Weld cost calculator

What a metre of weld really costs to lay down — the number quotes should be built from. Defaults are typical Australian trade rates; override with yours.

Deposition rate (kg/hr)

MIG 0.9 mm at ~7 m/min WFS ≈ 2.5 kg/hr. TIG ≈ 0.5–1 kg/hr.

Arc-on time (%)

Typical fabrication duty cycle: 30–40%.

Labour rate ($/hr incl. on-costs)

Filler cost ($/kg)

0.9 mm mild MIG wire ~$8–12/kg.

Gas cost ($/L)

Argon mix example: ~$120 refill ÷ ~4,600 L (E-size) ≈ $0.026/L. Check your cylinder label.

Gas flow (L/min)

Travel speed (mm/min)

Power cost ($/kWh)

What this tells you

Most quoting mistakes come from ignoring duty cycle — you pay the welder for the hour but only get 35% of it as arc time — and from treating gas as free. This calculator splits the real per-metre cost into labour, filler, gas and power so you can see which lever moves it. Deposition rate can be derived from wire feed speed: kg/hr ≈ WFS (m/min) × wire cross-section (mm²) × 0.00785 (steel density, g/mm³ × 60 min conversion) — e.g. 0.9 mm wire at 7 m/min ≈ 2.5 kg/hr. For TIG, hand-feeding puts you nearer 0.5–1 kg/hr.