How much to charge for handyman work: most published Canadian rates for an independent handyman fall between about $50 and $100 an hour, with larger companies charging more, plus a minimum charge of a couple of hours per visit. In the US, cost guides put self-employed handyman rates at roughly $50 to $125 an hour. Your own rate should come from your costs and billable hours, not just the going rate.
Below are the published numbers we found, a worked example for building your own rate, and a flat-rate price list method you can copy.
What handymen charge in 2026
Rates vary a lot by city, experience and whether you work alone or for a company. Here’s what current guides report. Note who published each one: most are platforms or companies that sell handyman services.
| Source | Market | What it reports |
|---|---|---|
| HomeStars price guide (2022) | Canada | $60 to $80 an hour for a solo handyman; up to about $100 for one working with a larger company |
| RenoHouse (April 2026) | Toronto | $50 to $100 an hour; minimum charges of $150 to $250; half day $300 to $500, full day $500 to $900 |
| Housecall Pro, citing HomeGuide, Angi and Thumbtack | United States | About $50 to $125 an hour for self-employed handymen |
| TaskRabbit (March 2026) | United States | Average starting point around $38 an hour on its platform |
| Job Bank, Government of Canada (2023 to 2024) | Canada | Median wage of $25 an hour for employed handymen (NOC 73201). That’s pay, not what customers are charged. |
That last line matters. If you price yourself like an employee, at $25 or $30 an hour, you’ll be working for less than an employee once you pay for your van, fuel, insurance, tools and the hours you spend driving and quoting.
What moves your rate up or down
- Your city: big-city rates run higher, but so do your parking, fuel and insurance costs.
- Skills: finish carpentry, tile and drywall finishing earn more than furniture assembly. Some handymen charge two rates.
- Proof: liability insurance, reviews and photos of past work let you charge at the top of the range.
- Urgency: same-day, evening and weekend calls can carry a premium. Say so up front.
- Customer type: landlords and property managers send steady volume and often expect a slightly better rate in return.
Work out your own hourly rate
Start with what you need to earn, then divide by the hours a customer will actually pay for. Most handymen massively overestimate those hours.
Vehicle, fuel, insurance, phone, tools, software, accounting, advertising. Example: $22,000.
What you want to take home before personal tax. Example: $65,000.
46 working weeks × 40 hours = 1,840 hours. But driving, quoting, shopping and admin eat about 40%, so billable hours are about 1,100.
($22,000 + $65,000) ÷ 1,100 = $79 an hour just to break even on your plan.
Aim for at least 10% on top, for slow months and replacing tools: about $88 an hour.
At $88 an hour and 1,100 billable hours, you bill $96,800 a year. Pay $22,000 of costs and $65,000 to yourself, and $9,800 stays in the business. Drop to $65 an hour with the same hours and you bill $71,500, which leaves you $49,500 instead of $65,000.
The billable ratio is the number to watch. If you can group jobs by area so you drive less, or bundle several small tasks into one visit, your effective rate goes up without changing your price. For more on overhead and margin, see how to price a contractor job.
Minimum charges and trip fees
A 20-minute job across town can easily cost you 90 minutes once you count the drive, the parking and the setup. A minimum charge protects you. The 2026 Toronto guide above lists minimums of $150 to $250, and many handymen set it at one or two hours of labour.
| Approach | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum charge | Every visit is at least, say, $150, which includes the first hour or a set list of small tasks | Most solo handymen |
| Trip fee plus hourly | A flat $50 to $75 trip fee, then hourly from arrival | Wide service areas |
| Half and full day rates | Customer books a block and gives you a list | Honey-do lists, landlords and property managers |
“Our minimum visit is $150, which covers the first hour on site. Most customers save up a few small jobs so they get the most out of it. Want to send me your list?”
That last line does a lot of work. Turning one $150 visit into a three-hour visit is the easiest raise you’ll ever get.
Flat-rate pricing for common jobs
Customers like knowing the price up front, and flat rates reward you for being fast. Build them from your hourly rate and your own times. The times below are examples to show the method; time yourself on your next few of each and use your real numbers.
| Job | Your time (example) | Price at $88/hr | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount a TV on drywall (no wiring) | 1 hr | $88, so your minimum applies | Bundle with picture hanging |
| Replace an interior door slab | 1.5 hr | $132 + door | Price hinges and hardware separately |
| Assemble flat-pack furniture, medium | 1.5 hr | $132 | Big wardrobes take longer; quote by piece |
| Patch and paint a fist-size drywall hole | 2 hr over 2 visits | $176 + materials | Drying time means a return trip |
| Recaulk a bathtub | 1.5 hr | $132 + materials | Removal of old caulk is the slow part |
| Install a closet shelf system | 2 hr | $176 + kit | Depends on wall type |
| Half-day list (4 hr) | 4 hr | $352 | Customer supplies the list in advance |
Put these in a price book so you quote the same way every time. In Contruva’s quoting, each one becomes a saved line item, and customers approve the quote on their phone before you show up.
Charging for materials and supply runs
You are not a free delivery service. If you buy the parts, you’re spending your time, your fuel and your money, and you’re on the hook if the part is wrong.
- Mark up materials. Many contractors add a percentage on top of cost to cover the time and risk of buying. Put it on every invoice, consistently.
- Bill the supply run. A trip to the hardware store mid-job is billable time. Say so in your terms.
- Or let them buy. For finishes the customer wants to choose (taps, light fixtures, hardware), have them supply it and charge labour only.
- Collect a deposit. For anything you order in, like a door or vanity, take payment for the materials before you buy.
Charge sales tax on the full invoice if you’re registered for GST/HST. Our post on HST on materials explains how it works.
Work you shouldn’t price at all
Some jobs aren’t yours to quote, whatever the customer is willing to pay. In Ontario, the Electrical Safety Authority says only electrical contractors licensed by ESA may do electrical work for hire, so a handyman can’t swap a light fixture for a customer unless their business holds that licence. Plumbing, gas and structural work often need licensed trades or permits too, and rules vary by province and state.
“That one needs a licensed electrician, so I can’t do it myself. I can give you the name of one I trust, and I’m happy to do the drywall patch after they’re done.”
Saying no protects your insurance and your reputation, and the referral often comes back to you as work.
When and how to raise your rates
If your calendar is full two weeks out and almost nobody pushes back on price, you’re too cheap. Raise your rate for new customers first, then for existing ones with notice.
“Hi Dan, quick heads-up: from January 1 my hourly rate goes to $95. Anything you book before then stays at the current rate. Thanks for sticking with me.”
Review your numbers once a year: costs, billable hours and how many quotes you win. A win rate that’s very high usually means there’s room to charge more.
Handyman work lives or dies on admin time. Every phone call about a $150 job is time you can’t bill. Contruva’s AI receptionist answers, collects the job list and books the visit, invoices go out from site with a card payment link, and a review request follows every job. See how it works on the Contruva for handyman businesses page, or compare it with one-plan pricing.