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True Trade Path
Free40 toolsNo sign-upNo lead selling

Tools for the trades.
Tools for your home.
Tools for your next step.

Whether you are starting a skilled trade, already working in one, or trying to take care of a house, True Trade Path gives you practical tools to make better decisions — not another article.

What are you trying to figure out?

Try water heater cost, wire size, electrician apprenticeship or AC not cooling.

Aspirant

I'm entering a trade

Find the trade that fits how you want to work, understand what entry actually costs, and get through the apprenticeship application.

Explore trade paths

Professional

I work in the trades

Field calculators that hold up on a jobsite, and business tools that tell you whether the work you are winning is actually profitable.

Explore trade tools

Homeowner

I own a home

Work out what is wrong, what it should cost, whether to repair or replace, and whether the quote in front of you is reasonable.

Explore home tools

Start here

Tools people use most

Every tool works instantly in the browser. Nothing is stored, nothing is emailed to you, and no result is influenced by an advertiser.

Browse all 40 tools
CalculatorVoltage DropCheck whether a conductor run stays inside the 3% branch-circuit voltage drop recommendation.Open toolCalculatorWire SizingFind the minimum conductor size for a load based on ampacity, temperature, bundling and distance.Open toolCalculatorLoad CalculationRun a standard NEC Article 220 dwelling load calculation to size a residential service.Open toolCalculatorWater Heater SizingFind the tank capacity or tankless flow rate a household actually needs from peak-hour demand.Open toolCalculatorHVAC SizingEstimate the heating and cooling capacity a home needs before you get equipment quotes.Open toolCalculatorConcreteCalculate cubic yards for slabs, footings, columns and stairs, with waste allowance.Open toolCalculatorJob PricingBuild a defensible price from labor, materials, overhead and your target profit margin.Open toolMatcherTrade MatcherAnswer twelve questions about how you want to work and see which trades actually fit.Open tool

Explore trades

One hub per trade

Each trade page pulls together the career path, licensing requirements, the field tools that trade actually uses, and what homeowners need to know about hiring one.

Compare all trades

Wage figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2023 national wage estimates. Last reviewed September 2026.

Your home

Something broken? Start with the symptom.

Work from what you can actually observe to the likely causes, what it should cost, and whether it is yours to fix.

Diagnose a problem

All diagnostic guides

What it should cost

All cost guides

Our position

Independent by design.

True Trade Path does not sell leads and does not sell rankings. When we list a school, training provider or trade business, we make the relationship and the verification status visible.

Read the full methodology
Consent-based listings
Organizations know they are listed, and they can correct or remove their entry at any time.
Dated verification
Every listing shows what was verified, against what source, and when it was last confirmed.
No paid placement
Paying us cannot move a business up a list. Ranking is distance, relevance and verification.
No lead selling
We do not sell homeowner inquiries to contractors. Your inputs stay in your browser.

Local

Find trade resources near you

Consent-based listings for trade professionals, schools and registered apprenticeship programs — ranked by distance, relevance and verification, never by payment.

Open the directory

Popular metro areas

For tradespeople

Most trade businesses underprice their work

Not because they charge too little per hour, but because they price from the wage they pay rather than the burdened cost of that hour — then forget to recover overhead across the hours they actually bill.

Price a job properly

For homeowners

The cheapest bid is a signal, not a bargain

A bid far below the others usually means something is missing — scope, permits, insurance, or a licensed crew. Find out what before you sign, not after.

Analyze a quote