Most independent electricians charge $75 to $150 an hour in 2026, plus a service-call or trip fee of $50 to $100. But the hourly number is the easy part. The real question is whether your price covers your fully loaded cost — truck, insurance, tools, slow weeks — and still leaves the profit you actually want to keep.
This guide walks through the three ways electricians price work, real ranges for common jobs, and the markup math that separates a busy electrician from a profitable one. We run our own home-service companies, so the numbers here are the ones we hold ourselves to, not theory.
You bill labor by the hour and pass through materials with a markup. Best for troubleshooting, diagnostics, and jobs where you genuinely can't see the end from the start. The risk: customers fear an open meter, so you'll lose some quotes to flat-rate competitors who name a number up front.
You quote one price for a defined job — install a ceiling fan, add a circuit, swap a panel. The customer knows the cost before you start, and you keep the upside when you work fast. This is how most profitable residential shops price standard work. It rewards experience instead of penalizing it.
For remodels, new construction, or whole-home rewires, you bid the full scope with a written contract, a payment schedule, and a contingency line for surprises behind the walls. Get the scope in writing — change orders are where fixed bids either make money or bleed it.
These are typical 2026 all-in customer prices for standard residential work. Your market, permit costs, and access will move them, but they're a sane starting point:
Your hourly rate is not your wage. To find a rate that survives, start from what you actually need to cover, then work up:
On materials, mark up 20%–50%. You're not reselling parts at cost; you're being paid for knowing what to buy, sourcing it, and standing behind it. For a deeper look at what's left after costs, see our electrician profit margin breakdown.
If you're a one-person shop with steady referral work and your bank account is growing, you probably don't need a pricing overhaul — you need to protect the time you have. A simple flat-rate sheet for your ten most common jobs and a clear trip fee will cover most of your week. Don't build a 200-line price book you'll never open.
Where pricing starts to matter is when you're quoting more and closing less, or when you're busy but broke. That's a sign your rate or your markup is off, not that you need more leads. Fix the math before you spend on marketing.
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$75 to $150 an hour is the common 2026 range, with master electricians and licensed shops at the top. Build your number from your real costs and target profit divided by billable hours — don't just copy a competitor.
Flat rate for standard installs you can scope; time-and-materials for open-ended troubleshooting and big remodels. Most profitable residential shops use flat rate for routine work because it rewards speed and gives customers a clear yes.
20% to 50% is standard. It pays for sourcing, pickup, warranty, and the judgment of choosing the right part. Passing materials through at cost quietly drains your margin.
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