Grounds ToolkitLabor and Crews
Is a 2-Person or 3-Person Crew Cheaper for This Job?
Enter wage and your own service-time estimate for two crew sizes. This compares total labor cost and shows the time difference between them.
How this is calculated
Both crews are priced at the same loaded labor rate (see Loaded Labor Rate). Crew-hours for each configuration is crew size times your estimated service time for that size, labor cost is crew-hours times the loaded rate. Whichever total is lower is the cheaper option. Service time is your own estimate for each crew size, this calculator does not assume a bigger crew automatically finishes faster.
Worked example
At a $22 wage (28.60 loaded), a 2-person crew estimated at 3 hours is 6 crew-hours, $171.60. A 3-person crew estimated at 1.5 hours is 4.5 crew-hours, $128.70, and finishes 1.5 hours sooner. Crew B is cheaper here by $42.90.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I enter service hours separately for each crew size?
A bigger crew often finishes faster, but by how much depends on the job and how work splits across people, not a fixed formula. Enter your own estimate for each configuration.
Is a bigger crew always more expensive?
Not necessarily. If it finishes fast enough, total crew-hours (and therefore labor cost) can end up lower than a smaller crew working longer, this calculator shows which effect wins.
Does this account for the value of finishing faster?
It reports the time difference between configurations, but it does not put a dollar value on finishing faster (fitting in another job, customer preference), that judgment is yours to make.
Can I use this for more than two crew sizes?
Run it once per pair you want to compare, for example 2 versus 3, then 3 versus 4, to see the full picture.