Free tool · for contractors & trades
Bid Markup & Job-Cost Calculator
Markup is not margin — and mixing them up underprices every job you bid. This free calculator does one thing well: it turns a job's direct cost into a bid that covers your overhead and leaves a profit. Use it right here in your browser, or download the Excel version to keep.
Bid Markup & Job-Cost Calculator
$4,841.57 gross profit (overhead + profit)
A 30% margin needs a 42.9% markup — not 30%. Charge a markup as if it were a margin and you underprice the job. (Illustrative — not licensed financial, accounting, or tax advice.)
Take it with you — free, no signup
Direct download. No email, no account — just the files.
What it does
- Converts the gross margin you need into the exact markup to charge (a 30% margin needs a 42.9% markup — not 30%).
- Adds your overhead and your target profit into one margin, then prices the job from it.
- Shows the bid price and your gross profit on the job, instantly.
- Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere, and nothing is saved.
Own it, don't rent it
Want the whole bid, not just the markup?
This free tool does one calculation. The full workbook builds the whole bid — line-item takeoff in five buckets, an overhead calculator, a change-order log, a unit-cost price book, and a client-ready bid summary, in one connected spreadsheet (Excel, Google Sheets, or LibreOffice).
A one-time purchase you keep and reuse on every job — the structured workbook between a blank spreadsheet and a rented monthly app.
A business reference, not licensed estimating, accounting, legal, or tax advice. Every figure is illustrative — your own numbers and your local rules make it real. Free to use; please don't resell or redistribute.