TOOLS / FOR EVERYONE

Estimate the hours before you quote them

Break the work into tasks, estimate each, then add a buffer for the parts you can't see yet. The total is what you should be pricing against.

%
Padding for revisions, meetings, and the surprises. 15–25% is a sane starting point.
$
Leave at 0 to estimate hours only.
RAW HOURS0
TOTAL HOURS (WITH BUFFER)0
ESTIMATED COST—

How this is calculated

The hours from every task are summed, then multiplied by 1 + buffer%. If you add a rate, the total hours become a cost: total hours × rate. Nothing about a project is more honest than a task list — the act of naming each piece is usually where the missing 30% of work shows up.

Treat the buffer as insurance against scope you haven't seen, not a discount to give away later. Once you have a number, set the price it should support with thefreelance rate calculator, and keep the estimate from quietly ballooning by reading up on scope creep before you send the quote.