Free tool
Low-voltage pricing calculator.
Price a cabling, camera, access control or AV job in seconds. Change any price to your own and the total follows. Nothing is saved and nothing is sent.
How job pricing works
Most low-voltage contractors quote one all-in price per unit: per drop, per camera, per door. It covers the labor, the materials and your margin.
Job total = how many × your price, for each service, added together
1.Pick the services
Tap each service on the job and enter how many.
2.Set your price
One price per unit. Where a national guide publishes a range, the slider shows it.
3.Add the building
Drywall, after hours or Cat6A raise the price; open walls lower it.
Starting prices and what others charge
| Service | Starting price | What others charge |
|---|---|---|
| Network Cabling | $187.50 per drop | $125 to $250 |
| Rack Installation | $550.00 per rack | No published figure |
| Camera Cabling | $140.00 per camera | $80 to $200 |
| Access Control | $1,500.00 per door | No published figure |
| AV Wiring | $250.00 per device | No published figure |
| Fiber Optic | $550.00 per run | No published figure |
| Wi-Fi Access Points | $275.00 per access point | No published figure |
| Cable Certification | $37.50 per drop | No published figure |
| As-Built Documentation | $250.00 per project | No published figure |
What the total leaves out
Sales tax
It depends on the customer's state. A NexVolt quote adds the right rate.
Travel
A flat charge or by the mile. A NexVolt quote adds yours.
Equipment
The cameras, readers, switches and access points themselves, on their own lines with your markup.
Lifts and a site survey
Lift or ladder rental by the day, and a site visit before the job.
Permits and fees
Anything at a fixed price: a permit, a disposal fee, a rush charge.
Your parts and your margin
What the job leaves you after parts and labor. Each NexVolt quote shows it, from your own costs.
Know your real cost
Price from your true hourly cost: wages, the truck, insurance, and the hours you cannot bill.
$20 a drop too low is $2,000 short on a 100-drop job.
Where these figures come from
Only national cost guides and the industry's trade magazine, each read on the page for what the service means here.
What others charge
Network Cabling
$125 to $250 per drop
Fixr2025
Camera Cabling
$80 to $200 per camera
HomeAdvisor2026
No reputable guide publishes a figure for these, so the calculator shows none:
The building and the schedule
Cat6A against Cat6
+30%
No reputable figure is published for these, so they use NexVolt's own percentages:
Common questions
What does a price per drop include?
Everything to deliver one working drop: the cable, the jack and faceplate, the patch panel port, pulling and terminating it, and basic testing. The calculator starts at $187.50 a drop. Certification with a printed report, as-built drawings and the rack are priced as their own lines, so the customer sees what they are paying for.
How do I work out my own price per drop?
From your time and costs. Say a drop takes 90 minutes at $85.00 an hour, and the parts cost $40.00 with a 20% markup: the drop is $175.50. Use your true hourly cost, not just the wage, or the job looks profitable and is not. NexVolt can price every service either way: one all-in price, or labor and materials worked out like this.
What does a small office job cost?
For 24 drops, a rack and 6 cameras at the starting prices on this page, $5,890.00 before tax and travel, in a finished building during normal hours. That is the example the calculator opens on. Change any price to yours, or pick the building and the schedule, and the total follows; copy the link to keep it or send it.
Does the total include sales tax and travel?
No. Tax depends on the customer's state and travel on where the job is, and neither is known for a job priced in the abstract. On a real quote NexVolt adds the tax for the customer's state and your travel charge, and shows them as their own lines.
How do I price access control per door?
Per door, all-in: the reader, the lock or strike wiring, the door contact and request-to-exit, the cable back to the panel and the labor. The calculator starts at $1,500.00 a door, so a four-door job is $6,000.00. The controller and the hardware itself are often quoted as their own lines.
Should I quote per drop or by the hour?
Per unit for installs: the customer knows the price before you start, you keep what you gain by working fast, and quotes are easy to compare. By the hour for service calls and troubleshooting, where nobody knows how long it will take. Many contractors do both: a per-unit quote with an hourly rate for changes.
Can I send this estimate to a customer?
Copy the link to share the numbers with a partner or a customer. For a quote they can sign, NexVolt turns the same services into a branded quote with your logo, the tax for their state, your terms and an e-signature, at the same prices.
How do I price a small job or service call?
Set a minimum. A small job costs you the drive, the setup and the paperwork whatever its size, so a two-drop job priced per drop loses money. Charge a minimum job price or a trip charge; NexVolt can add a minimum project fee to every quote automatically.
