Freelance Project Quote Calculator

How it is calculated

The quote is a base price with a percentage added on top: base = H × R and quote = base × (1 + B ÷ 100), where H is your estimated working hours, R is your hourly rate in dollars and B is the buffer in percent. If you leave the buffer empty it is treated as 0%, so the quote equals the base. All values must be zero or more. The buffer applies to the whole base, so a 20% buffer adds a fifth of the base on top, not a fifth of the quote. The tool does not add tax, expenses, software costs or a deposit; add these separately if your client is billed for them.

Common mistakes

• Entering the buffer as a multiplier (1.2) instead of a percentage (20); 1.2 would add only 1.2% to the base.
• Estimating only the building time and forgetting meetings, emails, revisions and project management; those hours belong in the hours field.
• Using your hourly rate for the whole year's income target without counting unpaid time such as admin, marketing and sick days; the rate should already reflect that.
• Presenting the buffered quote as if it covered unlimited changes; define how many revision rounds are included, since the buffer is finite.
• Forgetting that this is before tax and costs: the tool gives a pre-tax project price, not your take-home pay.