Carpenter Pricing Calculator
Price trim, doors, built-ins, framing, and repairs from your real costs — skilled labor, a tool inventory that would make other trades blush, materials with markup and waste — with your profit margin built in, not sanded away. Lumber prices move and old houses lie; your quotes should be ready for both. (Pricing a mixed list of small household repairs instead? Our handyman calculator is built for that.)
Your Company Setup
Set these once — they reflect your business, not the job.
Price a Job
Enter one job — the price updates as you type.
Instant Rate Card — Common Carpentry Jobs
Twelve common carpentry jobs priced with your company settings above. Change your labor rate or margin and the whole menu reprices instantly. Hours and material costs are typical starting points for average conditions — old houses, hardwood upgrades, paint-grade vs stain-grade, and access all move the hours. Material figures assume you've already added 10–15% for cut waste, because the dumpster gets a share of every board you buy.
| Job | Typical hours | Typical materials | Your flat rate |
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We really appreciate feedback from working pros like yourself to get these numbers accurate — to help our fellow trades and businesses succeed, now and for the next generations to come.
Worked Examples: Three Real Carpentry Jobs
Using the default company settings above ($32/hr loaded labor, $14/hr overhead, 30% materials markup, 20% target margin, 3% card fee, 2% callback reserve):
1. Pre-hung interior door install — two and a half hours, $15 in shims and hardware
Labor $80 + overhead $35 + materials charged at $20 (your $15 cost with markup) = $135 base → about $189. The door is the client's; the plumb, square, even-reveal swing is what they're buying. Note that half the hours here are the old-house tax — out-of-square jambs and floors that slope — which is exactly why this prices from hours, not from a "door install" number off the internet.
2. Crown molding, one room — four hours, $120 in material (waste included)
Labor $128 + overhead $56 + material charged at $156 = $340 base → about $459. That $120 material figure already carries the waste factor: outside corners, coped joints, and the one miter you cut backwards all come out of stock you paid for. Price the boards that enter the truck, not the feet that end up on the wall.
3. Built-in bookcase, 8 ft — twelve lead hours plus four apprentice hours, $450 in sheet goods and hardwood
Labor $461 (your twelve hours plus an apprentice at 60% of your rate) + overhead $224 (running on all sixteen labor-hours) + materials charged at $585 = $1,270 base → about $1,699. Custom work is where carpentry margin lives — nobody can price-shop your built-in against a big-box shelf. Which is also why the design conversation that shaped it belongs inside this price, not given away in the driveway.
What Does Carpentry Overhead Actually Cost?
Overhead is every cost of being in business that isn't a specific job — and carpentry carries one of the heaviest tool loads of any trade on this site. The truck and fuel, general liability insurance, and marketing are standard; on top of them sit the table saw, miter saw, track saw, planers, routers, nailers, and compressor, plus the quiet constant drain of blades, bits, sandpaper, and glue that get used up a little on every job. Many carpenters also pay for what other mobile trades don't: shop space — a garage bay or small unit where sheet goods get broken down and built-ins get assembled before install day.
The number that matters is overhead per billable hour. A solo finish carpenter or small crew lead might bill 1,400–1,600 hours a year once estimates, material runs, and shop time are subtracted. Divide annual overhead by those hours: roughly $21,000 ÷ 1,500 billable hours ≈ $14 per billable hour — the default this calculator starts with. Tools feel like they were "already paid for" until the day the table saw isn't — pricing that replaces your equipment is the difference between owning tools and slowly selling them to your clients at cost.
Common Carpentry Pricing Mistakes
Recommended Profit Margins for Carpentry Businesses
These are working benchmarks, not laws. The pattern that matters: margin in carpentry follows how comparable the work is. Hanging doors and running base gets compared against every crew in town, so it earns fair-but-tight margins won on efficiency. Built-ins, custom stairs, and finish packages get compared against nothing, so they earn the margins that actually build a business — 25% and up for shops with a reputation. Pay yourself a real skilled wage in the labor line first; the margin on top is what replaces the tools, carries the slow season, and funds the apprentice who becomes your second crew.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should a carpenter charge per hour?
Build it from your numbers: loaded labor (a real wage for skilled hands plus taxes and insurance) plus overhead per billable hour (truck, a serious tool inventory, blades and consumables, insurance, often shop space), divided by one minus your target margin. With typical numbers that lands an effective $60–$95 per billed hour for finish work in most markets, higher in expensive metros. Finish carpentry prices above rough work — precision and reputation ride on every visible joint.
Should I price by the linear foot or by hours?
Quote flat prices, and use per-foot numbers only as a shorthand you built yourself — from hours. A per-foot price for crown molding assumes plumb walls, square corners, and one setup; a 1920s house with wavy plaster breaks every one of those assumptions. Estimate the honest hours for this house, this material, this access, price them with your costs and margin, then present the flat total. Never borrow another shop's per-foot number — it has their overhead and their houses baked in.
How do I handle lumber price changes in a quote?
Three tools: a validity window, a materials allowance, and a re-price clause. Put an expiration on every quote — 15 to 30 days is standard when material prices are moving. For jobs that won't start for months, quote labor firm and materials as an allowance at today's price, adjustable to the receipt. And buy the material when the contract signs, not when the job starts — locking the price the day the client locks the job protects both of you.
What profit margin should a carpentry business target?
Common working targets: 15–30% true net margin for an established carpentry business, and 10–15% on commodity installs where you're bidding against volume crews, after all costs, card fees, and a callback reserve. Custom and built-in work carries the best margins in the trade — 25% and up — because clients are buying your eye and your joinery, not a commodity anyone can compare on price.
What's the difference between markup and margin?
Markup is added on top of cost; margin is the share of the final price that's profit. A 20% markup on a $100 cost gives $120 — but only a 16.7% margin. To earn a true 20% margin you divide by 0.80, giving $125. On a built-in with four figures of material, the gap between those two numbers is the difference between a profitable month and a busy one.
Is this calculator really free?
Yes. No account, no email, no ads. The calculator runs in your browser and the numbers you enter are never sent to us. We use basic traffic analytics, described in our privacy policy.