February 2026 · 7 min read

HOW MUCH SHOULD A TRADIE CHARGE PER HOUR IN AUSTRALIA? (2026 RATES)

"What do you charge?" It's the first question every client asks and the hardest one for most tradies to answer confidently. Charge too much and you lose the job. Charge too little and you're working for less than you think.

Here's what tradies are actually charging across Australia in 2026 — and what they're really taking home after expenses.

2026 HOURLY RATES BY TRADE

These ranges are based on typical sole trader charge-out rates across metro and regional Australia. Your rate will depend on your location, experience, specialisation, and demand.

Important: These are charge-out rates — what you invoice the client. They are not what you take home. There's a massive difference, and most tradies don't realise how big the gap is.

WHAT AFFECTS YOUR RATE

LOCATION

Tradies in Sydney and Melbourne typically charge 15-25% more than those in regional areas. Higher cost of living, more demand, and higher travel costs push rates up. But regional tradies often have less competition and lower overhead, which can balance things out.

A plumber in Sydney's Inner West might charge $120/hr. The same plumber in a regional NSW town might charge $90/hr — but with cheaper fuel, no tolls, and a lower mortgage, they could actually take home more.

EXPERIENCE AND SPECIALISATION

A first-year sole trader will sit at the lower end of the range. A tradie with 15 years of experience, strong reviews, and a specialisation (like gas fitting, solar installation, or heritage restoration) can command the top end — and often more.

Specialisation is the fastest way to increase your rate. A general carpenter at $80/hr becomes a custom staircase builder at $120/hr. Same skills, higher-value positioning.

DEMAND AND SEASONALITY

When every tradie in your area is booked out 6 weeks ahead, you can charge more. When work is quiet, you might need to be more competitive. Rates aren't fixed — they should flex with demand. If you're constantly booked out, your rate is too low.

TRADE TYPE

Licensed trades (plumbing, electrical, gas fitting) naturally command higher rates. The licensing barrier limits competition, and the liability involved justifies the premium. Unlicensed trades like cleaning and general labouring have more competition and lower rates as a result.

CHARGE-OUT RATE VS TAKE-HOME RATE

This is the number that actually matters — and the one almost nobody tracks.

Your charge-out rate is what you put on the invoice. Your take-home rate is what you actually earn per hour after you subtract every business expense and divide by every hour you worked — including unpaid hours like quoting, travel, and admin.

Let's see why with a real example.

REAL EXAMPLE: ELECTRICIAN AT $100/HR

Meet Dave. He's a sole trader sparky who charges $100/hr (ex. GST). He works 5 days a week and invoices about 6 billable hours per day. Here's what a typical week actually looks like:

Dave charges $100/hr but actually earns $39.67/hr. That's before income tax.

That's not because Dave is doing anything wrong. It's just the reality of running a sole trader business. The gap between the invoice rate and the take-home rate is where fuel, insurance, tools, rego, phone bills, and unpaid hours all live.

HOW TO SET YOUR OWN RATE

Instead of picking a number that "feels right," work backwards from what you need to earn:

1. Decide your target take-home income. Say you want to earn $80,000/year after expenses (before income tax).
2. Add your annual business expenses. Vehicle, insurance, tools, phone, accounting, etc. Let's say $32,000/year.
3. Calculate your total revenue needed. $80,000 + $32,000 = $112,000.
4. Estimate your billable hours. If you bill 6 hours/day, 48 weeks/year (4 weeks off) = 1,440 billable hours.
5. Divide. $112,000 / 1,440 = $77.78/hr minimum charge-out rate.

Now you have a number based on reality, not a guess. If the market rate for your trade is above that, great — charge more and earn more. If the market rate is below your minimum, you either need to cut expenses, increase efficiency, or accept a lower take-home.

COMMON RATE-SETTING MISTAKES

1. COPYING YOUR OLD EMPLOYER'S RATE

When you worked for a company, they charged clients $90/hr for your time. So you go sole trader and charge $90/hr thinking you'll earn more. But your employer was covering insurance, vehicle, tools, super, and admin from that rate. Now all of those costs are yours. The rate that made your boss money might barely break even for you.

2. CHARGING WHAT OTHER TRADIES CHARGE

Your mate charges $85/hr so you charge $85/hr. But your mate might live closer to his jobs, have a paid-off ute, or have lower insurance. Your costs are different. Your rate should reflect your costs, not someone else's.

3. NEVER RAISING YOUR RATE

Fuel goes up. Insurance goes up. Materials go up. If your rate stays the same year after year, you're effectively taking a pay cut every year. Review your rate every 6-12 months. Most clients expect annual increases — they'll respect you for it.

4. NOT ACCOUNTING FOR UNPAID TIME

If you only bill 6 hours of an 9-hour day, your effective rate is 33% lower than your invoice rate. The hours you spend quoting, driving, buying materials, and doing admin are real work hours that need to be covered by your billable rate.

HOW THEBRICKBOOK SHOWS YOUR REAL RATE

The whole point of knowing these numbers is to make better decisions. But tracking it manually — adding up every receipt, timing every job, calculating your overhead — that's a full-time job on top of your actual work.

TheBrickBook does it automatically. Log your jobs, track your time, add expenses as they happen, and see your real hourly rate — per job, per week, per month. No spreadsheets. No guesswork. Just the truth about what you're earning.

When you can see that your bathroom renos earn you $62/hr real rate and your maintenance call-outs only earn $38/hr, you know exactly which work to chase and which to drop or re-price.

THE BOTTOM LINE

There's no single "right" hourly rate for any trade. The right rate is one that covers all your costs, pays you fairly for every hour you work (including the unpaid ones), and reflects the value you deliver.

The tradies who earn the most per hour aren't always the ones who charge the most. They're the ones who know their numbers — their real expenses, their real hours, and their real take-home rate. Once you know those numbers, setting your rate isn't a guess. It's just maths.