Handyman Costs: Compare & Save

If you’re after someone to knock over a few easy jobs you can pay as little as $25 to $40 an hour for a handyman.

Handyman hourly rates

When the odd jobs around the house pile up or your DIY skills aren’t up to scratch there is an easy solution – call in a handyman. Budget rates range between $25 to $40 per hour and generally cover tasks that can be done quickly, such as hanging frames and installing shelves. For regular home maintenance, like minor painting and repairs, you’ll be looking at an average rate of $45. When the jobs start to get trickier though you’ll need to pay a premium rate, somewhere between $50 to a maximum of $72.

Common tasks & costs

For some of the more common handyman tasks around the house you can anticipate a quote for the job rather than an hourly rate.

• TV installation – TV installation starts at $115 but can set you back as much as $250, with the average cost sitting somewhere in the middle at around $180. As expected the price rises depend on how complicated the job is, so to wall-mount a small TV will cost less than it would for a large TV.
• Dryer installation – Dryer installation is another common one for handymen, with task prices sitting between $80 and $200, but some other job quotes span a wider margin.
• Minor painting & plastering – Minor painting can stretch from $200 to $940 and minor plastering from $80 to $700. The level of difficulty and time needed to complete the job will be the main factors considered when putting together a quote. Shelf installation – Shelf installation also comes up a lot and will on average cost $200 for a standard task.

Handyman rates by state

Prices for handymen are pretty consistent across the board with the three eastern states paying roughly the same hourly rates. Victoria and Queensland are generally writing cheques in line with the national average of $45, while those in NSW are forking out a couple of extra dollars and paying $47 on average.

It’s not good news for residents of NSW when paying by task either, as they pay substantially more for minor painting and plaster work than their cousins north and south of the border. NSW pays an average of $600 for both tasks while Queensland and Victoria can score the same work for half the price in some instances. It may be a thought to get hourly quotes if you’re living in NSW and see if you can’t get your costs down to around $300-$400 total to save the feeling of being ripped off.