Free fixed-price calculator

Turn the real scope into a safer quote.

Price the delivery work, hidden admin time, ordinary revisions, direct expenses, upfront cash exposure, and payment structure before the client sees one fixed number.

Quick answer

A safer fixed price covers delivery, hidden project work, normal uncertainty, and direct costs.

Use a loaded hourly rate for all project time, add a defined scope buffer, account for the work and risk attached to direct expenses, and verify that the deposit covers costs due before the next payment. Round only after the underlying quote is calculated.

Protected hours = (delivery hours + admin hours) × (1 + scope buffer)

Quote = protected hours × loaded rate + direct costs × (1 + cost markup)

Cash exposure after deposit = max(0, upfront direct costs − deposit)

Reviewed August 31, 2026

Step 1

Build the real project scope

Labor and hidden time

Your loaded hourly rate

$/ hour

Use a loaded, profit-aware rate—not an employee wage or take-home target.

Estimated delivery hours

hours

Hands-on client work needed to create and deliver the promised outcome.

Admin + communication

hours

Scoping, meetings, email, scheduling, handoff, invoicing, and collections.

Scope + revision buffer

Time protection for revisions, estimation error, and ordinary unknowns.

Do not know your loaded rate? Calculate your true hourly rate first.

Project costs and payment

Direct project costs

Materials, permits, travel, subcontractors, rentals, and other project-specific costs.

Direct costs due upfront

The portion of direct costs you must pay before receiving the next client payment. The calculator caps this at total direct costs.

Direct-cost markup

Compensates for sourcing, coordination, financing, and risk on pass-through costs.

Deposit to request

The portion requested before work begins. This splits the pre-tax quote only.

Round quote up to

$increment

Rounds the protected price upward to a clean selling price. Enter 0 for no rounding.

Quote excludes applicable sales tax. The buffer is not permission for unlimited revisions; define scope, exclusions, and change-order terms in writing.

Your result

Recommended client quote

Live

$3,250fixed project price before applicable tax

Unprotected pricing floorBase labor plus direct costs, with no scope buffer, cost markup, or rounding.

$2,834

Upfront cost coverageYour deposit is compared with direct project costs due before the next client payment. Labor timing and cancellation risk still belong in the written payment schedule.

Covered

Protected project hours26.5

Scope-buffer hours3.4

Deposit to request$1,625

Remaining balance$1,625

Quote breakdown

Before tax

Base labor (23 hours): $2,484
Scope + revision protection: $373
Direct costs: $350
Direct costs due upfront: $350
Direct-cost markup: $35
Rounding cushion: $8.4

The exact protected price is $3,241.6. Rounding it up produces a clean quote and an effective labor return of $124.57 per planned hour after the marked-up project costs are removed. A deposit of at least 10.8% would cover the entered upfront direct costs alone.

Keep this decisionYour inputs stay on this device.

Understand this decisionHourly or fixed price? Choose based on risk.Choose a pricing model based on scope risk, client control, repeatability, and your ability to manage changes.Read the guide →

Why fixed prices go bad

The estimate usually covers production—not the whole project.

A 20-hour deliverable can quietly become 25 hours after scoping, meetings, email, revisions, handoff, invoicing, and collection. Direct costs create more coordination and cash risk than their receipt alone shows. A deposit can look substantial and still leave the business financing materials or subcontractors.

This calculator starts with a loaded hourly rate that already supports a healthy business. It adds hidden project time and a visible buffer for ordinary scope uncertainty, then separates reimbursable costs from the work of managing them.

Review the exact quote formula →

Quote discipline

Before the price reaches a client

What is a loaded hourly rate?

It is an internal rate designed to cover owner pay, normal overhead, reserves, non-billable time, and business profit. It is not an employee wage. Use the True Hourly Rate Calculator if you do not already have a defensible loaded rate.

What belongs in admin and communication time?

Include discovery, scoping, estimating, scheduling, meetings, client email, status updates, file preparation, handoff, invoicing, and reasonable collection work. If the project requires the time, the price has to carry it.

Is a scope buffer the same as unlimited revisions?

No. A buffer protects against normal estimation error within a clearly defined scope. The quote should still state deliverables, revision limits, client responsibilities, exclusions, and a change-order process.

Why mark up direct project costs?

Buying, coordinating, financing, transporting, warranting, and replacing project inputs creates work and risk. A markup makes that burden visible. If a cost is truly passed through with no effort or risk, use 0%.

Does the recommended quote include sales tax?

No. Taxability and collection rules depend on the service, location, and business circumstances. The calculator produces a pre-tax project price. Add applicable tax separately using qualified guidance.