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Contractor Break-Even Rate Calculator

Enter your real monthly costs and see exactly what you must charge per hour — just to break even. Then add your profit margin.

Quick-fill by trade

Monthly Overhead

$1,500/mo

Fixed costs you pay every month — whether you work or not.

Desired Monthly Take-Home

What you want to actually pay yourself each month, after all overhead.

$

Billable Hours — 25 hrs/week

Hours you actually spend on the job charging a client. Not total work hours.

Based on a 40-hour work week, 15 hours per week are non-billable — driving, quoting, material runs, admin. These are real costs you must cover in your rate.

5 hrs/wk100 billable hrs/month60 hrs/wk

Profit Margin — 20%

The buffer above break-even. Industry standard is 20–30% for contractors.

5%50%

Your Numbers

Monthly Overhead$1,500
Desired Take-Home$5,000
Monthly Billable Hrs100 hrs
Break-Even Rate$65.00/hr
Profit Margin (20%)+ $16.25/hr

Your Minimum Billable Rate

$81.25/hr

Anything below this and you are working at a loss.

Annual Revenue Goal$97,500
Daily Minimum$406.25

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Common Questions