Project Profitability Calculator
Post-project review: was the engagement profitable, break-even, or a loss versus your target hourly rate? Tracks revenue, hours, and direct costs.
Last reviewed by Vanta Calc editorial
Result
Fill in the fields above, then press Calculate.
A project profitability check is the post-mortem on a freelance engagement: revenue collected, hours actually spent, direct costs, and how the resulting effective hourly rate compares to your target. Run it on every engagement and the patterns become obvious — which client types pay well, which scope shapes blow up, which pricing models reliably exceed target.
Examples
Profitable: clean fixed-fee with senior pricing
Project price $15,000, 80 hours total, $300 direct costs, target $150/hr. Net revenue $14,700. Effective rate $183.75/hr → +$2,700 above the $12,000 target = 22.5% above. Profitable.
Break-even: typical hourly engagement
Project price $12,000 (80 hrs × $150/hr), 100 hours total (20 non-billable). Net $11,800 after $200 expenses. Effective rate $118/hr. Target $150/hr × 100 hrs = $15,000. Profit −$3,200 (−21%). Loss vs target — you needed to bill or quote more, given how scoping and revisions consumed time.
Loss: fixed-fee that ran long
Quoted $20,000 fixed-fee. Actually took 200 hours after 4 rounds of revisions. $1,000 direct costs. Target $150/hr. Net $19,000 / 200 hrs = $95/hr — well below target. Loss of $11,000 vs target. Lessons: tighter revisions cap, scope creep contract clauses, mid-project re-quoting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I get the target hourly rate from?
From the Day Rate / Hourly Rate calculator. Plug in your desired take-home, tax, expenses, and time-off assumptions; the hourly-rate output is your target. If you do not have one, use $150/hr as a placeholder for moderate-experience generalist freelance work and update it.
Is a 5% margin really break-even?
Yes — within measurement noise. Hours are estimates, costs have rounding, and the target rate itself has assumptions baked in. Treating ±5% as break-even avoids over-reacting to single projects when the input precision doesn't justify it. Watch the trend across 5+ projects, not a single result.
Should I include my own time in 'subcontractor costs'?
No. Your time is captured by the hours input and priced via the target hourly rate. Subcontractor costs are money you paid OTHER people that flowed through your invoice. Including your own time double-counts it and makes every project look like a loss.
My calculator says break-even but I felt the project was great. Why?
Likely one of: your target rate is too high, you under-counted billable hours, or the project produced non-financial value (a portfolio piece, a referral source, learning a new skill) that the math does not capture. Track those separately — they are real but not on this calculator.
Result
Your result appears here and follows you as you scroll.
Related Calculators
Quick Tips
Double check your inputs. Ensure units match (e.g., inches vs cm).
Did you know?
Calculators are estimates. Consult professionals for critical decisions.