DJ Gig Profit Calculator · GUIDE
Worked on invented numbers; put yours into the quote builder. Nothing here is a market price.
A 5-hour reception quoted at $1,200. Around it: 2 hours of load-in and load-out, 2 hours of planning and music prep, 1 hour of driving. That is 5 unpaid hours on top of 5 playing hours, 10 hours of work, and 50% of it is not on the dance floor.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Quote price | $1,200.00 |
| Card fee (3%) | $36.00 |
| Gear wear ($6,000 over 150 gigs) | $40.00 |
| Insurance share ($600 over 60 gigs) | $10.00 |
| Software share ($900 over 60 gigs) | $15.00 |
| Mileage (40 miles at $0.70) | $28.00 |
| Take-home profit | $1,071.00 |
Profit divided by 10 hours is $107.10 per hour worked, against $240.00 per playing hour on the quote. The break-even price, where profit is zero and your 10 hours are unpaid, is $96; the price that pays $60 per hour worked is $714. Overtime should be billed at no less than $61.86 per hour to cover the same target.
Deposit at booking: $360.00; Balance due 14 days before the event: $840.00.
Each tier is priced from its own hours and costs at the same $60 per hour target, rounded up to $25. Add-ons: ceremony sound (good), cocktail hour and uplighting (better), photo booth and MC (best).
| Tier | Hours worked | Price | Profit | Per hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| good | 10.5 | $775 | $644 | $61.31 |
| better | 12 | $925 | $739 | $61.60 |
| best | 12.5 | $1,100 | $759 | $60.72 |
To take home $60,000 over 60 gigs, 35 in peak season and 25 off-season with peak priced 20% higher, the base package needs about $1,009 off-season and $1,211 at peak. That is 600 hours of work a year and $100.00 per hour worked.
Work from the hours you really spend. On the example numbers a 5-hour reception costs 10 hours of work once 5 unpaid hours of load-in, planning and driving are added, so a $1,200 quote is $240.00 per playing hour but $107.10 per hour worked. Local prices differ; enter your own figures in the calculator.
The price at which take-home profit is zero: your gig costs divided by one minus the fees. On the example it is $96, and the price that pays $60 per hour worked is $714.
Pick the take-home you want, then solve for the price. To take home $60,000 over 60 gigs (35 peak, 25 off-season, peak 20% higher) the example needs about $1,009 off-season and $1,211 at peak.
No. It is arithmetic on the numbers you type, not tax, legal or financial advice, and it does not know what weddings cost in your town.