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Freelance writing pricing calculator

How much to charge for freelance writing?

Start from the full project cost before dividing by delivered words; a per-word figure alone hides research and revisions.

A 1,500-word article with research, drafting, and two revision rounds.

  • Editable example assumptions
  • Cost-based, not a market rate
  • Before tax

Your assumptions

Editable example inputs. Replace them with your own numbers.

Work and time

Research and interviews
Drafting blocks
Revision rounds

Owner delivery time: 14.00 h

Job costs

Transcription and sources

Goal, fees, and billing

Your quote result

Based on the assumptions you entered, before tax.

Exact minimum target price$592.86
Suggested rounded quote$595
Operating profit at suggested quote$180

Based on your inputs, not a market rate or after-tax take-home pay.

Cost breakdown

Owner labor
$375
Other labor
$0
Direct job costs
$20
Travel, equipment, overhead & other fixed costs
$20
Total fixed cost
$415
Show calculation and assumptions

(14.00 delivery + 1 other hours) × $25/h + $0 other labor + $20 direct costs + $20 other fixed costs = $415. $415 ÷ (1 − 0% fees − 30% margin) = $592.86 after rounding up to the cent.

Cost coverage: $415 ÷ (1 − 0% fees) = $415.

Owner pay is included as labor cost. Quote-based percentage fees are subtracted in the denominator.

Suggested equivalent: $0.3967 per word across 1500 words. Total quote comes first.

Compare your own scenarios

Enter and confirm your low and high total owner hours and material costs. These are planning assumptions, not market ranges.

Low scope

Add both values to compare.

Expected: current inputs

$592.86 exact · $595 suggested

High scope

Add both values to compare.

$

Enter a positive quote to see its profit and margin.

How to scope this freelance writing quote

Start with the actual deliverable and billing unit: 1500 words in the editable example. If the customer’s scope differs, change task quantities, hours per item, and billable unit count before relying on the result.

Costs to check

  • Research and interviews: estimate the quantity and the time each one takes.
  • Drafting blocks: estimate the quantity and the time each one takes.
  • Revision rounds: estimate the quantity and the time each one takes.
  • Transcription and sources: enter the amount you expect to pay for this job.
  • Include your owner pay, travel, equipment use, overhead, and any helper or subcontractor costs that actually apply.

Worked example

Illustrative inputs, not observed local prices.

14.00 delivery hours + 1 other hours at $25/hour = $375 owner labor. $20 direct job costs, plus $20 other fixed costs, gives $415 fixed cost.

With a 30% target margin and 0% quote-based fees: $415 ÷ 0.70 = $592.86 exact minimum target price.

Where this estimate can change

Rights and reuse should be scoped contractually; this calculator does not value intellectual property rights.

The result covers only entered costs and the owner pay target. It is a before-tax operating estimate; it does not establish a local market rate or legal requirements.

Before quoting

Confirm the scope

What length, research, interviews, revision rounds, and usage scope does the article include?

When work changes

Revise the estimate

A revision or interview added after the brief changes project hours; a per-word equivalent should follow the updated total, not substitute for it.

Billing unit

Price the full task first

The example covers 1500 words. Divide the full quote by this count only when it matches what the customer will actually buy.

Source and method

This page uses the QuoteForProfit cost-based formula and explicitly labeled, editable example assumptions. It does not use an external market price table. Method updated 2026-11-06.

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