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Tool 11 · Cost

WELDING COST CALCULATOR

Every weld has four bills: labor, consumables, gas, and electricity — plus whatever overhead the shop lives on. See each one separately, then the total, per meter, and per weld.

ESTIMATE JOB COST

COST BREAKDOWN

Results appear here. Enter values and hit Calculate. Every cost component is shown separately — no hidden numbers.

Estimates only. This is a planning number, not an official quotation or a contract price. Labor burden, consumable prices, and power rates vary by shop and region.

WHERE THE MONEY GOES

Four components, very different weights depending on process and setup.

Labor Is Usually the Biggest Bill

On most jobs, welder cost per hour dwarfs every other line. Arc-on time plus setup, grinding, and repositioning — count all of it. Cutting consumable waste matters, but cutting idle time matters more.

Gas Leaks Money Quietly

An open valve on a bench TIG setup can bleed cubic meters overnight. The calculator charges only arc-on flow — add your own reality for purges, purges, and leaks.

Electricity Is Small — Usually

Machine input power × hours at your kWh rate is typically the smallest line. It becomes significant on long production runs or when running off a generator — which has its own fuel bill.

Overhead Is Whatever You Carry

Rent, tools, insurance, QC, transport — if the shop loads overhead onto jobs, put the percentage here. If not, leave it at zero. Same number, different bookkeeping.

KEEPING IT HONEST

Real Prices, Real Numbers

Wire costs real money per kilo and gas per cylinder or cubic meter. Put your actual purchase prices in — the estimate is only as good as the inputs.

Time Is the Soft Spot

Welding time on the record rarely equals clock time at the bench. For quotes, measure a real sample weld and scale from it before trusting the per-meter number.

Not a Quotation

This calculator helps you plan and compare approaches. An official quotation or contract price comes from your shop's own costing process, not from a web page.

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