Land clearing bid calculator
Most land clearing calculators tell a property owner what the work costs. This one tells a contractor what to bid to hit a margin. Put your own cost per machine hour in and it works out the number.
Machine class sets the fuel burn, the production rate and the size of stem you can actually handle.
Excavator or wheel loader with a grapple. Separate machine from the mulcher.
Ownership cost worked from what you paid, not a rule of thumb.
38 is realistic for mulching. 50 is optimistic for severe duty.
300 to 500 in clean dirt, 100 to 200 in rock.
Oil, filters, hoses, undercarriage. Not teeth.
EIA national average, week ending 27 July 2026. Gulf Coast was 5.09.
Set a floor if you charge a flat mob fee. Zero uses the calculated cost.
Payroll tax, comp and benefits on top of wage. 1.25 to 1.45 is normal.
Liability, equipment, auto, workers comp, health.
Leads, ads, website, SEO, signage, truck wraps.
Rent or note, power, water, storage.
Interest only, and leave it at zero if you own outright. Principal is already in depreciation, so counting it here charges the machine twice.
Accounting, legal, CRM, invoicing, permits, licenses, DOT, phone.
Chains, straps, saws, fluids, PPE, shop supplies.
Weather, breakdowns, quoting. Reduces the hours your overhead spreads across.
Built for the person sending the bid
Search for a land clearing calculator and every result is aimed at the landowner asking what this will cost me. None of them help the operator work out what to charge, which is the harder question and the one that decides whether the job was worth running.
This one starts from your cost per machine hour, adds mobilization, then applies the margin you want. Change the margin and watch the number move.
What it will not do
It will not price species, stump grinding, haul distance for merchantable timber, permits, or erosion control. It will not tell you whether the access road holds a lowboy.
Walk the site. This is for catching a bid that is obviously too thin before it goes out, not for replacing the walk.
Where do the production rates come from?
They are acres per machine hour on a CTL with a dedicated mulching head, then adjusted for your machine class, terrain and debris handling. They are calibrated so the output lands inside published per acre benchmarks rather than above or below them.
Why is this higher than the cost calculators online?
Because those calculate cost and this calculates price. Cost is what the job takes out of you. Price is cost plus the margin that keeps the business alive when a hydraulic pump lets go.
Bid priced. Now go find the work.
Real jobs posted by property owners, and subcontract work where we hold the contract and you run the machine. No account needed to look.