Day rate calculator for trades
Most solo tradespeople undercharge because they divide a salary by 260 working days. Then holidays, quoting, admin and the van bill eat the difference. This works it out properly: the income you want, the days you can actually bill, and what that means per day and per hour. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
Your year
Charge at least
£354.00 / day
£44.00 / hour
- Billable days a year
- 192
- Revenue you need a year
- £68,000.00
- …which is, per month
- £5,667.00
That's your floor, not your price. Quote the job, not the day, and round up for risk and callbacks.
Turn this rate into a professional quote for freeWhat UK tradespeople actually charge, 2026
| Trade | Typical day rate |
|---|---|
| Electrician | £200–300 |
| Plumber | £200–280 |
| General builder | £180–250 |
| Carpenter | £180–250 |
| Painter & decorator | £150–220 |
Across all trades: £200–350 a day outside London, £280–450+ inside it. Median electrician hourly rate is around £30–40.
Your day rate is not your wage
The number above has to cover the van, fuel, insurance, tools, your accountant, your phone, the hours you spend quoting for jobs you don't win, holidays, sick days and the tax bill. Most solo tradespeople work 220–240 chargeable days a year, not 260. The rest goes on quoting, admin, chasing payment and weather.
Charging £250 a day for 230 days is £57,500 of turnover, not £57,500 of income. That is the gap this calculator exists to close.
Quoting the right rate only helps if the quote actually goes out. SoloDesks builds and sends a professional PDF quote from your phone before you leave the driveway. Start free.
Figures compiled from UK trade cost guides published in 2026 (Checkatrade, Sleepless Tradesman, Mend or End). These are aggregated third-party estimates, not official statistics. Treat them as a sanity check on your own number, not a target. What you can charge depends on your area, your trade and what you can actually prove you're worth.
Last checked: 30 July 2026
Common questions
- How do I work out my day rate?
- Add the yearly income you want to your yearly business costs, then divide by the days you can actually bill: 52 weeks minus your time off, times the days per week you spend on paying jobs (not quoting, admin or travel). That number is your minimum day rate. Quote above it.
- Why is my day rate so much higher than a salary divided by 260?
- Because you don't bill 260 days. After holidays, sick days, quoting, admin and travel, most solo tradespeople bill 150 to 180 days a year, and the rate also has to cover the van, tools, insurance and every other cost an employer normally pays.
- Should I charge by the day or by the job?
- Quote fixed prices per job whenever you can. Clients prefer certainty, and working fast stops being punished. Use your day rate as the floor when pricing the job, then round up for risk, materials handling and callbacks.
Next, in pricing the job
Work out what the job should cost before you write the number down.
Markup vs margin calculator
30% markup is not 30% profit. Enter your cost and the margin you want, get the price to put on the quote.
Deposit calculator
How much to ask for up front so a cancelled job never leaves you out of pocket on materials. With the exact line to say.
What you owe
Tax, VAT and CIS: the money that was never really yours to spend.
Getting paid
Raise it, send it, and chase it when it goes quiet.
All nine are on the free tools page, and none of them need an account.