Project Quote Calculator
Estimate the hours, apply a buffer for the things that always go wrong, add the costs you'll carry, and get a number you can put in a proposal.
Quote to send
$4,330
Effective rate $108.25 per estimated hour.
How to use this calculator
A quote is a promise about the future, made with incomplete information. This tool prices that promise in four parts: the work you can foresee, the work you can't, the money you'll spend on the client's behalf, and the rate that makes all of it worth doing.
Start with estimated hours. Break the project into phases before you type a number — discovery, build, revisions, handover — and total them. A single gut-feel figure for a whole project is almost always low, because it prices the part you're excited about and forgets the admin around it.
Enter your hourly rate next. If you haven't set one deliberately, run the Freelance Rate Calculator first: it gives you the floor below which the project loses money once expenses and tax set-aside are accounted for. Then add your margin on top — the floor keeps you alive, the margin builds a business.
The buffer slider is the part most freelancers skip and later regret. It's not padding to inflate a bill; it's the honest cost of uncertainty. A tightly specified job for a client you've worked with five times might justify 10%. A vague brief, a new client, an unfamiliar technology, or a committee of stakeholders who all want a say deserves 30% or more. If you routinely finish projects over budget, your buffer has been too small.
Finally, list one-time expenses you'll pay and pass on: licences, stock imagery, travel, print runs, a subcontractor for the bit you don't do. These aren't billed at your hourly rate, so they sit outside the labour figure.
What the output means
The headline is the total to put in the proposal. Beneath it, the breakdown shows exactly where the money goes, which is useful when a client asks you to justify the figure — showing labour, contingency and pass-through costs separately reads as professional, not defensive.
The effective rate line divides the total by your estimated hours. It's the rate you'll actually earn if the estimate is right, and the number to compare against other work you could take instead. If the project overruns, your real effective rate falls toward your base rate and then below it — which is precisely what the buffer exists to absorb.
The deposit line is a starting point for payment terms. Asking for half up front on a fixed quote is normal practice for solo operators and dramatically reduces the risk of doing the work and never being paid for it. Whatever you decide, put the total, the scope it covers, what counts as an extra, and the payment schedule in writing before you start.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I show the client the buffer as a separate line?
- Usually not. Most freelancers present one total, or a labour figure plus expenses. The breakdown here is for your own decision-making — but if a client demands full transparency, calling it a contingency for revisions and scope changes is perfectly defensible.
- How big should the risk buffer be?
- It scales with uncertainty: how clear the brief is, how well you know the client, how new the work is to you, and how many people must approve it. Look back at your last few projects, compare estimated to actual hours, and use the average overrun as your baseline.
- What if the client only wants an hourly arrangement?
- Then quote your rate and use the total here as your estimated ceiling, so both sides know roughly where the project lands. Agree in writing what happens if it goes past that number.
- Does the buffer apply to expenses too?
- No. The buffer is applied to labour only, since expenses are usually known amounts. If your expenses are uncertain, either raise the expense figure or add a separate allowance.