See if your fixed-price project was profitable, what scope creep cost you, and whether to take similar work again.
Total amount invoiced for this project
Your baseline rate — use the Hourly Rate Calculator if unsure
Stock photos, subcontractors, software licenses, etc.
How many hours you planned when quoting
Total time logged on this project
This calculator provides simplified project-level estimates. Net profit uses your target rate as an opportunity cost — it does not represent accounting profit. It does not account for income tax, VAT, or indirect overhead. Consult an accountant for detailed financial analysis.
This freelance project profit calculator tells you whether a fixed-price or project-based engagement actually paid off. Enter what you charged, how long it took, your target hourly rate, and any direct expenses — and the tool instantly shows your effective hourly rate, net profit, profit margin, and the exact cost of scope creep.
The core formula treats your time as having an opportunity cost equal to your target hourly rate:
Net Profit = Project Revenue − (Actual Hours × Target Rate) − Direct Expenses
A positive result means you earned above your baseline — the project was a good use of your time. A negative result means you effectively worked for less than your target rate, which is a signal to adjust your pricing or scope management.
Scope creep is the silent profit killer for freelancers on fixed-price work. The calculator compares your original hour estimate to your actual hours and quantifies exactly how much revenue you lost by not charging for the extra work:
Scope Creep Cost = (Actual Hours − Estimated Hours) × Target Rate
Tracking this across projects reveals your average overrun percentage, which you can build into future quotes as a buffer — typically 15–30% for creative and technical work.
Your effective hourly rate is what you actually earned per hour on a project, regardless of how it was priced:
Effective Rate = (Project Revenue − Direct Expenses) ÷ Actual Hours
Compare this to your target hourly rate to quickly judge whether a project type is worth repeating, worth quoting at a higher price, or worth declining in future.
Use our Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator to set a sustainable target rate first, then use this tool after each project to close the feedback loop — comparing what you planned to earn against what you actually earned.
This tool provides simplified project-level estimates for planning purposes. It does not account for income tax, VAT, or indirect overhead allocation. Consult an accountant for detailed profit and loss analysis.
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It is a tool that shows whether a fixed-price project was actually profitable. You enter what you charged, how long the project took, your target hourly rate, and any direct expenses. The calculator then tells you your effective hourly rate, net profit, profit margin, and the cost of any scope creep.
Your effective hourly rate is the project revenue minus direct expenses, divided by the actual hours you worked. If you quoted €2,000 for a project, had €200 in expenses, and spent 20 hours, your effective rate is (€2,000 − €200) ÷ 20 = €90/hour. Compare this to your target rate to see whether the project paid well.
Net project profit = Project revenue − (Actual hours × Target hourly rate) − Direct expenses. This treats your time as having an opportunity cost equal to your target rate. A positive result means the project paid better than your baseline; a negative result means you effectively undercharged.
Scope creep is the extra work that happens beyond your original estimate. If you estimated 10 hours but spent 16, those 6 extra hours are scope creep. The calculator multiplies those hours by your target rate to show the exact revenue you "leaked" — money you did the work for but did not charge.
Yes, most freelancers add a risk premium of 15–30% to fixed-price quotes to absorb estimation uncertainty. Use this calculator on past projects to see your average scope creep percentage, then build that into future quotes automatically.
A loss means your effective rate fell below your target. Review what caused it: underestimating hours, extra revision rounds, unclear requirements, or low pricing. Use those findings to adjust your quoting process — add a larger buffer, tighten the scope definition in your contract, or raise your base price for similar projects.
Try to review at least five comparable projects before changing your pricing strategy. Single-project results can be outliers. Patterns across multiple projects — consistently low effective rates, recurring scope overruns in a specific service type — are more reliable signals.
Direct expenses are costs you incur specifically for a project: stock photography, fonts, third-party APIs, subcontractors, printing, or shipping. Do not include general overhead like your laptop or internet — those are better handled through your hourly rate or indirect cost allocation.
Use the Hourly Rate Calculator first to set a sustainable target rate based on your income goals. Then use this Project Profit Calculator after each fixed-price project to check whether you hit that target. Over time you will build a feedback loop that makes your estimates more accurate and your pricing more profitable.
Yes. Treat each retainer period as a project: enter the retainer fee as the project price and log your actual hours for that period. This quickly reveals whether a retainer is paying your target rate or quietly becoming unprofitable as the relationship evolves.