Contractor Markup Calculator
Job costs
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How to use the contractor markup calculator
- Enter materials — everything you'll buy for the job, at your cost.
- Enter labor — crew hours × loaded hourly rate (wages + payroll taxes + comp insurance).
- Set overhead % — truck, insurance, office, tools, your salary, spread across jobs. Most contractors run 10–25%.
- Set your markup % — applied on top of full cost. The calculator shows the equivalent gross margin so you can sanity-check against industry norms.
Markup vs. margin — the mistake that bankrupts contractors
A 30% markup is not a 30% margin. Markup is applied on cost; margin is measured on price. A $6,000 job cost with 30% markup sells for $7,800 — a 23% margin. Contractors who hear "the industry runs 30% margins" and apply 30% markup are quietly underpricing every job by 10 points. This calculator shows both numbers side by side so the difference stays visible.
Overhead is a job cost, not profit
The truck payment, liability insurance, your phone, the storage unit, unbillable estimate visits — that's overhead, and it runs 10–25% of direct costs for most trades. Markup applied to materials-plus-labor alone means overhead silently eats your "profit." The calculator applies overhead first, then markup, which is the order that keeps you solvent.
What markup should contractors charge?
General remodeling typically runs 20–35% markup; specialty trades 30–50%; small handyman jobs 50–100% (small jobs carry proportionally more overhead per hour). The honest floor: your markup must at least cover the profit you'd earn as someone else's employee, or the business is paying you less than a job would.
Related tools
Quoting a full project? Build the estimate in the job costing calculator — it works from target margin instead of markup. Check the classic shortcut on the 40 percent markup calculator, price product resale with the wholesale price calculator, and see how many jobs a month your overhead demands with the break-even calculator. Estimate materials with the construction cost estimator.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a typical contractor markup?
20–35% for general contracting, 30–50% for specialty trades, and 50%+ on small jobs. Markup must cover overhead recovery and profit — if yours only covers overhead, you're working for free.
What's the difference between markup and margin?
Markup = profit ÷ cost. Margin = profit ÷ price. A 50% markup is a 33% margin; a 50% margin needs a 100% markup. Quoting with the wrong one is the most common contractor pricing error.
Should I mark up materials?
Yes — you finance them, warranty them, handle returns, and absorb price swings. 10–20% on materials plus full markup on labor is a common structure; this calculator's single markup on total cost achieves the same result more simply.
How do I calculate my overhead percentage?
Add a year of non-job costs (vehicle, insurance, office, tools, marketing, your base salary) and divide by a year of direct job costs. That percentage goes in the overhead field on every quote.