Free Plumbing Estimating Software
Price a water heater swap, a repipe or a bathroom rough-in fixture by fixture, with plumber wages for your metro, and get a yes from the customer online.
The builder below opens with a sample plumbing job, water heater swap, a toilet and a kitchen faucet: 5 lines, $2,571.51 in all. Labor is the BLS OEWS May 2025 U.S. median wage for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters ($30.67) plus 35% for payroll taxes, insurance and equipment, and overhead and profit is 20%, the same way our calculators price. Change any line. Nothing is saved until you choose to.
$41.40/hr: the U.S. median wage for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters ($30.67, BLS OEWS May 2025), plus 35% for payroll taxes, insurance and equipment. A ZIP switches to the local wage. Change it under More options.
$1,553.88
$101.81
$362.52
$311.62
$241.68
Add from the plumbing list (44 items, estimated national prices)
The plumbing item library (44 lines)
Material per unit is our national estimate (estimated); labor hours per unit are crew-hour productivity figures. Both are defaults you overwrite with your own numbers.
| Item | Unit | Material | Labor hrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water heater, 50 gal gas tank | ea | $1,150 | 3.5 |
| Water heater, 50 gal electric | ea | $850 | 3 |
| Tankless water heater, gas, with venting | ea | $2,400 | 8 |
| Heat pump water heater, 65 gal | ea | $2,100 | 5 |
| Expansion tank | ea | $60 | 0.6 |
| Pressure reducing valve | ea | $140 | 1.5 |
| Main shutoff valve, ball | ea | $45 | 1.2 |
| Water service line, 1 in PEX, trenched | linear ft | $9 | 0.3 |
| PEX supply, 1/2 in, run | linear ft | $1 | 0.045 |
| PEX supply, 3/4 in, run | linear ft | $2 | 0.05 |
| Copper supply, 3/4 in type L | linear ft | $7 | 0.12 |
| Repipe, whole house, per fixture | ea | $180 | 5 |
| PVC drain, 2 in | linear ft | $3 | 0.1 |
| PVC drain, 4 in | linear ft | $7 | 0.14 |
| Cast iron stack replacement | linear ft | $28 | 0.5 |
| Sewer line replacement, trenched | linear ft | $42 | 0.6 |
| Sewer line, trenchless liner | linear ft | $95 | 0.35 |
| Cleanout, exterior | ea | $120 | 2.5 |
| Sump pump with basin and check valve | ea | $480 | 4 |
| Ejector pump for basement bath | ea | $1,100 | 8 |
| Backwater valve | ea | $380 | 4 |
| Toilet, standard, installed | ea | $240 | 1.5 |
| Toilet, wall-hung with carrier | ea | $1,100 | 5 |
| Kitchen sink rough-in | ea | $120 | 4 |
| Bathroom rough-in, full bath | ea | $650 | 22 |
| Faucet, kitchen pull-down | ea | $210 | 1.2 |
| Faucet, lavatory | ea | $130 | 1 |
| Shower valve, pressure balance | ea | $190 | 2.5 |
| Shower valve, thermostatic | ea | $420 | 3 |
| Tub drain and overflow | ea | $60 | 1.5 |
| Garbage disposal, 3/4 hp | ea | $190 | 1.2 |
| Dishwasher connection kit | ea | $45 | 1 |
| Ice maker box and line | ea | $60 | 1.2 |
| Hose bib, frost-free | ea | $55 | 1.2 |
| Gas line for range, CSST | linear ft | $6 | 0.2 |
| Water softener, installed | ea | $1,400 | 4 |
| Whole-house filter | ea | $320 | 2 |
| Reverse osmosis, under sink | ea | $380 | 2 |
| Recirculation pump | ea | $350 | 2.5 |
| Drain cleaning, cable, main line | ea | $0 | 1.5 |
| Camera inspection of sewer | ea | $0 | 1.5 |
| Leak detection, electronic | hr | $0 | 1 |
| Plumbing permit | ea | $160 | 1 |
| Wall and floor opening for access | ea | $20 | 1 |
Local labor rate for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters
BLS publishes the median wage for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters by metro and state. Enter a ZIP to see the local figure the builder should be anchored to.
National median for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (SOC 47-2152, BLS OEWS May 2025): $31/hr.
From the $30.67 national median for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters, add what your plumbing business pays on top of wages, its overhead and its profit to get the rate each billed hour has to carry.
Enter your payroll costs, overhead and profit to see the billed rate your numbers need.
Source: labor at $30.67/hr, the BLS OEWS May 2025 national median hourly wage for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters, SOC 47-2152. The builder adds 35% for payroll taxes, insurance and equipment.
How to price plumbing work
Estimate by fixture and by foot
Plumbing scope has two natural units: fixtures (a toilet, a lavatory, a shower valve) and pipe runs (feet of PEX, feet of drain). The library carries both, so a full-bath rough-in is one assembly line while the supply and drain runs to it are priced per foot. Repipes use a per-fixture rate that already includes the average run, which is faster and closer to how the trade bids.
Water heaters: the swap is never just the swap
Code changes catch up with every replacement: an expansion tank, a pan and drain, seismic straps, a new gas flex, sometimes a chimney liner when the furnace has gone high-efficiency and the heater is orphaned on the flue. Listing each line shows the customer why a $1,150 heater becomes a $2,000 job and protects you when the inspector asks.
Sewer and drain work needs a camera line
Put camera inspection and drain cleaning on their own lines even when you roll them into the job. Trenched replacement is priced per foot with depth in the notes; trenchless liners per foot at roughly double the material and half the labor. A backwater valve or cleanout added during the same excavation is cheap to include and expensive to return for.
Compared with spreadsheets and full suites
Flat-rate price books such as those bundled with ServiceTitan or FieldEdge are built around dispatch. QuickBooks estimates carry no fixture library. American Build Rate gives a plumbing-specific library with per-fixture and per-foot items, local wage data and a client accept link, with five free tracked sends every month. Before you compare monthly bills, our contractor software pricing page lists what the field-service apps charge, dated.
Pricing
Free: unlimited drafts, 5 tracked sends a month, PDFs with a one-line footer. Pro $13/mo or $130/yr: unlimited sends, no footer, 4 people on one price book, the website widget. Details on the pricing page.
Questions from plumbing contractors
Can I use flat-rate pricing?
Yes: set the material to your flat price and labor hours to zero, or keep the split so the customer sees parts and labor. Both print the same total.
Does it include gas piping?
CSST and black-iron lines are in the library per foot; add appliance-specific items as needed. Check local licensing for gas work.
How do permits show up?
The "Plumbing permit" item carries the fee as material and one hour of your time; edit the fee to the jurisdiction's schedule.
Related: all trades