This free fabrication cost calculator helps job-shops and engineering workshops work out metal fabrication cost — including welding cost, sheet-metal work and structural fabrication — in seconds. Enter material weight and rate, labour hours and rate, consumables, machine/power cost, overhead and profit margin, and read your total cost, selling price, profit and price per piece instantly in rupees.
How fabrication cost is calculated
Fabrication cost is built up in layers. You start from the direct, traceable costs of the job, add a share of your fixed overheads, then add the profit margin you want to earn:
- Material —
weight (kg) × rate (₹/kg). For steel, SS, aluminium or brass, keep the per-kg rate current. - Labour —
hours × rate (₹/hr). Use a fully loaded shop rate, not just the worker’s wage. - Consumables — welding wire/rods, shielding gas, grinding discs, abrasives, primer and paint.
- Machine / power — the run cost of presses, lasers, CNC, welding sets and the electricity they draw.
- Overhead —
direct cost × overhead%for rent, supervision, depreciation and admin. - Margin —
total cost × (1 + margin%)gives the selling price;profit = selling price − total cost.
Worked example. Say a job uses 100 kg of MS at ₹65/kg = ₹6,500 material, 8 labour hours at ₹300/hr = ₹2,400, ₹600 consumables and ₹400 machine/power. Direct cost = ₹9,900. At 20% overhead that adds ₹1,980, so total cost = ₹11,880. Add a 20% margin and the selling price is ₹14,256 — a profit of ₹2,376. For 10 pieces, the price per piece is ₹1,425.60.
What goes into a fabrication quote
A defensible fabrication quote lists every cost component so nothing is forgotten when you compete on price. These are the buckets the calculator uses:
| Component | What it covers | How it is costed |
|---|---|---|
| Material | Plate, sheet, pipe, sections, bar — MS, SS, aluminium, brass | Weight × current rate per kg |
| Labour | Cutting, bending, welding, grinding, assembly, finishing | Hours × loaded rate per hour |
| Consumables | Welding wire/rods, gas, discs, abrasives, primer, paint | Estimated cost per job |
| Machine / power | Press, laser, CNC, welding set run time + electricity | Estimated cost per job |
| Overhead | Rent, supervision, depreciation, wastage, admin | % of direct cost |
| Profit margin | Your earnings, plus a buffer for rework and idle time | % on total cost |
Pricing tips for fabricators
- Load your labour rate. A ₹300/hr quote should already include PF/ESI, supervision and a share of idle time — not just the take-home wage.
- Quote material at replacement cost. Steel and SS prices move weekly; quoting last month’s rate quietly eats your margin.
- Don’t forget scrap and wastage. Cutting and edge trimming lose 5–15% of material; either add it to weight or bury it in overhead.
- Separate setup from run. Low-volume jobs carry the full setup time per piece, so the price per piece should be higher for small batches.
- Protect the margin on rework. Welding and finishing rejects are real; a healthy margin keeps a re-do from turning the job into a loss.
- Quote per piece, cost per batch. Cost the whole batch, then divide by quantity — exactly what the calculator above does.
From estimate to ERP
A calculator answers one quote. Running a fabrication business means doing this on every enquiry, then holding the margin from quotation to work order to dispatch — while material rates, labour and rejects all move. Inside OEMup ERP, job costing is built in: material is priced from live inventory rates, labour and machine time roll up from the work order, overhead and margin are applied automatically, and the quotation, work order and invoice all stay in sync. Start a free trial or explore the full feature set to see fabrication costing handled end to end.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate metal fabrication cost?
Add the direct costs — material (weight × rate per kg) + labour (hours × rate per hour) + consumables + machine/power — then add overhead as a percentage of that direct cost. The result is total cost; add a profit margin to get the selling price. The calculator above does it instantly and shows the price per piece.
How much should fabrication labour cost per hour?
In India, a loaded fabrication rate usually runs about ₹150–₹600/hr: helpers and fitters at the low end, skilled welders and CNC operators in the middle, certified TIG/MIG and precision work at the top. Always load it with supervision, PF/ESI and idle time, not just the take-home wage.
What overhead percentage should I add to a fabrication job?
Most fabrication shops add about 15–30% of direct cost to recover rent, power, depreciation, supervision and wastage. Work out your own number by dividing annual fixed overheads by annual direct cost. Heavy-machinery, high-power shops sit higher; simple manual shops sit lower.
How do I price a fabrication job for profit?
Once you have total cost (direct cost + overhead), add a margin on top: selling price = total cost × (1 + margin%). A 15–25% margin is common; low-volume or specialised work carries more. Quote the margin on a fully loaded cost, then divide by quantity for a clean price per piece.
Need another shop-floor tool? Try the free all calculators, the Metal Weight Calculator for steel, SS, aluminium & brass, or the Production Cost Calculator for batch manufacturing.
Stop costing fabrication jobs in spreadsheets
OEMup builds material, labour, overhead and margin into every work order and quotation — built for Indian fabrication and manufacturing SMEs.
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