- Each job is compared with a low, typical and high price from public cost guides, the same ranges our price calculators use.
- Only the labor share of each price is scaled to your state. Materials cost about the same everywhere, so they are left alone.
- A low price is not always wrong and a high one is not always too high. The check tells you where you sit, so you can decide on purpose.
How the price check works
Pick your trade and the tool shows three to five jobs that most shops in that trade quote all the time: roofing by the square, gutters by the foot, mowing by the visit, pressure washing by the square foot, tree removal by the tree. Type what you charge for each one. Leave out the ones you do not do.
For each price, Koira does three things:
- Finds the range. Every job has a low, typical and high price taken from public cost guides such as Fixr, HomeAdvisor, Today's Homeowner, LawnStarter and Bob Vila. These are the same ranges behind our free price calculators, where each guide is listed with the date we checked it.
- Adjusts it to your state. Your ZIP code tells us your state. We take the median hourly wage for your kind of work in that state (construction trades, landscaping, or cleaning), divide it by the national median, and scale only the labor part of the price by that number.
- Says where you sit. Under the low end is low. Over the high end is high. Anywhere in between, the ends included, is typical, and the tool says how far you are from the middle of the range.
Nothing you type leaves the page. There is no email box and no account needed to see the answer.
The math, with a worked example
Take mowing a 1/4 acre lawn. The guides give $33 to $61 a visit nationally, typical $47. We treat 80% of a lawn care price as labor; the rest is fuel and equipment.
Say you work in Texas. The median landscaping wage there is $17.66 an hour against $18.82 nationally (BLS, May 2025). That is a factor of 17.66 ÷ 18.82 = 0.94. The typical price becomes:
The low and high ends move the same way. If you charge $40 a visit, that is inside the Texas range and about 10% under typical, so the tool calls it typical, toward the low side.
Roofing is priced by the square (100 sq ft of roof). Our roof calculator holds an installed rate per square foot, so the price check multiplies it by 100: architectural shingles come to $375 to $675 a square nationally, typical $525. Labor is about 58% of a roofing price, the average of three published figures, and that part is scaled by the construction wage in your state.
The state factor is kept between 0.7 and 1.4, so one unusual wage figure cannot swing a price too far.
The national ranges for every job
These are the ranges before any state adjustment. Add your ZIP in the tool to see them for your state.
| Trade | Job | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roofing | Architectural shingle roof, installed, a square | $375 | $525 | $675 |
| Roofing | 3-tab shingle roof, installed, a square | $225 | $319 | $413 |
| Roofing | Metal roof, installed, a square | $630 | $1,033 | $1,435 |
| Roofing | Tear off one layer and haul away, a square | $75 | $200 | $325 |
| Gutters | Seamless aluminum gutter, installed, a foot | $8.23 | $11.01 | $13.80 |
| Gutters | Vinyl gutter, installed, a foot | $5.16 | $6.83 | $8.50 |
| Gutters | Gutter guards, installed, a foot | $7.00 | $11.50 | $16.00 |
| Gutters | Remove and haul away old gutters, a foot | $0.65 | $0.70 | $0.75 |
| Lawn care | Mowing, 1/4 acre lawn, a visit | $33 | $47 | $61 |
| Lawn care | Mowing, 1/2 acre lawn, a visit | $50 | $61 | $72 |
| Lawn care | Core aeration, typical lawn, a job | $100 | $167 | $250 |
| Lawn care | Weed control, one application, an application | $60 | $93 | $120 |
| Lawn care | Spring or fall cleanup, a job | $200 | $339 | $462 |
| Pressure washing | House wash, vinyl siding, a sq ft | $0.20 | $0.32 | $0.45 |
| Pressure washing | Driveway or other concrete, a sq ft | $0.30 | $0.32 | $0.40 |
| Pressure washing | Wood deck, a sq ft | $0.30 | $0.38 | $0.45 |
| Pressure washing | Roof soft wash, a sq ft | $0.50 | $0.75 | $1.00 |
| House cleaning | Standard clean, 2,000 sq ft home, a visit | $180 | $240 | $300 |
| House cleaning | Deep clean, 2,000 sq ft home, a visit | $200 | $400 | $600 |
| House cleaning | Move-out clean, 2,000 sq ft home, a visit | $400 | $650 | $900 |
| House cleaning | Office or commercial clean, a sq ft a visit | $0.09 | $0.14 | $0.20 |
| Tree service | Remove a small tree, under 30 ft, a tree | $150 | $281 | $435 |
| Tree service | Remove a medium tree, 30 to 60 ft, a tree | $442 | $614 | $885 |
| Tree service | Remove a large tree, 60 to 80 ft, a tree | $885 | $1,032 | $1,180 |
| Tree service | Trim a tree, a tree | $285 | $491 | $700 |
| Tree service | Grind one stump, a stump | $150 | $275 | $400 |
| Fencing | Wood privacy fence, installed, a foot | $15.00 | $28 | $40 |
| Fencing | Vinyl fence, installed, a foot | $17.00 | $26 | $38 |
| Fencing | Chain link fence, installed, a foot | $8.00 | $19.75 | $28 |
| Fencing | Walk gate, installed, a gate | $150 | $225 | $400 |
| Fencing | Tear out and haul away old fence, a foot | $3.00 | $4.75 | $6.50 |
| Painting | Interior walls, a sq ft of wall | $1.00 | $1.50 | $2.00 |
| Painting | Ceilings, a sq ft | $0.75 | $1.75 | $2.75 |
| Painting | Trim and baseboards, a foot | $1.00 | $2.00 | $3.00 |
| Painting | Exterior, paintable area, a sq ft | $1.85 | $3.03 | $4.20 |
| Window cleaning | Window, inside and out, a window | $8.00 | $12.00 | $16.00 |
| Window cleaning | Pane, a pane | $4.00 | $6.00 | $8.00 |
| Window cleaning | Screen cleaning, a screen | $1.25 | $3.12 | $5.00 |
| Window cleaning | Job minimum, a job | $88 | $106 | $125 |
| Junk removal | 1/4 truck load, a load | $125 | $163 | $200 |
| Junk removal | 1/2 truck load, a load | $200 | $300 | $400 |
| Junk removal | Full truck load, a load | $600 | $700 | $800 |
| Junk removal | Mattress or box spring, an item | $75 | $113 | $150 |
| Junk removal | Hot tub, cut up and hauled, an item | $175 | $388 | $600 |
| Concrete and driveways | Concrete driveway, installed, a sq ft | $8.00 | $13.50 | $19.00 |
| Concrete and driveways | Asphalt driveway, installed, a sq ft | $7.00 | $10.67 | $14.33 |
| Concrete and driveways | Paver driveway, installed, a sq ft | $10.00 | $35 | $60 |
| Concrete and driveways | Sealcoat existing asphalt, a sq ft | $0.94 | $1.42 | $1.90 |
| Concrete and driveways | Tear out old driveway, a sq ft | $1.33 | $2.83 | $4.33 |
| Plumbing | Water heater, tank (40 to 50 gal), a job | $825 | $1,290 | $1,755 |
| Plumbing | Water heater, tankless, a job | $1,267 | $2,439 | $3,611 |
| Plumbing | Toilet, replace, a job | $262 | $464 | $666 |
| Plumbing | Faucet, replace, a job | $156 | $319 | $482 |
| Plumbing | Drain clog, clear, a job | $124 | $275 | $426 |
| Basement waterproofing | Interior drain tile, a foot | $50 | $80 | $100 |
| Basement waterproofing | Sump pump, installed, a pump | $600 | $1,550 | $2,500 |
| Basement waterproofing | Crack injection, a crack | $275 | $588 | $900 |
| Basement waterproofing | Interior wall sealant, a sq ft of wall | $2.00 | $4.50 | $8.00 |
Each range is the one our calculator for that trade uses: roofing, gutters, lawn care, pressure washing, house cleaning, tree service, fencing, painting, window cleaning, junk removal, concrete and driveways, plumbing, basement waterproofing. Open the calculator to see each guide's own figures and how they were combined.
What to do when a price comes back low
A low price can be a choice. Some owners price low on purpose to fill a new route or win a neighborhood. If that is the plan, keep it, and set a date to raise it.
If it is not a choice, check three things before you change anything:
- Your real cost per job. Add your labor at a fair hourly rate, materials, fuel, dump fees and the time to drive there. Our labor rate calculator and profit margin calculator do this math.
- What the price includes. If your mowing price includes edging and blowing and the guides' does not, you may already be fine. Compare like with like.
- How often you win. If almost every estimate gets signed, your price is likely below what people will pay. A shop that wins every bid usually has room to raise prices.
When you raise a price, raise it on new estimates first, then give existing customers notice at a natural point, such as the start of a season.
What to do when a price comes back high
A high price is not a problem if customers sign. Plenty of shops sit over the range because of their reputation, their warranty, or the work they do that others skip. If you win a fair share of estimates at that price, keep it.
If estimates go quiet, try these before you cut the price:
- Show what is included. Put each part of the job on its own line so the customer sees what they are paying for.
- Offer options. A basic, a standard and a premium version of the same job lets a customer pick, instead of saying no to the only number. Koira's estimates do this.
- Follow up. Many estimates are not turned down, just forgotten. A short follow-up a few days later often gets an answer. Bid follow-ups in Koira send it for you.
What the check cannot see
The ranges come from national cost guides written for homeowners. They are a fair outside view, but they are not your market down to the street. Prices in a big city can run higher than the state figure, and a rural county lower. Job details matter too: a steep roof, a long drive or a hard-to-reach backyard all add cost the guide's average does not show.
Use the check as a first look. Then price each job from your own costs, and watch what you win.
The full local report in Koira
The free check is one look, today. The full local report, on the Grow plan inside Koira, keeps going: your prices tracked over time against the range for your area, and suggested price book changes where a price sits under the low end or over the high end. You decide on each change; nothing changes on its own.
Last checked October 8, 2026.