Woodshop Bench All tools
Pricing & materials

Project cost estimator

"What should I charge for this?" is the question every hobbyist-toward-pro woodworker asks. The right answer is materials + consumables + hardware + finishing + labour + markup. This calculator builds that quote line by line so you can show a client (or yourself) where the money goes.

Estimator

Why overhead matters more than profit

Most new woodworkers leave overhead out of the quote. That's a problem — a table saw costs $1,500, lasts 10 years, and depreciates $150/yr. If you build 50 projects a year, that's $3 of depreciation per project. Add electricity, insurance, sharpening, glue, sandpaper (consumables) and you're easily $20–30/project in overhead. Forgetting it means working for free.

The hourly rate question

Woodworking labour rates vary wildly. Hobbyists charge $0 (or negative, given time cost). Part-timers charge $25–40/hr. Production shops charge $50–100/hr. Master craftspeople $100–200/hr. The right number for you depends on your market and your skill. Don't undersell yourself, but don't out-price your market either.

Why quotes need a margin

Even with the calculator, you'll forget something — a piece you mis-cut, a finish that didn't take, a hinge that's back-ordered. Margin (typically 15–25%) is the buffer for those surprises. Without it, you eat the cost.

Limitations

Frequently asked questions

Should I charge for materials at retail or wholesale?

Charge at cost + a handling fee (typically 10–15%). You bought the wood; you should recover the cost and a bit for the trip to the lumber yard. Anything more feels like gouging; less and you're subsidising the client.

How do I quote "custom" projects?

A 50% deposit up front protects you. Get the design agreed in writing, the deposit cleared, and the materials on order before you cut wood. Most disputes come from unclear scope, not bad work.

What's a fair markup for custom furniture?

2× to 3× materials + labour is typical for custom commissions; production shops run lower. The right answer is what your market bears. Get quotes from competitors and price yourself in the same band.

How do I use Project cost estimator step by step without mistakes?Follow the order given in the usage section: Estimate total project cost: materials, consumables, hardware, finishing, labour and markup. Useful for small-shop quoting. The step-by-step part matters less than the unit check that sits inside it. Confirm every unit matches the thing you are actually trying to measure before you press calculate - that single check catches more wrong answers than any other habit, and it costs about ten seconds.
What are the common mistakes when using Project cost estimator?Most common mistakes come down to four habits: entering 20 when the field expects 0.2 because the field is a percentage; leaving a field blank and accepting the default without checking what it stands for; changing one input and reading a result that was calculated before the change; and quoting the output as an exact figure when the page describes it as a reference estimate. Press calculate again after any edit, and treat the number as a reference point rather than a final answer.
How do I read the result from Project cost estimator?Read the final figure first, then come back to this section for the conditions behind it: Materials is the sum of lumber, sheet goods, hardware, finishing, glue. Labour is hours × rate. Overhead covers shop operating costs. Margin is profit. Keep two things apart: the number itself, which comes from the values you typed, and the assumptions it depends on, which decide whether that number is meaningful. The page sets out what a higher or lower result means for your case, so check that direction as well as the magnitude.
Can I act on the Project cost estimator result directly?Treat it as one reference sheet before you decide, rather than as the answer itself: Doesn't model commissions / sales tax. Add separately. Doesn't account for delivery / installation costs. Doesn't include design time (often 20% of total project hours). Doesn't capture the cost of failed attempts or re-dos. The output describes a magnitude under the conditions you entered. It does not include what it actually costs to act, what might change while you act, or how the other side behaves. Before you commit, compare the result against reality and note which assumptions do not hold where you are.