Locksmith
Key Duplication Cost Calculator
Prices cutting keys, where the type of key changes the cost by a wide margin.
Result
A planning estimate, not a quote. Access, the age of the equipment, what is found once it is opened up and local labour rates all move the real figure, sometimes a long way.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Time, the blank and the call-out, which for keys cut at a counter is largely a per-key charge. The spread comes from what kind of key it is. A standard edge cut house key on a common keyway is cut mechanically in a minute on an inexpensive blank. A restricted or patented keyway blank is controlled and only available to authorised dealers. A high security key needs specific machinery. A vehicle key with a transponder needs both cutting and electronic programming to the car, which is a different operation entirely and the reason car keys cost a multiple of house keys.
What moves the number
- Key type, since standard, restricted, high security and transponder keys differ enormously.
- Whether the keyway is restricted, which limits who may supply a blank at all.
- Whether programming is needed, as with vehicle transponder and proximity keys.
- Quantity, because the setup is per pattern rather than per key.
Where this one goes wrong
Copying a key marked do not duplicate, or a restricted keyway key, is a key control question rather than a technical one. Restricted keyways exist so that an organisation can control who holds keys to its building, and cutting one for whoever presents it defeats the system the customer paid for and can be a breach of the dealer agreement covering those blanks. Verify authorisation for restricted and marked keys. On accuracy, cutting a copy from a copy compounds wear, and a key that works poorly is often a third generation duplicate rather than a lock fault, so cutting from an original is worth insisting on where one exists.
Before you quote
- Verify authorisation before cutting a restricted or marked key.
- Cut from an original rather than a copy where possible.
- Test the cut key in the lock rather than handing it over unchecked.
Questions
About this calculator
Why do car keys cost so much more than house keys?
Because most modern vehicle keys contain a transponder that has to be programmed to the car's immobiliser as well as cut mechanically. That needs equipment and access to the vehicle, and it is a separate operation from cutting. Proximity fobs are more involved again.
Can any key be copied?
Technically most can, but restricted and patented keyways use controlled blanks available only to authorised dealers, which is the point of them: the building owner controls who holds keys. A locksmith copying one without authorisation undermines the system the customer bought and may breach the dealer agreement.
My copied key does not work well. Why?
Often because it was cut from another copy rather than from an original. Each generation carries the previous one's wear, and by the third the cuts can be out of tolerance enough to bind. Having one cut from an original, or decoded and cut to code, usually fixes it without touching the lock.
The formula
total = hours x people x rate + parts + call-out, then sales tax
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How to use this calculator
- Hours on site (h). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 0.8 h.
- People needed. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $120.
- Parts and materials ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $35.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $95.
- Sales tax (%). Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to estimated total, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours on site | 0.8 h |
| People needed | 1 |
| Labour rate charged | $120 |
| Parts and materials | $35 |
| Call-out or diagnostic fee | $95 |
| Sales tax | 0% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated total main result | $226 |
| Labour | $96 |
| Before tax | $226 |
| Sales tax | $0 |
About $226: $96 of labour, $35 of parts and a $95 call-out.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only labour rate charged, this is what happens to estimated total. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Labour rate charged ($) | Estimated total |
|---|---|
| $60 | $178 |
| $90 | $202 |
| $120 example above | $226 |
| $180 | $274 |
| $240 | $322 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Hours on site (h)
- Measured in h, between 0 and 400, starting at 0.8 h.
- People needed
- A number, between 0 and 40, starting at 1.
- Labour rate charged ($)
- A money amount, starting at $120.
- Parts and materials ($)
- A money amount, starting at $35.
- Call-out or diagnostic fee ($)
- A money amount, starting at $95.
- Sales tax (%)
- Leave at zero if you are quoting before tax.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Estimated total | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Labour | A money figure. |
| Before tax | A money figure. |
| Sales tax | A money figure. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.