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DIY vs. Contractor Cost Calculator

Compare the true cost of doing a project yourself (materials + your time) against hiring a contractor.

  • Answers as you type
  • Every formula cited
  • Calculated in your browser
SettingsSettings for this calculationUS
Market
Imperial · sales tax
Your cost for materials if doing the project yourself.

Contractors sometimes get trade discounts on materials, so your DIY materials cost may be somewhat higher than what's built into a contractor's quote.

How many hours you expect the project to take you.

Be realistic — first-time DIY projects often take significantly longer than an experienced contractor would need.

What your time is worth to you — could be your hourly wage, or simply a personal opinion of your time's value.

Some people value their own labor at $0 for a project they enjoy; others value it at their professional hourly rate.

The all-in quote you received from a contractor for the same work.

Use a real quote for an apples-to-apples comparison.

Estimated savings by doing it yourself

Needs your Value of Your Time ($/hour)

This page does not assume a price. Enter yours and the answer appears here.

Then change the inputs to see how far the answer moves.

Show calculation logic

How this was calculated

Formula source(s)

  • DIY total cost = materials cost + (your hours x the value you place on your time); compared directly against a contractor's all-in quote

Inputs used

DIY Materials Cost
2000
Your Estimated Hours
20
Value of Your Time ($/hour)
Contractor Quote
5000
Final resultNaN

What this calculation does not cover

  • The DIY side here is materials plus hours, and tools are neither. A wet saw, floor sander, scaffold tower or plate compactor is a rental or a purchase you would not otherwise make, and blades, abrasives, adhesive, fasteners and a dumpster for the debris are consumables the contractor has already priced inside the quote. On a one-off job that group can be a quarter of the DIY figure.
  • Hours are not the same as weeks. Twenty hours of your own labor spread across weekends is a bathroom out of use for a month and a half where a crew is in and out in a week, and if that means a hotel, a kitchen eaten out of, or a rental that runs longer, the cost lands somewhere this comparison never looks.

Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.

Sources checked 2026-09-06 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.0.1

Regulatory standards & verification citations1
  1. DIY total cost = materials cost + (your hours x the value you place on your time); compared directly against a contractor's all-in quote
Cite this page

Your workspace

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Now that you have the number

These guides cover the work this quantity is for — the first ones run this calculator inside the section that raises the question.

How to calculate DIY vs. contractor cost in 5 steps

  1. DIY Materials CostYour cost for materials if doing the project yourself.
  2. Your Estimated HoursHow many hours you expect the project to take you.
  3. Value of Your Time ($/hour)What your time is worth to you — could be your hourly wage, or simply a personal opinion of your time's value.
  4. Contractor QuoteThe all-in quote you received from a contractor for the same work.
  5. Estimated savings by doing it yourselfThe tool computes the estimated savings by doing it yourself from those figures and shows the formula, its sources, and a confidence rating alongside it.

Frequently asked questions

Why include a value for my own time?
DIY isn't free — the hours spent are hours not spent on work, family, or leisure. Putting even a modest dollar value on that time gives a more honest comparison than just looking at materials cost alone.
What if I'd enjoy doing the project myself regardless of cost?
Then set your time value to $0, or simply weigh the enjoyment factor separately from this calculator's pure cost comparison — some projects are worth doing yourself for the satisfaction alone.
Does this account for the risk of mistakes?
No — a DIY mistake (wrong materials, a code violation, a leak that damages a floor) can add unplanned cost and time that a contractor's experience and warranty would have avoided. Factor in your own skill level and risk tolerance for the specific task.
Preliminary estimate, not certified engineering. This tool produces an indicative quantity calculation for planning purposes only — it is not a certified structural analysis, a guaranteed material takeoff, or a substitute for building department approval. Always verify measurements on-site and have a licensed contractor or structural engineer review any load-bearing, code-sensitive, or safety-critical work before purchasing materials or starting construction. Spotted an arithmetic or standards error? Report it to contact@craftquantities.com with your inputs — a confirmed fix gets a permanent check of its own, so the same mistake cannot come back.