What a day of an artisan's work costs: the real breakdown

First, the market reference points, so you can place any quote. These are the ranges observed in France in 2026, excluding materials:

Hourly rates and day rates for labour observed in 2026 (excluding VAT and materials). Higher rates are common in the Paris region, for emergency call-outs and for specialist work.
Trade	Hourly rate	Day rate
Joiner	€40 to €60 / hr	€320 to €560
Plumber	€40 to €70 / hr	€360 to €600
Electrician	€35 to €50 / hr	€360 to €580
Mason	€35 to €70 / hr	€280 to €520
Cabinetmaking, specialist work	€60 / hr and up	Depends on the piece

My own hourly rate sits in the middle of the trade's range. What deserves an explanation is not the figure: it is everything it has to cover before it becomes a wage.

Out of €100 invoiced, where does the money go?

Let's take a teaching example: a day of labour invoiced at €450 before VAT by an artisan working alone, through a company. Here is, in orders of magnitude, how it breaks down:

The company's fixed costs: 20 to 30%. A joiner's décennale, France's mandatory ten-year structural warranty insurance, costs €850 to €2,500 a year. The van, between maintenance, insurance and diesel, swallows €4,000 to €7,000 a year. Add the tools that wear out and get replaced, the workshop, the phone, the accountant, the health cover. All of that falls due every month, project or no project.
The invisible hours. An invoiced day also carries unbilled time around it: quotes, visits, ordering materials, tip runs, paperwork. One hour sold actually funds one and a half.
Social contributions: the biggest item. With a company, it all depends on the legal status: around 45% of remuneration for the manager of an EURL (a single-owner limited company), and in the region of 80 to 90% for the director of a SAS or SASU (company forms where the director is treated as a salaried employee). Under the micro-entreprise scheme (the auto-entrepreneur status), it is around 22% of turnover, taxes included, but with no VAT reclaimed on purchases and with a turnover ceiling.
What is left. According to the breakdowns published by building-trade management specialists, an artisan's net margin runs between 8 and 15%. And the sector average, dragged down by those who sell below cost, is lower still. Out of our €450, the artisan's net income before tax sits at around €150 to €200. For eight hours on site, and two or three around it.

That is also why a day of an artisan's work under €300 should make you ask questions rather than celebrate: at that price, once its charges are paid, the business is losing money, and a business that loses money eventually disappears, sometimes with your deposit and always with your warranties. I talk about this in is the cheapest quote a good deal.

The hour that is worth fifteen years

One objection comes up often: '€300 for an hour's call-out is outrageous'. I understand the feeling, and I am going to turn it around: you are not paying for an hour, you are paying for the fact that it only takes an hour. The repairman who finds the fault in ten minutes spent fifteen years learning to find it in ten minutes. The joiner who adjusts your door right first time botched his first adjustments a long time ago, at his own expense. Experience goes on the invoice, and it is what you are buying, along with the travel, the equipped van, and the guarantee that if it does not hold, he comes back.

As for the margin: it is not a shameful secret, it is the condition of the company's existence. You do not ask a restaurant owner what he paid per kilo for his steak; what you are entitled to demand is that the plate is good, served on time, and at the advertised price. For a building project, it is the same: insist on an , a clear scope and a firm total price. The artisan's accounts owe you nothing: it is the result that owes you everything.

My honest opinion: the right price is neither the lowest nor the highest: it is the one that lets the artisan take the time to do the job well, pay his insurance and still be there in ten years when you call. I have given you the reading grids: the ranges in the table, the list of charges, and a crystal-clear quote. With that, you can read any price, including mine, set out item by item in how to read a building quote.

Three questions that come up often

Why pay €300 for a job that took an hour?

Because you are not paying for an hour: you are paying for the fact that it only takes an hour. The professional who fixes your problem in 60 minutes spent years learning how to do it quickly and well, and his call-out includes the travel, the equipped van, the tools, the insurance and the guarantee of his work. The half-price beginner who spends the whole day on it often costs more in the end.

Is an artisan under the micro-entreprise scheme cheaper than a company?

Often a little, because his structure is lighter: around 22% of turnover in contributions and taxes, usually no premises and no employees. But mind the limits: no VAT reclaimed on his material purchases (he re-invoices them to you with VAT included), a turnover ceiling, and the same need for ten-year warranty insurance as everyone else. The status says nothing about quality: check the insurance and the reviews, not the legal form.

Am I entitled to ask for the detail of a quote?

Not only are you entitled to, you should do it systematically: labour, materials and travel must be distinguishable. On the other hand, asking an artisan to justify his margin makes no more sense than demanding the restaurant owner's purchase price for his steak: you are buying a guaranteed result, not ingredients. What must be transparent is the scope and the total price, not the company's accounts.

What a day of an artisan's work (really) costs

Out of €100 invoiced, where does the money go?

The hour that is worth fifteen years

Three questions that come up often

A clear price for your project?