How much should piano tuners charge?
Piano tuning is billed per visit (a standard tuning), not by the hour, even though the underlying math is hourly work — figure out your real hourly rate first, then convert it to what a standard tuning visit should cost.
Estimate your rate
A starting point for piano tuning — adjust to your own numbers.
~$81.25 / visit
Based on a 75-minute visit at an effective rate of ~$65.00/hour. Formula: (target income + expenses) ÷ (billable hours/week × 50 working weeks), converted to a per-visit price. This is a starting estimate, not a guarantee — adjust for local market rates.
What moves the rate
- Piano type and size — a large grand piano has more strings and a longer soundboard than a spinet or upright, adding time
- How long since the last tuning — a piano untouched for 2+ years usually needs a pitch raise (a rough pass before the fine tuning) on top of the standard tuning, adding real time
- Certification — Piano Technicians Guild (PTG) Registered Piano Technicians charge roughly 18-32% more than non-certified tuners, reflecting verified skill
- Travel distance — most tuners add a travel fee once a job is 30+ miles from their base
- Rush or weekend/evening scheduling
- Additional repair or regulation work found during the visit (sticking keys, worn hammers, pedal issues) beyond a straight tuning
- Local cost of living and market — premium metros (NYC, LA) run higher than the national average, smaller markets run lower
baseHourly of $120 sits inside the commonly-cited $100-200/hr range for piano tuning labor (the higher end applies mostly to grand pianos and PTG-certified techs). A standard tuning visit runs about 60-90 minutes for a piano in reasonable condition, so this defaults to 75 minutes, converting to roughly $150/visit at this rate — landing near the low-to-mid end of the $155-235 nationwide average tuning price, which is appropriate as a 'base' since it excludes a pitch raise or certification premium. A pitch raise (needed if the piano hasn't been tuned in 2-3+ years) typically adds $40-80 and isn't modeled in this simple per-visit calculator — note it as an add-on when quoting. The $5,000/yr expense default reflects this profession's real cost structure: a business-use vehicle for driving to in-home visits (fuel/maintenance, ~$2,000/yr for a typical route), general liability and tools/equipment insurance (~$1,500-2,000/yr, since a dropped tool or accidental piano damage during service is a real risk), an electronic tuning device/software (~$600-1,000 upfront, amortized to roughly $200/yr) plus a basic hand-tool kit (tuning hammer, mutes, temperament strip — a one-time $40-100), and optional PTG membership dues (~$300/yr) for the certification that supports charging the higher end of the range.