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Unit Rate Analysis
Break a unit rate into its components.
Construction Estimation SuiteStep 3 of 5
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A rate that cannot be broken down cannot be defended in a tender negotiation. This Professional calculator rebuilds the rate from its parts: material with waste, labour hours divided by output, equipment hours divided by output, then your overhead and profit percentages applied to the net direct rate.
Method and assumptions
- material = qty × rate × (1 + waste%)
- labour = hours × rate ÷ output
- equipment = hours × rate ÷ output
- net direct rate = material + labour + equipment
- quoted rate = net direct rate × (1 + overhead%) × (1 + profit%)
- All rates and output figures are user-entered from the project's own data; the tool assumes no standard productivity constant or market price.
- All percentages and inputs are user-defined; the calculation is purely arithmetic and assumes no particular code or specification.
- A preliminary decision-support estimate: the result does not replace an approved design calculation or review by a competent authority.
Frequently asked questions
- Does it assume productivity constants?
- No. Output figures, hourly rates and material prices are all yours. The engine assumes no standard productivity and no market price.
- How is output used?
- Labour and equipment costs are hours × rate divided by the output produced in those hours, which converts a crew cost into a cost per unit of work.
- Are overhead and profit compounded?
- Yes, in sequence: the net direct rate is increased by overhead, and profit is then applied to that figure, matching common estimating practice.
- What is the difference from the tender price tool?
- This one prices a single work item; the tender price tool takes the whole project's direct cost through preliminaries, risk, overhead, profit, provisional sums and bond costs.
Related calculators
- Construction Cost CalculatorCost & Estimation
- Material / Labour / Equipment BreakdownCost & Estimation
- Tender Price CalculatorCost & Estimation
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