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Updated · Make This Useful

Handyman hourly rate calculator

HomeGuide puts self-employed handyman rates at $50–$80 an hour and company rates at $75–$125, checked October 2026. On short jobs the minimum earns more than the hourly rate, so set it first. The Handy Geeks, working Los Angeles and the Bay Area, charges a $110–$210 minimum service charge. Yours has to pay for the drive, the setup and the gap a small job leaves in your day.

Price a handyman job

Starting point: $65.00 per hour. Self-employed handyman (US guide): $50.00–$80.00 per hour. Our midpoint of that range, rounded to cents. Labor only; materials additional. HomeGuide: handyman prices, checked 2026-10-15.

Extras, travel and minimum

Use the minimum charge for a service call or minimum visit. Include shopping time in labor or travel once, and list parts under materials.

Job price before tax—

Enter labor-hours.

What should a handyman charge as a minimum?

Enough that the smallest job is worth the trip. A practical floor is one hour of your rate plus what the drive and setup cost you, and the minimum should say whether that first hour of work is included or sits on top. The Handy Geeks pairs its minimum with hourly rates of $70–$160 in Southern California and $80–$180 in the Bay Area.

The common mistake is a minimum that covers time on site but not the run to the hardware store. A cheap part that needs a second trip can turn a small job into a loss. Ask for photos and model numbers when they book, carry the parts you use every week, and say on the quote that a second trip for parts is billed as time.

Should you charge by the hour or by the job?

By the job when you can see the whole task: a toilet swap, a new light fixture, a door that sticks. HomeGuide puts toilet installation at $120–$230 a job, and small repairs of two to five hours at $100–$500. By the hour when you can’t see the end, like a leak you haven’t traced or rot behind a trim board, with the hours agreed before you go past them.

Flat prices reward you for being quick and are easier for customers to say yes to. Hourly protects you in old houses, where one seized bolt or a soft subfloor changes the job. A workable mix is flat prices for the jobs you do every week, and an hourly rate with a not-to-exceed amount for anything you can’t see the end of.

How do you charge for materials and trips to the store?

Charge parts at cost plus a markup, or fold them into a flat price, and say which on the quote. Your time buying them is labor: count it once, either in the hours or as a set pickup fee, never both. If the customer buys the fixture, your labor price stays the same, and say in writing that you’re not responsible for parts you didn’t supply.

Example: a three-hour repair, and a 30-minute one

Three hours of your time at $35 an hour costs $105. Add $50 in parts and $20 for the drive: $175. At a 30% margin, $175 ÷ 0.70 = $250, inside HomeGuide’s $100–$500 band for small repairs. The labor alone, $105 ÷ 0.70 = $150, comes to $50 an hour, the bottom of HomeGuide’s $50–$80 self-employed range, so this price leaves room to charge more.

Now a 30-minute faucet cartridge swap at the same costs: $17.50 of labor, a $15 cartridge and $20 for the drive is $52.50, and $52.50 ÷ 0.70 = $75. That’s under the low end of The Handy Geeks’ $110–$210 minimum. This is the job your minimum is for.

Frequently asked questions

Do handymen charge for estimates?

Quote small jobs free from photos or a short call. For bigger or unclear jobs, a paid site visit that’s credited against the work if they book is fair, and it filters out people who are only collecting quotes. Put the visit fee and the credit in the booking message, not at the door.

How do you price a list of small jobs in one visit?

Add up your time for each item and price the visit as a block, with the minimum as the floor. A list is the best work you get: one drive, one setup, several paid tasks. Give each item its own line so the customer can drop one without reopening the rest, and say how you’ll price anything added on the day.

What if a job runs longer than the quote?

If you misjudged a flat-price job, finish it at the quoted price and fix your number next time. If you find something hidden, like rot behind the trim or a shut-off valve that won’t close, stop, show the customer, and agree a new price before carrying on. Put that rule on every quote so the conversation is expected.

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