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Project Estimator

Estimate Your Fee for Flat-Rate Project Pricing

Creative work can be priced by the hour, by the day, or as a flat fee based on deliverables and usage rights. Each pricing method is useful in different circumstances, but we generally prefer project-based pricing, especially if creating custom artwork / intellectual property. Use the rates you calculated with our Budget & Rate Calculator along with this tool to better estimate flat fees.

Creation Fee

Add your hourly rate and tally up estimated hours for each stage of the project. If creating custom assets, determine usage rights based on the calculated creation fee and your selections.

Hourly Rate

Use your Required or Desired Hourly Rate from the Budget & Rate Calculator

Project Stages

Time spent researching and/or mood-boarding
Initial concept sketches and ideation
First round of creative work (include time spent preparing presentation decks)
Second round of creative work (include time spent preparing presentation decks)
Third round of creative work (include time spent preparing presentation decks)
Final file preparation, organization, and delivery
Client meetings, emails, project management, and other administrative tasks

Usage Rights

Define how, where, and for how long the creative work can be used. The broader the usage rights, the higher the fee.

Geographic area where the work can be used
Types of media where the work can be used
Length of time the work can be used
Whether the client has exclusive rights to use the work
Number of impressions or copies allowed

Note: Usage rights are important to consider when creating custom assets and intellectual property (such as illustrations, photography, custom typography, or original artwork) for a client. They generally do not apply when working-for-hire (where the client owns the copyright to all work created) or to work that doesn’t involve the creation of custom assets.

Fee Estimate

Fee Estimate

Your Fee Estimate: We multiply your projected hours by your hourly rate to create a Base Creative Fee. If you include usage rights, we calculate a Usage Rights Fee based on your Base Creative Fee. This is one way to price usage.

Total Project Hours: —
Base Creative Fee: —
Usage Rights Fee: —
Usage Rights Breakdown:
Usage rights are capped at 400% of the creative fee in this calculator—some studios cap usage rights at 300% while others have no cap. We show the math so you can adjust percentages if desired. Use what makes sense for your businesses and projects.
Total Estimated Flat Fee: —
Base creative fee only

Access educational resources and a supportive community with Studioworks. If you can’t tell, we love helping freelancers and creatives run their business better. Studioworks is not just business software—we have a private online community of professional creatives like you. We host weekly meet-ups and co-working sessions, members find and share resources, and have safe spaces for asking difficult questions around pricing, business management, and burnout.