How to Price Sewer Jetting Jobs for Maximum Profit

Most Plumbers Underprice Jetting Services

Sewer jetting is one of the most profitable services you can offer. The equipment does the heavy lifting, the consumable costs are low (especially with ceramic inserts), and customers have zero alternatives when their sewer line is backed up.

Yet most plumbers charge too little because they haven't done the math. Let's fix that.

Know Your True Cost Per Job

Before you can price profitably, you need to know what each job actually costs you:

Fixed Costs (Per Job)

Variable Costs (Per Job)

Labor

Typical total cost per residential job: $150-$350

What the Market Pays

Residential sewer jetting rates across the US:

• Basic jetting (up to 100 ft): $350-$600
• Standard jetting (100-200 ft): $500-$900
• Heavy-duty / root removal: $600-$1,200
• Commercial / restaurant grease: $800-$2,000+
• Emergency / after-hours: Add 50-100%

At these rates with a true cost of $200-$350, you're looking at 50-70% gross margins. That's better than most plumbing services.

Pricing Strategies That Maximize Profit

Bundle Camera Inspection

Always offer a camera inspection before and after jetting. Pre-inspection shows the customer what's wrong (justifies the price). Post-inspection proves the work was done (builds trust and prevents callbacks).

Add $150-$250 for camera inspection. Your actual added cost is 15 minutes of time.

Offer Maintenance Agreements

This is where the real money is. A quarterly or semi-annual jetting maintenance plan for restaurants, commercial kitchens, and properties with known root problems.

Price it at: $200-$400/visit, 2-4 visits/year = $800-$1,600/year per customer.

Maintenance visits are faster (pipes are cleaner each time), your insert wear is lower, and it's predictable recurring revenue. Build 20 maintenance customers and that's $16,000-$32,000/year in guaranteed work.

Tiered Pricing

Offer 3 packages:

• Basic: Jetting only — $400-$600
• Standard: Jetting + camera inspection + report — $600-$850
• Premium: Jetting + camera + report + 6-month follow-up guarantee — $850-$1,100

Most customers pick the middle option. The premium option makes the middle look reasonable.

Keep Your Consumable Costs Rock-Bottom

The lower your per-job costs, the wider your margins. This is where your nozzle and insert strategy matters:

• Use replaceable insert nozzles instead of disposables (saves $1,500+/year)
• Run ceramic inserts for heavy-use nozzles (saves $400+/year vs steel)
• Join The Plumber's Club for 15% off inserts
• Buy 8+ inserts at once for automatic 5% bulk discount
• Keep 3-4 nozzle types in rotation so you're using the right tool (less wear per job)

With ceramic inserts, your nozzle consumable cost drops to roughly $0.90-$2.50 per job. On a $500 service call, that's a rounding error.

The Bottom Line

A plumber doing 4 jetting jobs per week at an average of $600/job grosses $124,800/year from jetting alone. With total costs around $250/job, that's $72,800 in gross profit.

Price confidently. Keep your costs low. Invest in the right equipment and your jetting service becomes one of the most profitable things you do.