How much should a tradie charge per hour?
There's no single "right" rate - Australian charge-out rates vary widely by trade, region and overhead. What matters more than the going rate is your own: the rate that covers every cost of running your business and still pays you properly. It's easy to end up charging less than you need to once overhead is counted.
It's the question every tradie asks - and the honest answer is "it depends." A sole trader with no premises carries a fraction of the overhead of a team with premises and vehicles, so their rates sit a long way apart. Chasing the "average" rate is the wrong move: a number that's fine for one business loses money for another.
So what do tradies actually charge?
Charge-out rates commonly run from about $60 to $100 an hour, and split by trade the band's wider still - licensed trades like electricians and plumbers usually sit toward the top, general trades lower - because overhead differs so much between businesses. The going rate is a starting point, not a number to copy: the rate that's right is the one that covers your costs.
The rate you charge isn't the rate you keep
A charge-out rate has a lot of work to do. Out of every hour you bill, you're covering the hours you can't bill (quoting, travel, admin), materials handling, the vehicle, insurance, super, and your own pay - before a cent of profit. That's why a healthy-looking rate can still leave you short: the headline number is not your take-home. A tradie charging at the bottom of the market - say $65 an hour - can be left earning closer to $35-$40 once costs come out: busy, but barely ahead.
Don't forget what it costs to be licensed
If you're a licensed trade, you carry costs a generic overhead list misses - and they belong in your rate:
- Licence & registration - periodic renewal fees to keep your ticket and your contractor registration current
- Per-job compliance certificates - electricians lodge Certificates of Electrical Safety (around $40-$120 each in Victoria); plumbers lodge Compliance Certificates with the VBA (about $37 and up, indexed yearly)
- Higher insurance - public liability, plus required warranty cover for some work
- Keeping current - CPD, code updates, test-equipment calibration
Fees vary by state and change every year, so treat these as a starting point and check your own regulator. Spread across a year of billable hours, they quietly lift the rate you actually need to charge.
How to work out what you should charge
Instead of copying someone else's rate, build yours from your own numbers:
- Yearly overhead - vehicle, insurance, tools, phone, software, premises, and licence + compliance fees
- The wage you want to pay yourself - plus super on top
- Billable hours - the hours you can actually invoice, usually far fewer than you work
- A margin - profit on top, once costs are covered
Work out your real hourly rate
Why so many tradies undercharge
The rate data shows a wide spread, and plenty of tradies sit at the bottom of it - usually for one of two reasons. The first is pricing off what someone else charges, without knowing their overhead or yours. The second is basing your rate on your old wage - forgetting that as your own boss you now carry the super, the leave, the quiet weeks and every business cost (and, if you're licensed, the compliance fees) yourself. Both lead to a rate that looks fine and quietly loses money.
The quick way to set your rate
- Total your yearly business costs - vehicle, insurance, tools, phone, software, premises, and any licence + compliance fees.
- Add your pay and super - the wage you want, plus super on top.
- Divide by billable hours - the hours you can actually invoice, not the hours you work.
- Add a margin - the profit your business needs.
- Treat it as your floor - charge below it and the business is covering the difference.
Sources Compliance fees: Energy Safe Victoria (Certificates of Electrical Safety) and the Victorian Building Authority (plumbing fees). Super guarantee rate (12%): Australian Taxation Office. Fees vary by state and change yearly - check your own regulator.
Straight answers.
How much should I charge as an electrician, plumber or sole trader?
The method is the same whatever the trade: add up your yearly business costs and the wage and super you want to pay yourself, divide by the hours you can actually bill, then add a margin. Rates differ between trades because overhead, compliance costs and billable hours differ - not because the maths changes.
What's the difference between my charge-out rate and my take-home?
Your charge-out rate is what you bill per hour - it has to cover every business cost, your own pay and a margin. Your take-home is what's left after overhead and tax. They're very different numbers: a healthy-looking charge-out rate can leave very little once overhead is counted.
Why am I busy but not making money?
Usually because the rate is set below what the business actually costs to run. If your rate doesn't cover overhead - vehicle, insurance, super, your own pay, and the hours you can't bill - then every booked hour quietly loses money, no matter how busy you are.
Know your real rate before you set your price.
We're bringing on Australian trade businesses in small groups. Leave your details and we'll set you up.