Estimate construction labour cost either per square foot of built-up area, or by number of workers, days, and a daily wage.
How to Use This Calculator
Choose "Per Square Foot" if your contractor quotes a rate per sq.ft, or "Daily Wages" if you're paying workers a daily wage.
Fill in the relevant fields for your chosen method.
Click "Calculate" to see the total labour cost.
The Two Formulas
Per square foot: Labour Cost = Area (sq.ft) × Rate per sq.ft. With the default 1,500 sq.ft at ₹250, the result is ₹375000.
Daily wages: Labour Cost = Workers × Days × Daily Wage. With the default 5 workers for 30 days at ₹700, the result is ₹105000.
The answer is rounded to the nearest rupee. The two modes are independent, so the defaults are not meant to describe the same job: 30 days of a five-person crew would build only a part of a 1,500 sq.ft house.
Working Out a Mixed Crew
On most Indian sites a skilled mason (mistri) works with several helpers, and their wages differ. The daily-wage mode takes a single wage, so either run it once for each type of worker and add the results, or enter the average wage of the crew.
Worker
Number
Days
Daily wage
Cost
Mason
2
25
₹1,000
₹50,000
Helper
4
25
₹600
₹60,000
Total
6
25
₹733.33 average
₹1,10,000
The wages above are illustrative. Rates vary widely by city and trade, and the Central and State governments notify minimum wages for construction work, so check your state labour department's current notification.
Comparing Per-Square-Foot Quotes
Two labour contractors quoting different rates per sq.ft may not be offering the same work. Before comparing, get each quote to state clearly:
Which area the rate applies to. Built-up area is larger than carpet area, so the same rate on built-up area costs more.
Which trades are included: excavation, RCC and shuttering, brickwork, plastering, flooring and tiling, or only some of them. Electrical, plumbing, painting and carpentry are often contracted separately.
Who provides scaffolding, shuttering material, water for curing and small tools.
The payment schedule. Linking payments to completed stages, such as plinth, roof slab and plastering, is safer than paying large advances.
A rough cross-check is to divide a per-sq.ft quote by a typical daily wage. ₹3,75,000 at ₹700 a day is about 536 worker-days. If that looks far too low for the scope of work, the quote may exclude trades you assumed were included.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use whichever matches how your contractor quotes the job — per square foot of built-up area, or a daily wage per worker for a number of days.
No, this is labour cost only. Use the Construction Material Estimator for a combined material + labour estimate.
Run the daily-wage mode once for masons and once for helpers, then add the two results. Alternatively, enter the total crew size with the average wage: 2 masons at ₹1,000 and 4 helpers at ₹600 average ₹733.33 a day.
Labour contractors usually quote on built-up area, which includes the thickness of walls, but practice varies. Confirm it in writing and enter the same area basis in the calculator, otherwise the total can be noticeably off.
On daily wages you pay only for days worked, but the project still stretches out. Rain, festivals, material delays and curing periods all add calendar days, so plan the schedule with some slack even though idle days may not be paid.