Grant Writer Proposal Price Calculator

What should a freelance grant writer charge per proposal?

Enter the hourly pay you want and how you work. You get your fee floor per hour, a flat fee for each proposal with a revision buffer, a check on fees you already quoted, and whether a month of proposals fits your hours.

Nothing is uploaded. Your numbers are read in this browser and never leave your device — see the privacy note in the footer.

1. Your rate and your time

Take-home you want per billable hour ($)

Share of paid time that is billable (%)

Self-employment and payroll tax share of revenue (%)

Software, insurance and database costs per billable hour ($)

Revision buffer on every estimate (%)

Billable hours you can fit in a month

Unbillable time is finding clients, invoicing, learning a funder's portal and the unfunded hours between projects. The tax share is an average, not your tax return.

2. Your proposals (optional)

One per line: proposal, estimated hours, fee quoted (optional), award requested (optional)

Leave the fee blank to see what to charge; enter it to see whether it clears your floor. Use plain numbers without commas.

Enter the hourly pay you want, then click Calculate.

What this does not cover

Income tax. The tax share is an average load on revenue, not a return.
Win rate. An unfunded proposal costs the same hours, so the fee does not depend on whether the client is funded.
Post-award work. Reporting, site visits and travel are priced separately.
Market rates. The fee is what your own numbers need, not what a client will pay. Compare it with what comparable writers charge in your region.
Contracts. Scope, ownership of drafts and what happens if a funder changes the deadline belong in a written agreement reviewed by a lawyer.

Common questions

How do I price a grant writing project?

Decide the hourly take-home you want, gross it up for the share of your time you cannot bill and for tax, then multiply by the hours the proposal will take plus a buffer for revisions. That is a flat fee. Quote the fee, not the hours, so a funder's extra template does not turn into unpaid work.

Should I charge a percentage of the grant award?

Professional codes for fundraisers and grant writers, and many funders, object to paying a writer a percentage of money raised, and a funded proposal costs the same hours as an unfunded one. Price on hours of work. The calculator shows your fee as a share of the award only as a sense check.

How many hours does a grant proposal take?

It varies enormously with the funder, the length and how much the client already has written. A small local foundation application can take a day; a federal proposal with a budget justification and attachments can take weeks. Enter your own estimate per proposal and the calculator prices it.

Why add a revision buffer?

Almost every proposal gets funder questions, a new budget template or several rounds of client edits. A percentage buffer on the estimated hours pays for them without a separate negotiation.

Is this tax or financial advice?

No. It does arithmetic on the numbers you enter. It is not tax, legal or financial advice, and it does not model income tax, travel or post-award reporting work.