, appliance repair technician rates, nanny rates, piano tuner rates, garage door technician rates, bicycle mechanic rates, house sitter rates, upholsterer rates, jeweller rates, cobbler rates, blacksmith rates, sign writer rates, farrier rates, mobile car detailer rates, genealogist rates, saddler rates, arborist rates, travel agent rates, watch repairer rates, doula rates, sleep consultant rates, home stager rates, wedding officiant rates, college admissions consultant rates, mobile notary rates, personal shopper rates, welder rates, glazier rates, plasterer rates, tiler rates, roofer rates, bricklayer rates, HVAC technician rates, dressmaker rates, concrete finisher rates, drywall installer rates, flooring installer rates, gardener rates, fence installer rates, gutter installer rates, solar installer rates, stonemason rates, deck builder rates, insulation installer rates, cabinet maker rates, paving installer rates, furniture restorer rates, blind installer rates, driving instructor rates, picture framer rates, aerial installer rates, car mechanic rates, clock repairer rates, oven cleaner rates, smart home installer rates, alarm installer rates, drain cleaner rates, curtain installer rates, irrigation installer rates, shutter installer rates, artificial grass installer rates, fireplace installer rates, bathtub refinisher rates, snow removal professional rates, landscape lighting installer rates and radon mitigation specialist rates, or start from the general freelance hourly rate calculator.