BID WIN RATES BY TRADE.
Healthy commercial subcontractor bid win rates run roughly 20% to 40% depending on trade and how work is procured. Hard-bid civil and concrete tend to land lower, negotiated and specialty electrical higher. A win rate far above the range usually means you are underpriced, not that you are winning. Margin matters more than win rate.
Subcontractors track win rate because it feels like the scoreboard, and they usually read it backwards. A high win rate feels like success, but a sub winning 70% of bids is almost always leaving money on the table or pricing below the market. A low win rate can mean you are priced above market, or it can mean you are bidding the wrong work. The number only means something next to your margin and your capacity. This page gives the typical win-rate ranges by trade, explains why the number can mislead, and shows what to track alongside it.
TYPICAL WIN RATES BY TRADE.
Read these as typical ranges, not targets. The right win rate depends on how you procure work and how much you bid. The number to manage is margin, not the percentage you win.
| Trade Group | Typical Win Rate | Procurement | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil and earthwork | 15% to 25% | Mostly hard bid | High bid volume, low hit rate is normal |
| Concrete and structural | 18% to 28% | Hard bid and negotiated | Plan-and-spec work pulls the rate down |
| Electrical | 25% to 40% | More negotiated | Relationships and prequalification lift the rate |
| Specialty and finish trades | 25% to 40% | Negotiated and select bid | Fewer bidders, higher hit rate |
| Service and T&M work | 40%+ | Relationship driven | High rate is expected; watch the margin, not the rate |
A WIN RATE TOO HIGH MEANS UNDERPRICED.
Most subcontractors know the price they need to bid to win. So they bid it, and they win, and they stay busy. The problem is they have no plan to actually perform the work at that price, because there is no job costing behind the bid. A win rate well above your trade range is usually the signal that you are pricing below where the market would still have given you the job.
Winning more work at a price that does not carry real overhead and profit does not help you. It just accelerates the loss. A sub winning 60% of bids at a 4% net would make more money winning 30% at a 12% net, on far less work and far less risk.
MARGIN AND CAPACITY, NOT JUST RATE.
Track win rate next to two things: the margin in the bids you win, and the capacity you have to perform them. A win rate inside your trade range, on work bid at 22% to 30% gross margin, with the crews and cash to build it, is a healthy number. The same rate on underpriced work you cannot staff is a problem disguised as success.
The deeper fix is knowing your real cost structure, your overhead, your fully burdened labor, your equipment cost, so you can bid at a price that wins the right work and performs profitably. Then win rate becomes a result of good pricing instead of a substitute for it.
WIN THE RIGHT WORK, NOT THE MOST WORK.
Win rate by itself tells you almost nothing. Read inside the range for your trade, against your margin and your capacity, it tells you whether your pricing is sound. A subcontractor who chases win rate grows broke; one who prices on real cost wins the work that actually pays.
The Construction CFO builds the cost structure and estimating alignment that let you bid to win profitable work, as part of CFOS for subcontractors doing $1M to $12M.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
