Direct costs
Materials and labor are your direct costs — the dollars that exist only because the job exists. Track them precisely; everything else is calculated from this base.
Built for the little guys
The estimate calculator made for independent contractors, handymen & DIY home projects
Whether you run a one-person crew, tackle weekend remodels, or quote your first fencing job, enter materials, labor, overhead and your target margin. Get your total cost, recommended bid price, profit amount and true profit margin — instantly on any device.
Step 1
Enter your costs
Add material and labor totals for the job.
Step 2
Set overhead & profit
Choose your overhead and target margin.
Step 3
Get your bid
See total cost, bid price, profit and margin.
Your estimate calculator
Enter your costs below and see your total cost, recommended bid, profit and margin update live.
Your estimate
$
$
%
%
Your bid is calculated as total cost ÷ (1 − margin) for a true margin.
Total job cost
$23,000.00
Recommended bid
$28,750.00
Profit
$5,750.00
Margin
20%
Ask the estimator
Describe the job — I'll build your line items.
Tell me about the job
Try "I'm bidding a 1,500 sqft roof tear-off and re-shingle" or "Set my margin to 25%".
3-day free trial · then $9.99/mo
Turn this estimate into a signed job.
Go Pro to save unlimited estimates to the cloud, reuse templates, and let AI write a client-ready proposal & bid with scope, timeline, and payment schedule — in seconds.
- AI proposal & bid writer
- Unlimited cloud saves
- Branded PDF bids
- Reusable job templates
AdvertisementYour ad could be here
Contractor markup & margin, explained
Pricing a job is more than adding parts and hours. Understand the four numbers that decide whether you make money.
Overhead
Overhead keeps the lights on between jobs. Add it as a percentage of direct cost so every estimate carries its fair share of insurance, fuel, and tools.
Markup vs. margin
Markup is on cost, margin is on price. A 50% markup is only a 33% margin. Always price to a target margin so the profit you keep is what you planned.
Profit
Profit is your reward for risk and expertise — not leftover change. Build it into the bid deliberately instead of hoping it survives at the end of the job.
How to price a job to a target margin
Start with your direct costs — the materials and labor a job consumes. Next, apply your overhead percentage so the estimate shoulders its share of insurance, vehicles, tools, and office costs. Together these form your true total cost.
The mistake most contractors make is adding their desired profit percentage on top of cost. That is a markup, and it always produces a smaller margin than expected. To actually keep, say, 20% of the price as profit, divide your total cost by (1 − 0.20). A $24,000 cost becomes a $30,000 bid, leaving exactly $6,000 — a real 20% margin.
The calculator above does this math for you, but knowing the formula keeps you in control when a client negotiates or a job changes scope. Protect the margin, not the markup, and your business stays healthy job after job.
AdvertisementYour ad could be here
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about pricing, markup, margin and overhead.
Get in touch
Questions about pricing your work, or want this calculator for your own site? Send a note and we'll get back within one business day.
- Missbeehavin.rs@gmail.com
- (555) 014-2200
- Serving contractors nationwide
AdvertisementYour ad could be here