Free calculator
Freelance project quote calculator
Most underpriced projects aren't caused by a low hourly rate. They come from forgetting revisions, leaving no room for surprises and never writing down what the price doesn't include. List your tasks, set your rate and buffer, and get a fixed price plus a quote summary you can paste into your proposal. Runs in your browser, no signup.
- Base hours
- 34 hrs
- Revision hours
- 6 hrs
- Buffer hours (15%)
- 6 hrs
- Total hours
- 46 hrs
Quote price
$3,450.00
46 hrs x $75.00/hr
Effective hourly rate if the buffer isn't needed
$86.25/hr
Copy-ready quote summary
Quote: Website redesign Included in this quote: - Discovery call and brief (est. 3 hrs) - Wireframes (est. 8 hrs) - Visual design (5 pages) (est. 20 hrs) - Handoff files and notes (est. 3 hrs) - 2 rounds of revisions (one consolidated list of changes per round) Estimated effort: 46 hrs, including a 15% contingency for unknowns. Fixed price: $3,450.00 Out of scope: anything not listed above, including extra revision rounds, new pages or features, and changes after final approval. Extra work is quoted and billed via a change order at $75.00/hr, and starts only after you approve it in writing.
How to use it
- Break the project into tasks or deliverables and estimate the hours for each one. Smaller tasks give better estimates than one big guess.
- Enter the hourly rate you want to earn on this project.
- Set how many revision rounds the price includes and roughly how many hours one round takes you.
- Keep a contingency buffer (15% is the default) for the unknowns every project has, and pick a rush multiplier if the deadline forces evenings or weekends.
- Check the quote price and effective rate, then copy the summary into your proposal or email so the client sees what's included and what isn't.
Turn the quote into a full statement of work, spell out what a revision round means with the revision clause generator, and keep the free change order template ready for the first request that falls outside it.
Hold the client to the quote
ScopeLine stores the deal you quoted, logs each new request against it, flags anything outside scope and turns it into a change order the client can approve. Free for 3 active projects, no card.
Start free on ScopeLineFAQ
- How do I calculate a quote for a freelance project?
- List every task, estimate the hours for each, add the time revision rounds will take, add a contingency buffer for unknowns, then multiply the total hours by your hourly rate. If the client needs it faster than your normal schedule allows, apply a rush multiplier on top.
- How big should my contingency buffer be?
- It depends on how well you know the work. For a type of project you've done many times, 10% to 15% is a reasonable start. For new clients, unclear briefs or work you haven't done before, use 20% to 30%. Compare your estimates with the hours you actually logged on past projects and adjust.
- Should I show the client my hours or just a fixed price?
- Either works, but a fixed price with a clear list of what's included is easier for most clients to approve. The hours are for you: they tell you whether the price is worth it. The quote summary lists the tasks with estimated hours; delete the hours before sending if you prefer to show only the price.
- What does the effective rate if the buffer isn't needed mean?
- It is the quote price divided by your task and revision hours only. If the project goes to plan and you never use the buffer, that is what you actually earn per hour. If the buffer gets used up, you earn your normal hourly rate.
- What happens when the client asks for more than the quote covers?
- Point to the out-of-scope line in the quote, estimate the extra hours and send a change order at your hourly rate before starting. Don't spend your contingency buffer on new requests; it is there for unknowns in the work you already agreed to.
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