Free117 toolsNo sign-upNo lead selling
Tools for your home.
Tools for your trade.
Independent. No lead selling.
Pick the path that matches your question — homeowners learn the job before hiring; trade owners get free calculators to price, sell and grow. Everything runs in your browser with assumptions stated on every answer.
What are you trying to figure out?
Try water heater cost, wire size, electrician apprenticeship or AC not cooling.
Homeowner
Understand the job before you hire
Work out what is wrong, what it should cost, whether to repair or replace, and whether the quote in front of you is reasonable.
Open the homeowner hubTrade professional
Free tools to price, sell and grow
Field calculators that hold up on a jobsite, and business tools that tell you whether the work you are winning is actually profitable.
Open the trade-owner hubExploring or entering a skilled trade? Start here — careers and apprenticeships
Common symptoms
Independent by design
Two audiences, one standard
Homeowners get decision tools without surrendering contact information. Trade owners get pricing and field tools without a lead tax.
Trust & methodology- No lead selling
- We do not sell homeowner inquiries to contractors or charge for placement in directory results.
- Dated verification
- Listings show what was checked, against which source, and when — not a generic trust badge.
- Tools state assumptions
- Field calculators cite code tables and print assumptions under every answer.
- Independent funding
- Advertising on homeowner content and optional software for pros — not pay-per-lead.
Exploring or entering a skilled trade? Start here — careers and apprenticeships
Common questions
What is True Trade Path?
True Trade Path is an independent site of free calculators and guides for three groups: people exploring or entering a skilled trade, working tradespeople and small contractors, and homeowners making repair and hire decisions. Tools run in your browser — no account required for calculators — and we state assumptions and code references on every field result.
How do I choose which skilled trade to pursue?
Compare how you want to work (indoors vs outdoors, travel, licensing, physical demand) against pay, training length, and entry cost. Start at truetradepath.com/start with the Trade Matcher and Trade School ROI tools, then open each trade hub for licensing, apprenticeship paths, and field calculators that trade uses daily.
What trades does True Trade Path cover?
We publish trade hubs and tools for electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, carpenters, roofers, welders, and related paths such as industrial maintenance — plus career comparison across all trades on /trades. Field math, pricing, and career tools are tagged by discipline so you can filter /tools by trade or audience.
What does True Trade Path offer trade schools and apprenticeship programs?
Free, ad-free embeddable calculators students can use on a school career page — trade matching, salary and ROI, apprenticeship readiness, starter tool kit budgets, and field math where it fits the program. We do not charge schools for embeds or sell student leads; optional consented program listings are separate and require approval.
How can a trade school add True Trade Path tools to its website?
Use truetradepath.com/embed to pick calculators and copy an iframe snippet. Embeds work without student logins and do not show ads in the iframe. For career services or admissions, common picks are Trade Matcher, salary calculator, apprenticeship readiness, and starter tool kit — contact us via /contact if you need help choosing slugs for your trades.
What free tools help working tradespeople and contractors?
The /work hub groups NEC and field calculators (wire size, conduit fill, HVAC charging, and more) with business tools for shop rate, job pricing, markup vs margin, break-even, and 1099 tax estimates. Each page includes reference charts, FAQs, and JSON-LD structured data for search — built for jobsite use once the page is loaded.
Are True Trade Path calculators official code or engineering sign-offs?
No. They are planning aids based on published standards (for example NEC tables) with assumptions printed under every answer. A licensed professional must verify any installation, estimate, or pricing decision. We are not a substitute for an engineer of record, inspector, or CPA.
What is True Trade Path for homeowners?
Free tools to sanity-check repair quotes, compare repair vs replace, estimate rough job costs, and decide DIY vs hiring a licensed pro. Cost and diagnose guides at /home explain typical scope — not a substitute for an on-site estimate.
How do I know if a contractor quote is fair?
Compare line items to local ranges for the same scope, check that labor, materials, permits, and trip fees are separated, and run the quote analyzer with the job description. Large gaps vs regional benchmarks deserve a written clarification before you sign.
Does True Trade Path sell leads, student data, or paid rankings?
No. We do not sell homeowner inquiries to contractors, student data to schools, or paid placement in search results. Directory listings are consent-based with dated verification notes. Calculator inputs stay in the browser unless you voluntarily use a form we provide.