How to Price Your Trade Services in Australia: Working Out What to Charge
6 min read •27 Apr 2026
Pricing is one of the most consequential decisions in a trade business and one of the least systematically approached. Most sole traders and small trade teams set rates by looking at what competitors seem to charge, asking around on forums, or using the same rate they used two years ago. The problem with all three approaches is that none start with the number that actually matters: what does it cost you to deliver the job, and what do you need to charge above that cost to run sustainably?
The real cost of running a trade business
The real cost of a job is not just materials and the hours spent on site. It includes the costs required to deliver the job and keep operating: vehicle running costs, fuel, tool replacement, insurance, licensing, bookkeeping, phone, software, quoting time, invoicing, and travel.
A tradie who charges $80 per hour and spends six hours on a job earns $480 from that job. If materials cost $120 and attributable business costs add another $130, the net margin is $230 before tax, GST obligations, superannuation, and unpaid sick days.
The calculation most tradies have never run is their breakeven hourly rate. That is the rate where costs are covered and the owner is taking home a wage equivalent to what they would earn as an employee in their trade.
How to calculate your minimum viable hourly rate
Start with annual costs. List every fixed cost that exists regardless of how much work you do: insurance, vehicle registration, phone, accounting, licensing, subscriptions, and software. Add variable costs such as fuel, tool replacement, and materials that are not passed on cleanly.
Then calculate effective billable hours per year. A sole trader working 48 weeks at 40 hours per week has 1,920 available hours. Quoting, travel, invoicing, and supplier runs can consume 25 to 35% of the week. At 30% non-billable time, billable hours drop to roughly 1,344 per year.
Divide total annual costs by billable hours to find the breakeven rate. Add your desired annual wage above costs, then divide again by billable hours. That is your minimum viable charge-out rate.
Market rates are a reference point, not the foundation
Market rates are useful, but they are dangerous as the starting point. A large electrical company charging $95 per hour has different overheads, buying power, job volume, and staffing structure than a sole trader.
A tradie who is far cheaper than the market may also signal something they don't intend to signal. Price is a trust signal in service businesses. If every plumber is charging around $110 and one operator charges $60, customers wonder what they might be missing.
The practical approach is to know your minimum viable rate, check that it sits within the market range for your trade and area, and price at the market rate or above if your experience and credentials justify it.
See how Tradie Card works
Tradie Card lets you display your services and pricing clearly on a professional indexed page, so customers arrive already knowing what to expect and enquiries are better qualified from the start. $29/month, with a 7-day free trial for eligible first-time subscribers and WELCOME180 available for first-timers.
Every plan includes a built-in Lead Inbox so each direct enquiry is captured and easy to follow up.
Get Started FreeWhether to display pricing and how
Displaying starting prices or price ranges on your business page is one of the most useful qualification tools available to a tradie. The argument against it is that jobs vary too much to quote in advance. The argument for it is that customers who see pricing are better qualified before they contact you.
The practical middle ground is displaying prices for defined, standard services where the scope is predictable: a callout fee, a starting price for a standard job type, or a range for a common service.
Even partial pricing reduces time spent on conversations that go nowhere. A customer who knows your starting rate and still contacts you is already aligned with your pricing. A customer who would reject your rate is filtered out before the conversation starts.
Adjusting your rates over time
Most tradies raise rates too infrequently. Fuel, materials, insurance, and vehicle maintenance increase every year. A rate that was viable in 2022 may no longer cover the same margin in 2026.
A practical approach is to review pricing annually and adjust at least in line with operating cost increases. Waiting until the business is under pressure makes the increase feel bigger than it needs to be.
The fear is losing customers. In practice, clear rate increases rarely produce the customer loss feared when reliability, quality, and trust are already established. Customers who leave over a modest increase are often the most price-sensitive and least loyal segment.
Pricing in a trade business should start with the actual cost of running the business, not gut feeling. Calculating your minimum viable hourly rate, total annual costs divided by actual billable hours, shows what you need to charge to operate sustainably. Displaying starting prices on your business page pre-qualifies customers and reduces wasted quoting time.
Related reading: What Does It Actually Cost to Market a Trade Business in Australia?, What Should a Tradie Put on Their One Business Link?, Starting Your Own Trade Business in Tamworth: What You Actually Need.
Frequently asked questions
Rates vary by trade, state, and job type. Rough ranges are licensed electricians $90 to $140 per hour, licensed plumbers $90 to $150 per hour, builders and carpenters $80 to $130 per hour, painters $50 to $90 per hour, and cleaners $40 to $65 per hour. The right rate depends on your actual costs, experience, and location.
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