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Tradie Hourly Rate Calculator — Australia 2026

Enter your costs and profit target to find the exact hourly charge-out rate you need to run a profitable trade business. Includes GST, benchmark rates by trade, and annual profit projection.

Your business details

$

Your salary or owner drawings + any employee wages (per person)

$

Vehicle costs, insurance, tools, phone, software, advertising, rent — everything except wages

Actual time working on jobs (excluding travel, admin, quoting, public holidays, leave)

5% (thin)25% (healthy)50% (excellent)

Your charge-out rate (excl. GST)

$128/hr

$141/hr incl. GST (what you tell the customer)

✓ In line with market

Typical plumber rates in Australia: $90/hr – $160/hr (avg $120/hr). Your rate is competitive for the market.

Tips for setting your rate

  • Most Australian tradies aim for 20–30% net profit margin
  • Billable hours are typically 55–65% of total working hours once you account for admin, quoting, travel and leave
  • Review your rate at least once a year — material and labour costs rise over time
  • Quote per job, not per hour where possible — this removes your risk from labour overruns
  • If you're winning more than 70% of quotes, your price is probably too low

How to calculate your tradie hourly rate in Australia

Setting the right charge-out rate is one of the most important decisions you'll make as a trade business owner. Too low and you work hard for no profit. Too high and you lose work. Here's how to calculate it properly.

The formula

Charge-out rate = (Total costs ÷ Billable hours) ÷ (1 − target margin)

Where total costs = wages/drawings + overheads. If your costs are $120,000/year, you work 1,200 billable hours, and you want a 25% margin: ($120,000 ÷ 1,200) ÷ 0.75 = $133/hr.

What are billable hours?

Billable hours are the hours you actually work on jobs for clients. A standard year has about 2,000 working hours, but after subtracting travel time, quoting, admin, public holidays, leave, and unbillable time, most sole-trader tradies have 1,000–1,400 truly billable hours. Use 1,200 as your starting point if you're unsure.

What's a healthy profit margin for a tradie?

Most trade business advisers recommend targeting 20–30% net profit margin. Below 15% is considered thin — it leaves no buffer for slow periods, growth or unexpected costs. Above 35% is excellent and usually indicates strong pricing discipline.

Do I need to include GST in my rate?

If your annual turnover exceeds $75,000, you must register for GST and add 10% to your prices. The rate shown in this calculator is exclusive of GST — your invoices should show the GST-inclusive amount (your rate × 1.1).

Want to see your actual job-by-job profitability?

ProfitLens connects to your Xero, simPRO or ServiceM8 account and shows you exactly which jobs, customers and job types are hitting your target margin — and which aren't.

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