How much should an electrician charge per hour?

Enough to cover wages, overhead and profit over the hours your crew can actually bill, which only your own numbers can tell you. Two shops in the same town can need very different rates because their crew mix, trucks, insurance and drive times differ. The calculator above works it out from yours instead of quoting someone else's rate.

How do you price electrical work?

Work out what an hour of billable crew time costs you, add your profit for your hourly rate, then price the job, not the clock: the person-hours the job normally takes times your rate, plus materials at your markup, plus any permit fee. For common jobs, keep those prices in a flat-rate price book.

How do apprentices change my hourly rate?

An apprentice costs less per hour than a journeyman, so a crew with apprentices has a lower blended cost per billable hour. The calculator blends both pay rates into one cost per person-hour, which is what each hour on a job really costs you.

What is flat-rate pricing for electricians?

A fixed price for a defined job, quoted before the work starts, built from the normal person-hours for the task, your hourly rate and the materials with markup. The customer knows the price up front; you carry the risk if the job runs long, which is why honest job times matter.

What is an electrical price book?

A list of the jobs you do most often, each with its flat price, so every electrician quotes the same job the same way. Build each line the way the calculator does and reprice the whole book when your rate or your supplier prices change.

Should an electrician charge a service call fee?

A visit costs you truck time whether or not it turns into a job. Some shops charge a trip or diagnostic fee and credit it against the repair; some build the drive time into every flat price instead. Either works. Doing both charges the customer twice for the same drive.

How should I set my material markup?

So that materials cover what they really cost you: buying, stocking, supply-house runs, returns and the warranty you stand behind. Many shops use a sliding scale, with a higher markup on inexpensive parts and a lower one on expensive equipment.

How often should I update my electrical prices?

Whenever your costs move: wages, insurance, vehicles, copper and other material prices. Re-run your rate, then reprice your price book from it.

Electrician pricing

Electrician pricing calculator: work out your hourly rate, then price jobs flat-rate

Price electrical work from your own costs, not from a number someone else charges. First work out what an hour your crew can actually bill costs you, journeyman and apprentice pay and overhead included, and add your profit: that is your hourly rate. Then price each job as a flat rate: the person-hours it normally takes times your rate, plus materials at your markup. The calculator below does both and turns one job into a good, better, best menu. The numbers in it are examples; replace them with yours.

1. The hourly rate your shop needs

A truck can only be on one job at a time, so the rate rests on the hours your crew can bill, not the hours you’re open.

Journeymen Journeyman pay per hourwith payroll taxes and benefits $ Apprentices Apprentice pay per hourwith payroll taxes and benefits $ Paid hours per person per week Share of paid hours you billthe rest is driving, supply runs, callbacks % Overhead per monthowner pay, trucks, insurance, licenses, office, marketing $ Profit you wantas a share of sales %

$104.58hourly rate you need

$88.89break-even per billable hour

$32.00blended crew pay per hour

5,400billable person-hours a year

Based on 50 working weeks: $480,000 a year in wages and overhead over 5,400 billable person-hours; $564,706 in sales a year at that rate.

2. Your flat-rate price menu

Three ways to do the job, each priced from the person-hours it normally takes (two people for two hours is four) and the materials it uses. Shown here for an outlet; rename them for any job.

Your hourly ratefilled in from step 1, rounded up $ Material markup= 33.3% margin on materials %

Good

Person-hours Materials $

$90

labor $52 · materials $33

Better

Person-hours Materials $

$210

labor $158 · materials $52

Best

Person-hours Materials $

$535

labor $368 · materials $165

Round prices up to the nearest $5

3. What a service call costs you

Every visit uses truck time, whether or not it turns into a job.

Average drive time per call min Time to diagnose and quote min

A call that doesn’t turn into a job uses $87.50 of truck time at $105 an hour. Charge it as a trip fee credited to the repair, or build the drive time into your flat prices; doing both charges the customer twice.

How to price electrical work, step by step

Find your real billable hours. Paid hours minus driving, supply-house runs, estimates that don’t close and callbacks.
Blend your crew. Journeyman and apprentice pay, with payroll taxes and benefits, over the people who bill.
Add up a year of overhead. Your own pay, trucks and fuel, insurance, licenses and continuing education, tools, office, software, marketing.
Divide, then add profit. Costs ÷ billable hours is break-even. Divide again by (1 − your profit share) for the rate you need.
Price the job in person-hours. Person-hours × your rate, plus materials at your markup, plus any permit fee. Keep job times honest.
Keep a price book. Your common jobs at fixed prices, repriced whenever your rate or material prices change.

Your prices come from your costs. Your calls come from the electricians around you.

MyIntelBrief watches the electrical contractors near you — the services and specials they post, their new reviews, the electricians they’re hiring, new shops opening — and emails you a short brief on what changed. Type your company name and pick it from the dropdown for a free look at who you’re competing with. See sample briefs for service businesses.

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Free, no card. We’ll email you this brief, then a fresh one each week for 4 weeks, before you commit to anything. Unsubscribe anytime.

Works with the AI assistant you already use.

How?

Paste or forward a brief to any AI assistant you use and ask, for example, “what are my top 3 moves this week?” No setup. Briefs about your own business also attach a small data file made for it. Details for developers

Frequently asked questions

How much should an electrician charge per hour?: Enough to cover wages, overhead and profit over the hours your crew can actually bill, which only your own numbers can tell you. Two shops in the same town can need very different rates because their crew mix, trucks, insurance and drive times differ. The calculator above works it out from yours instead of quoting someone else's rate.
How do you price electrical work?: Work out what an hour of billable crew time costs you, add your profit for your hourly rate, then price the job, not the clock: the person-hours the job normally takes times your rate, plus materials at your markup, plus any permit fee. For common jobs, keep those prices in a flat-rate price book.
How do apprentices change my hourly rate?: An apprentice costs less per hour than a journeyman, so a crew with apprentices has a lower blended cost per billable hour. The calculator blends both pay rates into one cost per person-hour, which is what each hour on a job really costs you.
What is flat-rate pricing for electricians?: A fixed price for a defined job, quoted before the work starts, built from the normal person-hours for the task, your hourly rate and the materials with markup. The customer knows the price up front; you carry the risk if the job runs long, which is why honest job times matter.
What is an electrical price book?: A list of the jobs you do most often, each with its flat price, so every electrician quotes the same job the same way. Build each line the way the calculator does and reprice the whole book when your rate or your supplier prices change.
Should an electrician charge a service call fee?: A visit costs you truck time whether or not it turns into a job. Some shops charge a trip or diagnostic fee and credit it against the repair; some build the drive time into every flat price instead. Either works. Doing both charges the customer twice for the same drive.
How should I set my material markup?: So that materials cover what they really cost you: buying, stocking, supply-house runs, returns and the warranty you stand behind. Many shops use a sliding scale, with a higher markup on inexpensive parts and a lower one on expensive equipment.
How often should I update my electrical prices?: Whenever your costs move: wages, insurance, vehicles, copper and other material prices. Re-run your rate, then reprice your price book from it.

More pricing calculators for service businesses: plumbing, HVAC, auto repair, lawn care, cleaning, pest control, roofing and landscaping. See how MyIntelBrief works for home services.