Freelance calculators
Project Price Calculator
Build a project quote from time, hourly rate, fixed costs, and an optional profit markup. Your inputs stay in this browser.
Live calculator
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What this calculator measures
Project price turns a floor rate and a scoped hour count into a number you can send. It is the right tool when a client asks for a quote instead of a rate, or when you need the hours, expenses, and risk markup in one place instead of a round number from two years ago.
The metric is misleading when the hours are a hope. A $4,600 quote from 36 hours at $100 plus expenses assumes those 36 hours exist and that unpaid revisions do not. It is also misleading when the markup is asked to cover a two-month loan. Markup for revision risk is not a substitute for a deposit. A quote that assumed Net 14 and collected on day 60 is a different effective rate.
The common manual mistake is to forget meetings and project management, or to apply markup only to labor and then add expenses at cost. 36 × $100 is $3,600; $200 of stock plus a 20% markup on labor only is $4,520, not the $4,560 you get if markup sits on the full base. The larger error is treating a target margin as markup: adding 20% when you needed a 20% margin underprices the job.
Lina prices a landing page and a light brand refresh. She counts 28 production hours, 6 hours of calls, and 4 hours of project management she usually omits: 38 hours at a $100 floor, plus $180 of stock and a font. Base is $3,980. A 15% markup for revision risk and payment delay is $4,577. She sends $4,600. If the client caps her at $3,000, she should remove the brand refresh — not shave the rate to $55 and do the same job. The calculator will price either scope. It will not stop her from selling the large one at the small number.
Formula
Inputs and variables
- Estimated hours
- Enter the value used by this formula.
- Hourly rate
- Enter the money amount used by this formula.
- Fixed project expenses
- Enter the money amount used by this formula.
- Profit markup
- Enter the percentage used by this formula.
How to use the calculator
- Choose a display currency when money fields are present.
- Enter values that cover the same period, scope, and currency.
- Review the result, formula, and worked example before using the estimate in a decision.
- Change one assumption at a time to understand what drives the result.
Worked example
- 1Lina estimates 38 hours at $100 plus $180 of expenses: $3,980 base.
- 2A 15% markup produces $4,577. She quotes $4,600.
- 3The same work at a $2,500 habit price would have paid for about 23 of the 38 hours.
How to interpret the result
The quote is only as honest as the hours and the rate. Markup is optional and is not a margin. Pair the number with a written scope, revision limits, and a deposit. If the ceiling is below the quote, cut deliverables before you cut the floor rate.
Common mistakes and limits
- Omitting calls, revisions, and project management from hours.
- Applying markup to labor only, then adding expenses at cost, inconsistently.
- Using a target margin as if it were markup.
- Sending a project number built from a salary hourly instead of a freelance floor.
Frequently asked questions
How do I price a project if the client will not name a budget?
Build a freelance hourly floor from income, expenses, and tax, estimate honest hours including meetings, add expenses, then apply a disclosed markup for risk. Send that scoped number. Silence after a number is information; it is not a reason to reopen the rate.
Should I cut my hourly rate to hit their ceiling?
Cut scope first. A $3,000 landing page with no brand refresh is a different job. A $3,000 landing page plus brand refresh at a secret $55 rate is the same job sold below the floor. The calculator should see the smaller hour count, not a quieter rate.
Is the markup the same as my profit margin?
No. A 20% markup on a $4,500 base is $5,400 and a 16.7% margin on the quote. If you need a 20% margin, divide the base by 0.80. Mixing the two is how a '20%' job still misses overhead.
Do I have to use a markup?
No. Set it to zero if the hourly rate already includes profit and risk. Use markup when the rate is a floor and this job carries extra revision or payment risk you want visible in the quote.
Where do I put a deposit or late-payment risk?
A deposit is a payment term, not a formula input. Raise markup if you are choosing to finance Net 45, or require 40% up front so the quote's hours are not a loan. The late-fee calculator prices a delay after the fact; it does not repair a quote that assumed they would pay on time.