People are often surprised by a welding quote, in both directions. A "quick weld" on a trailer hitch comes back at $180 and they expected $40. A stainless railing comes back at $6,000 and they expected $15,000. This is how the number is built, so you can read your quote and compare it fairly to someone else's.
Labor is most of it
Welding is a skilled trade. In our region, shop rates for a certified welder in 2026 run roughly $85 to $125 per hour. Mobile work is higher, typically $125 to $175 per hour, plus a trip charge or mileage, because you are paying for the truck, the engine drive, the fuel and the drive time.
Those hours include more than arc time. On a typical repair, actual welding is maybe a quarter of the job. The rest is:
- Prep. Grinding off paint, rust and old weld. Cutting a crack out to sound metal. Fitting parts so the gap is right.
- Set-up. Clamping, jigging, preheating if the material needs it.
- Finish. Grinding the bead, blending, cleaning spatter, priming.
- Inspection. Checking size, checking for cracks, checking against the drawing.
A shop that quotes only "arc time" will either be slow on the invoice or fast on the prep, and you do not want either.
Material
Steel prices move. As of this writing, A36 plate and structural shapes are running roughly $0.60 to $0.90 per pound from the supplier; stainless 304 is 4–6 times that, and aluminum sits in between. Material is usually 15–35% of a fabrication job and near zero on a repair.
Two things inflate material cost on small jobs: minimums (suppliers sell full lengths, and you pay for the 20-foot stick even if you need 3 feet) and certifications (mill certs traceable to the heat number add cost, but structural and pressure work requires them).
Real ranges
Every job is different. These are honest ranges from our own recent quotes, for planning purposes only.
| Job | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Trailer hitch or tongue crack repair | $150 – $450 | Access, whether a gusset or doubler is needed |
| Mobile emergency repair, first two hours | $350 – $600 | Distance, time of day, material on the truck |
| Excavator bucket lip rebuild with wear plate | $900 – $2,800 | Bucket size, hardfacing, teeth replacement |
| Steel handrail, painted, per linear foot installed | $90 – $160 | Design, posts into concrete vs. side-mount |
| Stainless handrail, brushed, per linear foot installed | $250 – $450 | Tube size, glass or cable infill, finish level |
| Interior steel stair, two flights, code-compliant | $12,000 – $35,000 | Width, tread type, railings, finish, engineering |
| Custom steel gate, driveway, 12 ft double | $3,500 – $9,000 | Design detail, automation prep, powder coat |
| Machine base or frame, 4×8 ft, tube steel | $1,800 – $4,500 | Tolerances, leveling feet, mounting features |
What raises the price
- Stainless and aluminum. Slower processes, dedicated tooling, more expensive material. Expect 2–3× carbon steel for the same part.
- Visible welds. If nobody is painting it, we grind, blend and TIG. That is labor.
- Code and paperwork. AWS D1.1 structural work with certified welders, weld maps and inspection reports costs more than a shed bracket, because it should.
- Engineering. Stairs, guardrails and anything load-bearing may need a stamped drawing. We coordinate this; it is usually $500 – $2,500 from the engineer.
- Rush. Overtime is 1.5×. Weekend mobile callouts carry a premium.
- Bad fit-up. If parts from another shop or a kit do not fit, we fix that first and it is on the clock.
What lowers it
- Bring it to the shop. Shop rate is lower than mobile, and we have every tool.
- Clean it first. Pressure-wash the mud and grease off the equipment. We will still grind, but not for an hour.
- Batch small jobs. Three brackets in one visit cost far less than three visits.
- Be flexible on schedule. Fill-in work between big jobs can be cheaper than a fixed slot.
- Give us a drawing. Even a dimensioned sketch saves estimating and drafting time.
How to compare quotes: ask each shop for the same three things: the hourly rate, the estimated hours, and whether material, finish and inspection are included. A low total that leaves out powder coat and engineering is not a low total.
Our quotes
Ours are written, itemized where it matters, and carry a delivery date. Estimates are free for any job. If you have a drawing, photo or a sample, send it over and you will hear back within two business days.