How much to charge for junk removal
Junk removal prices by truckload fraction: roughly $150–$275 a quarter load, $250–$425 a half, and $450–$750 a full load. Single items run $75–$175.
The formula
(Cubic yards × rate) + surcharges + carry labour = your price, floored at your minimum.
A half-load garage clearance, ground floor, driveway access, including one mattress and two tyres:
- 8 cu yd × $42 = $336
- Mattress surcharge: $35
- Tyres ×2: $30
- No carry adjustment
- $401
That is roughly 75 minutes for two people plus the tip run. The surcharges are pass-through — you are not making money on them, you are not losing it either.
Price a junk removal job
Your numbers, the formula above. Nothing is sent anywhere — this runs in your browser.
$336 base (8 cubic yards × $42)
This is a starting number, not a bid. Walk the property before you send it.
Volume, weight, and when to switch
Price general household junk by volume, because volume is what fills the truck and the truck is your constraint.
Switch to weight for concrete, soil, roofing tear-off and construction debris. A quarter load of concrete can cost more at the transfer station than a full load of sofas, and volume pricing on heavy material is how haulers lose money on jobs that looked small.
Quote heavy debris separately and against your actual tipping rate.
What changes the price
Access and carry. Stairs, no lift, long garden carry, tight turns. Add labour with the reason stated.
Disposal surcharges. Tyres, mattresses, refrigerant appliances, TVs and monitors. Every one costs extra at the tip. Itemise them so they read as pass-through rather than padding.
Dismantling. A shed, a hot tub or a fitted wardrobe is labour before it is volume.
Sorting and donation. If you divert to charity, that is time. It is also a genuine selling point worth charging for.
Same-day. Urgency is worth a premium and customers who need it gone today know it.
The mistakes
Firm-quoting from photos. The single most common. Photos flatten depth, hide what is behind the pile and never show the other room. Give a band and confirm on site.
Volume-pricing heavy debris. Concrete and soil will lose you money at any volume rate.
Absorbing surcharges. Every mattress you take without charging the disposal fee is $35 out of your margin.
No minimum. A single chair across town is a loss.
Not photographing. Before loading and after clearing. It settles volume disputes and the occasional claim that something was taken that should not have been.
Turning calls into booked jobs
Junk removal is same-day work won by whoever replies first.
Jobber at $49/mo turns a call into a booked, priced job quickly and offers online booking for the evening enquiries. QuoteIQ at $29.99/mo is the cheapest way to quote at the kerb and take a card at the truck. Housecall Pro adds photo reports and five seats at $189/mo for two-truck operations.
Questions operators actually ask
How much should I charge for junk removal?
Price by truckload fraction: roughly $150 to $275 for a quarter load, $250 to $425 for a half, and $450 to $750 for a full load. Single items run $75 to $175. Disposal surcharges for tyres, mattresses and refrigerant appliances are billed on top and itemised.
How do I assess volume?
On site, before loading, in truckload fractions with a cubic yardage. Estimate over the phone as a range only. Photos flatten depth and hide the second room, and a firm price given from a photo is one you will regret about a third of the time.
Should I charge by weight or volume?
Volume for general household junk, because that is what fills the truck. Weight matters for concrete, soil, roofing and construction debris — those should be quoted separately and priced against your tipping fees, because a small volume of concrete can cost more to dump than a full load of furniture.
How do I price stairs and long carries?
As a labour line on top of the volume price. A third-floor walk-up is a completely different job from a garage next to the driveway, and volume alone does not capture it.
What is a fair minimum?
$75 to $150. Junk removal costs are dominated by drive time and disposal, both of which apply whether you take one item or ten.