Free calculator
Project Pricing Calculator
Enter your hour estimate, hourly rate, and risk factors. We add a complexity and scope-creep buffer to suggest a fixed project price that protects your margin.
Your honest base estimate.
Padding on hours for uncertainty. 10–25% is common.
Cushion for out-of-scope requests and revisions. 15–25% is typical.
Add a premium for tight deadlines. Leave at 0 if none.
Recommended fixed price
$4,140.00
effective $103.50 / base hour
Buffered hours
46 hrs
Base cost
$3,450.00
Scope-creep cushion
$690.00
held back for out-of-scope work
This is a pricing aid, not a quote. The buffers protect your margin against uncertainty and scope creep — always define what's in scope in writing, and price each project on its specifics.
How to price fixed-fee projects without losing money
Fixed pricing is attractive to clients because it removes their risk — which means the risk lands on you. The fix isn't to guess higher; it's to estimate honestly, then deliberately price the uncertainty with a complexity buffer and a scope-creep contingency. That way a project that runs a little long is still profitable.
Define scope before you quote
The single biggest cause of unprofitable projects is undefined scope. List deliverables, revision limits, and exclusions, and state how change requests are handled. The cushion handles the small stuff; a clear scope handles the big stuff.
Know your floor rate
Make sure the hourly rate you feed in actually covers your costs and income goal. If you're not sure, check it with our freelance rate calculator first.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Start from an honest hour estimate and your hourly rate, then add a buffer for complexity and a contingency for scope creep. Fixed-price work shifts risk onto you, so the buffers are what keep a project profitable when reality differs from the plan.
It's a percentage you add to cover small out-of-scope requests, extra revisions, and 'can you just...' asks that inevitably appear. 15–25% is common. It doesn't replace a written scope — it absorbs the minor extras that aren't worth re-negotiating.
Estimates are usually optimistic. A 10–25% complexity buffer accounts for the unknowns you can't see at the start — integrations that fight back, feedback loops, and edge cases. It's not padding the bill; it's pricing the uncertainty.
Usually no. Present a single fixed price for the defined scope. The buffers are internal protection. What the client should see clearly is exactly what's included — and what counts as a change request.
Yes. It's free, requires no signup, and runs entirely in your browser.
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