Snow removal prices: per push, per foot and per lot, from your labor and equipment
Price a residential driveway per push, a sidewalk, a commercial lot or a salting run from your labor cost, your real rate per push, drive time between stops, material and margin — then see where you sit against typical snow removal prices.
Every other snow removal pricing calculator gives you a national average and calls it a price. This one works from your numbers: what your labor actually costs you per hour, how fast you really work, your drive time, your materials and the margin you need. The typical range is shown for context, not as the answer.
What it prices
- Residential driveway, per push — priced per driveway; typical customer price $35–$75 per push
- Sidewalk and walkway — priced per linear ft; typical customer price $0.30–$0.75 per ft
- Commercial lot, per push — priced per acre; typical customer price $75–$200 per acre per push
- Salting and de-icing — priced per 1,000 sq ft; typical customer price $15–$35 per 1,000 sq ft
How to use it
1. Pick the job type and enter the quantity. Square feet, linear feet, panes, loads — whatever that job is sold by.
2. Put in your loaded labor cost. This is what one person costs you per hour including payroll taxes, workers' comp and any benefits — or what you need to pay yourself. It is not the rate you charge. If you have never worked this out, start with the wage and add 25%.
3. Check the production rate. The default is a typical figure per person per hour. Your real number, from your last few jobs, is better.
4. Drive time, setup and minimum charge. Small jobs die on the trip. The calculator pays every crew member for drive time and setup, and applies your minimum if the job comes in under it.
5. Materials, overhead and margin. Materials at cost plus your markup; overhead per billable hour (monthly overhead ÷ hours you actually bill); the net margin you want on the job.
Snow removal pricing: what actually moves the number
Per push, per season or per inch. Per push is easiest to price and easiest to lose on in a heavy winter; seasonal contracts smooth the cash but shift the weather risk to you. Price the push from your costs here, then set the seasonal contract at 10–15 pushes depending on your climate history.
Depth triggers. Decide what depth starts a push and what depth doubles the price. Most operators trigger at 2" and add 50–100% above 6", because a heavy push is twice the time and the equipment risk.
Route density is everything at 4am. Drive time between stops is the cost that kills snow routes. Enter the real gap between driveways, not the drive from home.
Salt is a material with a markup. Bulk rock salt runs $100–$200 a ton and a residential driveway takes 50–100 lb. Enter it under materials, mark it up, and never absorb it.
Worked example
A two-car driveway with a truck plow at 3 driveways per hour: 20 minutes on site, plus 5 minutes of setup and a 10-minute drive from the previous stop. At $28 loaded labor, $15 per billable hour of overhead (which for snow should include the plow, the truck and the insurance) and a 20% margin, the calculator prices the push at about $36 — the bottom of the typical range, and the reason most operators hold a $40 minimum and add salting at $20 on the same stop.
How the math works
- Hours = quantity ÷ production rate, plus setup and drive time for every person on the crew.
- Labor = person-hours × your loaded cost. Overhead = clock hours the job occupies × your overhead per billable hour.
- Price = (labor + materials + fees + overhead) ÷ (1 − margin), plus the material markup. Dividing by (1 − margin) gives a true margin on the sale; multiplying by (1 + margin) does not, and it is the most common pricing mistake in the trades.
- If the result is under your minimum charge, the minimum applies.
Turn it into an estimate
Hit Turn this into an estimate and the price lands in the estimate generator as line items, ready to send. When the customer says yes, the same numbers become the invoice in BIG INVOICE, which works offline with no account. Send it on the estimate generator, and check the winter shape of your trade on the trade demand calendar.
FAQ
How much should I charge for snow removal?
$35 to $75 per push for a residential driveway, $0.30 to $0.75 per foot of sidewalk, and $75 to $200 per acre per push on commercial lots. Seasonal contracts usually run 10 to 15 pushes at a discount. Equipment and drive time between stops set your floor.
How much to charge for plowing a driveway?
$35 to $75 per push for a typical two-car driveway, more for long rural drives or depths over 6 inches. Set a depth trigger and a heavy-snow surcharge in the contract before the first storm.
How much do snow plow companies charge per hour?
$75 to $150 per hour for a truck and plow, and $150 to $300 for a loader on commercial sites. Residential work is almost never quoted hourly; commercial lots often are.
Is a seasonal snow contract better than per push?
For cash flow, yes; for a heavy winter, no. Price the seasonal contract at your expected push count times the per-push price, less 10 to 15%, and cap the number of pushes or the total depth it covers.
Does this pricing calculator use my numbers or averages?
Yours. The typical range is shown as context, but the price comes entirely from the labor cost, production rate, materials, overhead and margin you enter. Change any of them and the price changes.
Is this calculator free?
Yes, completely. No account, no email, no download. It runs in your browser and we never see your numbers.