Price Increase Calculator
Raising prices is the only lever that adds profit with no extra hours, materials or overhead — the catch is customers who leave. Enter your typical month and a proposed increase, and see the profit it adds and the share of jobs you could afford to lose and still earn the same.
Method and content reviewed October 1, 2026 · formulas checked against a test suite · runs entirely in your browser
Extra profit/year = Jobs × (New price − Cost) × 12 − current profit12 × ($1,296.00 − $750.00) × 12 − current = $13,824.00Compare that with the Discount Impact Calculator running in reverse: a discount of the same size moves profit the other way, and demands -17.6% volume to compensate. Price increases buy back profit; discounts sell it.
Handyman: where the number comes from
A handyman running 12 jobs a month at an average $1,200 (variable cost $750) is working full-out and still not getting ahead, and is considering an 8% increase across new quotes. (Illustrative example — use your own month.)
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Jobs per month | 12 |
| Average job price | $1,200 |
| Variable cost per job | $750 |
| Increase | 8% |
Result: +$13,824 a year — and he could lose 2 jobs a month and still earn the same
The 8% increase is $96 of pure profit per job, because no cost moves. Even if two of twelve customers walk, total profit is unchanged and the ten remaining jobs take less work, fewer trips and less risk. Run the same numbers through the Discount Impact Calculator in reverse: an 8% discount would have cut profit by nearly a fifth instead.
Load this example into the calculatorThe calculation
| New average price | $1,200 × 1.08 = $1,296.00 |
| Profit per job before | $1,200 − $750 = $450.00 |
| Profit per job after | $1,296 − $750 = $546.00 (+$96) |
| Extra per month | 12 × $96 = $1,152.00 |
| Extra per year | $1,152 × 12 = $13,824.00 |
| Jobs affordable to lose | 12 × (1 − 450 ÷ 546) = 2.1 → 2 jobs |
How this calculator works
Every result comes from the formulas below — the math shown is the math used. Change any input and results update instantly in your browser; nothing is sent to a server.
- New average price:
New Price = Average Price × (1 + Increase ÷ 100) - Extra profit per job:
Extra per Job = Increase % × Average PriceEvery dollar of the increase lands in profit — costs don't move. - Extra profit per month and year:
Extra = Jobs × Extra per Job ; Annual = Extra × 12 - Jobs you can afford to lose:
Loss Capacity = Jobs × (1 − Profit Before ÷ Profit After)How many customers can walk away before total profit falls below today's.
What the result means
The extra profit is pure: no additional hours, materials or overhead — every dollar of the increase lands in profit. The survivable-loss row is the honest risk measure: how many customers could decline the new price before total profit falls below today's.
When to use it
Use it when costs have moved and quotes no longer carry the margin the business needs — and to set expectations for how much customer pushback the increase can absorb.
Want the concept behind the math in depth? Read When to Raise Your Prices — and How Much You Can Afford to Lose or What a Discount Really Costs (And What to Offer Instead).
Common mistakes
- Raising prices without knowing the margin the business actually requires — fix the target first.
- Repricing signed work instead of new quotes only.
- Comparing the increase to a discount as if they were symmetric — the discount costs more profit than the increase gains.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I raise my prices?
Enough to close the gap between your current margin and the margin your overhead plus income goal requires — the Target Gross Margin Calculator produces that number. As a practical matter, increases in the 5–15% range are common for working-price corrections; anything larger usually signals that prices were too low for too long, which is a correction, not a negotiation.
Won't I lose customers if I raise prices?
Some, and the arithmetic says how many you can afford: with a $450 profit per job that rises to $546 after an 8% increase, you could lose one job in six and still earn exactly the same total. The jobs you keep pay more per unit of work, trips and risk — which is why the busy-but-broke month and the quiet-but-profitable month are often the same month counted two ways.
How is this different from the Discount Impact Calculator?
It's the same arithmetic in reverse. A discount shrinks profit and demands more volume to compensate; an increase grows profit and grants you attrition headroom. Running both shows the asymmetry: the 8% you give away costs far more profit than the 8% you add, because profit is a small number and discounts come out of it first.
When is the right time to raise prices?
When your numbers say the margin is wrong, not when your frustration does. The honest triggers: an annual cost review that shows overhead up, a required margin your quotes don't carry, or job costing that shows systematic underestimating. Announce it simply and ahead of new quotes — existing signed work keeps its price; everything quoted after the date carries the new one.
Should I raise prices on existing customers too?
On new work, yes; on signed work, no — a signed price is a promise, and breaking it costs more than the margin. For recurring customers, give notice before the next quote cycle rather than mid-project. Losing a long-standing customer over a necessary correction is survivable; being known for repricing signed jobs is not.
The same arithmetic runs the other way too — see what a discount of that size would cost you.
Check the discount side →Related tools and guides
Price Increase Calculator is part of RateCraft, a set of free pricing and estimating tools for contractors and service businesses. Results are calculated entirely in your browser and are estimates for planning purposes — see our disclaimer and methodology.