Quote any welding job in minutes: pick the process and joint, enter your shop rates, and get filler metal, arc time, labor hours and a priced quote — backed by published deposition data. Use it as a welding quote calculator, filler metal calculator and welding time estimator. Free, private, 100% in your browser.
Published process data
Deposition efficiency, typical deposition rate and operating factor per process, compiled from filler-metal manufacturers' published data sheets (ESAB, Lincoln Electric) and welding handbooks. The calculator pre-fills these — always sanity-check against your own procedure.
| Process | Deposition efficiency | Typical deposition rate | Operating factor | Shielding gas |
|---|
| Stick (SMAW) | 65% | 2.6 lb/hr (1.35–5.6) | 30% | none |
| MIG (GMAW) | 95% | 7.0 lb/hr (2.0–13.0) | 45% | 25 CFH |
| Flux-cored (FCAW) | 87% | 8.0 lb/hr (4.9–21.3) | 45% | 25 CFH |
| TIG (GTAW) | 98% | 1.5 lb/hr (0.5–3.0) | 30% | 20 CFH |
| Submerged arc (SAW) | 98% | 15.0 lb/hr (8.0–40.0) | 70% | none (flux) |
Efficiency = weld metal deposited ÷ filler metal consumed. Deposition rate is at 100% arc-on time; operating factor converts arc hours to paid labor hours. Sources: ESAB Atom Arc 7018 deposition table; Lincoln Electric consumables catalog & Weld Metal Cost Calculation Guide; CIGWELD weld deposition data; The Fabricator (deposition rate vs efficiency); Lincoln GMAW guide (gas flow 20–30 CFH). Full citations in this page's source notes.
The math behind every quote on this page, step by step — the same math that answers how much does welding cost for any joint:
The same figures double as a welding cost per hour estimate: divide the cost subtotal by the labor hours.
How much does welding cost per hour?It depends on the process and your shop rate, but you can build it up: divide your labor rate by the operating factor. At $45/hr labor and a 30% operating factor (typical for stick welding), one hour of actual arc time costs $150 in labor alone — because 1 arc-hour takes 3.33 paid hours (1 ÷ 0.30). Add filler metal, shielding gas and electricity on top; this page works as a welding labor cost calculator and the quote builder does the full build-up automatically.
How do I quote welding jobs?Learning how to quote welding jobs comes down to five steps: (1) compute weld-metal weight from the joint geometry, (2) divide by deposition efficiency for the filler metal to buy, (3) divide by deposition rate for arc time, (4) divide by operating factor for labor hours, (5) price each input and add overhead plus margin. Worked example — 20 ft of 1/4 in fillet, MIG at $65/hr labor and $1.80/lb wire: 2.568 lb of weld metal needs 2.703 lb of wire ($4.87), takes 0.37 arc-hours and 0.82 labor hours ($53.00); gas $0.55 and power $0.44 bring the cost subtotal to $58.85, and a 15% overhead + 10% margin quote comes to $74.45 ($3.72/ft).
What is deposition rate and what are typical values?Deposition rate is the weight of weld metal deposited per hour at 100% arc-on time. This welding deposition rate chart (Process data tab) compiles published filler-metal data sheets: stick (SMAW) 1.3–5.6 lb/hr, MIG (GMAW) 2.0–13.0 lb/hr, flux-cored (FCAW) 4.9–21.3 lb/hr, TIG (GTAW) 0.5–3.0 lb/hr, submerged arc (SAW) 8–40 lb/hr. The actual rate depends on electrode or wire diameter and amperage — the calculator pre-fills a mid-range default you can overwrite.
What is deposition efficiency?The share of filler metal that ends up in the weld: weld metal deposited ÷ filler metal consumed. Stick welding averages about 65% (the rest is stub ends, slag and spatter); MIG about 95%; flux-cored about 87%; TIG and submerged arc about 98%. Example: 10 lb of weld metal needs 15.38 lb of stick electrodes (10 ÷ 0.65) but only 10.53 lb of MIG wire (10 ÷ 0.95).
How much filler metal do I need per foot of weld?It follows the joint cross-section. A 3/8 in fillet weld needs about 0.289 lb of weld metal per foot (published as 0.2887 lb/ft in the Lincoln Electric Procedure Handbook, Table 12-1). So 10 ft needs 2.889 lb of weld metal — at 95% MIG efficiency that is 3.04 lb of wire to buy. Use the Joint library tab as a filler metal calculator for any size.
Is MIG or TIG cheaper for the same job?MIG is usually far cheaper for the same joint because it deposits metal several times faster. Example — 10 ft of 1/4 in fillet at $65/hr labor: this MIG welding cost calculator quotes $37.22 (0.18 arc-hours, 0.41 labor hours), while the TIG welding cost calculator quotes $247.18 (0.86 arc-hours, 2.85 labor hours). TIG earns its keep on thin, critical or cosmetic welds — not on cost.
How much shielding gas does MIG welding use?A typical flow is 25 cubic feet per hour (CFH), so one arc-hour consumes 25 cubic feet. At $0.06 per cubic foot that is $1.50 of gas per arc-hour. TIG typically runs about 20 CFH. Use this page as a welding gas cost calculator by entering your actual flow and gas price — self-shielded flux-core and stick need no gas at all.
What is operating factor (arc time)?The fraction of paid time actually spent welding with the arc on: arc hours ÷ total hours. Published estimating guides use 30% for stick welding and 45% for semi-automatic MIG and flux-core when your own number is unknown (60–80% for automated setups). At 30%, an 8-hour shift yields 2.4 arc-hours — and one arc-hour costs 3.33 paid hours.
How many weld passes do I need?As a rule of thumb, one pass deposits about 1/4 in of throat. A 3/4 in fillet has a 0.53 in throat (0.7071 × 0.75), so it needs 3 passes. The calculator suggests passes automatically from this rule — overwrite it with your procedure's requirement for multipass groove welds.
Do I need to account for electrode stub loss?Yes for stick welding — it is already inside the 65% deposition efficiency figure. A 14 in electrode with a 2 in stub discards 14.3% of every rod before slag and spatter are even counted. Published data point: a 1/8 in E7018 electrode deposits about 2.6 lb/hr at 120 A (ESAB). This stick welding cost calculator applies the efficiency automatically.
Can I use metric units?Yes — toggle Metric at the top. Enter millimetres, metres and kg; joint geometry, deposition rates and filler prices per kg convert instantly and the math underneath stays identical. Flux core welding cost works the same way: pick FCAW in the quote builder.
Data sources: ESAB Atom Arc 7018 / 8018-CM deposition tables; Lincoln Electric consumables catalog & Weld Metal Cost Calculation Guide; CIGWELD Weld Deposition Data; The Fabricator — deposition rate vs deposition efficiency; Lincoln Electric GMAW guide; AWS Welding Handbook ranges. See SOURCES.md in the page source notes. Safety: welding produces arc flash, fumes and hot metal — wear a proper helmet, gloves and flame-resistant clothing, and ventilate your work area.