Freelance Contract Maker: a service agreement before you start work
Describe the project, choose how you are paid, and get a plain-language service agreement with scope, a deposit and payment schedule, included revisions, who owns the work, a kill fee, a late fee and a liability cap. Print it, save it as PDF or copy the text. No account, no watermark, and nothing leaves your device.
1. Who and what
2. Fee and payment
The balance is whatever is left after the deposit and milestones, due on final delivery. Rounding goes to the last payment so the parts add up to the fee to the cent.
3. Revisions, ownership and ending early
Your agreement
Back up, restore
What it does and does not do
Plain-language clauses, fixed rules. The agreement is assembled from your answers by a template, not by a model, so the same answers always give the same text.
Money to the cent. The deposit, milestones and balance add up to the fee exactly, and the kill fee and late fee are priced for you.
A starting point. It covers scope, fees, revisions, ownership, confidentiality, ending early, independent-contractor status, liability and governing law. It does not cover non-competes, data protection terms, subcontractors, insurance, tax forms, or rules specific to your trade or place.
Checks before you send. It tells you what is missing and flags choices that tend to cause trouble, such as no deposit, net 60 terms or a late fee over 5% a month.
Not modelled: e-signature, counter-party editing, version history across devices, and translation.
Common questions
Is this contract maker really free?
Yes. There is no account, no watermark, no trial and no paywall on printing or downloading. It runs in your browser, so it costs nothing to serve, and it stays free.
Is the contract it writes legally binding?
A written agreement that both sides sign is generally enforceable, but whether a particular clause holds up depends on where you and the client are. This is a plain-language starting point, not legal advice and not a substitute for a lawyer. For a large project or an unusual deal, have a qualified lawyer read it.
Who owns the work when the project is done?
You choose. The default passes copyright to the client only once they have paid in full, so a client who does not pay cannot use the work. You can instead keep ownership and license it, or keep all rights. Whatever you pick, the contract says it in one paragraph.
What is a kill fee and should I include one?
A kill fee is what the client pays if they cancel before delivery, on top of the work already done. It covers the schedule you held open for them. The default is 25% of a fixed project fee. Set it to 0 to leave it out.
How many revisions should a contract include?
Two rounds per deliverable is common for fixed-fee creative and web work. Anything beyond that is billed at an hourly rate. The point is to fix a number before the project starts, so the third round is a conversation about price, not an argument.
Can I use it for hourly or retainer work?
Yes. Pick Fixed fee, Hourly rate or Monthly retainer. Hourly adds an estimate that is stated as not a cap, and retainer adds monthly advance invoicing with no rollover. Deposit and milestone schedules apply to fixed fees.
Where are my drafts stored?
In your browser on this device only. Clearing site data removes them, so use Download backup now and then. Nothing you type is uploaded.
What should I do after the client signs?
Send the quote with Estimate Maker, track hours with Time Tracker, and bill with Invoice Maker. If a client sends you their contract instead, run it through the Freelance Contract Checker before you sign.