Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Total quote
$1,188
Performance-hour pay
$750
Setup/teardown pay
$188
Total hours on site
8.5
True effective hourly rate
$139.71
Psst — share this and help Rex grow
One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter performance hours (reception) (hrs).
- 2Enter target hourly rate ($).
- 3Enter setup + teardown hours (hrs).
- 4Enter gear/vehicle amortization per event ($).
- 5Enter extra-hour fee ($).
- 6Enter extra hours requested.
- 7Read your total quote on the right — it updates as you type.
- 8Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
DJs and bands often quote a flat night rate that doesn't reflect setup, teardown, and travel hours that never show up on the invoice. This builder takes your target hourly take-home, adds unpaid setup/teardown time, gear amortization per event, and a fee for extra hours beyond the base package, then converts everything into both a flat quote and a true effective hourly rate so you know exactly what you're clearing per hour worked.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Performance hours (reception): 5 hrs
- Target hourly rate: 150 $
- Setup + teardown hours: 2.5 hrs
- Gear/vehicle amortization per event: 75 $
- Extra-hour fee: 175 $
- Extra hours requested: 1
Results
- Total quote: $1,188
- Performance-hour pay: $750
- Setup/teardown pay: $188
- Total hours on site: 8.5
- True effective hourly rate: $139.71
What each field means
Inputs
- Performance hours (reception) (hrs)
- The performance hours (reception) used in the calculation, measured in hrs. Starts at 5 hrs so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–12 hrs.
- Target hourly rate ($)
- The target hourly rate used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 150 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Setup + teardown hours (hrs)
- The setup + teardown hours used in the calculation, measured in hrs. Starts at 2.5 hrs so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–6 hrs.
- Gear/vehicle amortization per event ($)
- The gear/vehicle amortization per event used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 75 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Extra-hour fee ($)
- The extra-hour fee used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 175 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Extra hours requested
- The extra hours requested used in the calculation. Starts at 1 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–6.
Results
- Total quote
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Performance-hour pay
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Setup/teardown pay
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total hours on site
- Returned as a decimal number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- True effective hourly rate
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why only pay 50% rate for setup and teardown?
It's a common industry convention because setup labor is lower-skill and less client-facing than live performance, but it still costs real time and should never be free. Some DJs charge full rate for load-in at large venues with long carry distances; adjust the 50% assumption up if that's your situation.
How much should gear amortization be?
Take your total speaker, mixer, lighting, and vehicle wear cost, divide by expected useful life in events (commonly 150-300 events for club-grade gear), and that's your per-event depreciation. $50-$100 per event is typical for a mid-tier mobile DJ rig.
Why price extra hours higher than the base rate?
Extra hours eat into load-out time, sleep, and the next day's setup for weekend warriors booking back-to-back events. Charging a premium (typically 15-25% above your base hourly) compensates for that schedule risk and discourages last-minute extensions that blow up your night.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Vendor Overtime Fee Calculator
Price extra hours beyond the contracted package at a fair premium.
Wedding Vendor Travel Fee Calculator
Convert mileage, drive time, and lodging into a fair travel fee line item.
Wedding Vendor Profit Margin Calculator
See real profit margin after COGS, labor, and overhead on any vendor booking.
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Wedding DJ & Band Hourly Rate Builder. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/dj-hourly-rate-builder
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/dj-hourly-rate-builder" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wedding DJ & Band Hourly Rate Builder — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Wedding DJ & Band Hourly Rate Builder — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/dj-hourly-rate-builder) (2026).