Welding Cost

Welding cost components

Multiply labour hours by the hourly rate, consumable mass by cost per kilogram, gas volume by cost per cubic metre and supply energy by cost per kilowatt hour. Add other fixed expenses. For example, 200 labour, 30 consumables, 5 gas, 8 energy and 7 other expenses total 250.

Preparing an estimate

Consumable quantities should include process losses. Labour based on arc time alone omits downtime. All prices are user inputs. Record where you included tax, inspection, depreciation and profit so these items are neither omitted nor counted twice.

Add a work package by hand

For an example job, use 1.5 labour hours at 80 currency units per hour. Labour costs 120. With 2 kg of consumables at 12 per kilogram, consumables cost 24. Use 0.4 m³ of gas at 5 per cubic metre, 3 kWh of energy at 2 per kilowatt hour and other expenses of 8. Gas costs 2 and energy costs 6. The total is 120 + 24 + 2 + 6 + 8 = 160 currency units. These inputs illustrate the arithmetic and are not current market prices.

For a package containing several identical parts, divide the total by the completed part count to obtain a separate cost per part. Cost per metre similarly requires the total weld length for that same package. Do not read the total as a unit price.

If gas was recorded in litres, match units before applying a price per cubic metre. Energy means consumption from the supply, not welding output power. Use measured or billed consumption. If preparation and inspection labour are already included in total time, do not add them again under other expenses. Two quotations with different scopes cannot be compared on their final amounts alone.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate welding cost per metre?

For an example one metre weld using 2 labour hours, 3 kg consumables, 1 m³ gas and 4 kWh energy, total cost is 250.00 currency units per metre. The example unit rates are 100, 10, 5 and 2, with an example fixed expense of 7. This preliminary estimate multiplies the supplied quantities by their rates and adds them, without tax or profit.

Calculate with these values