Project Profit
Find out if a project is actually worth your time. Enter what you charged, what you spent, and how many hours you worked — and see your real effective hourly rate.
1 Project Revenue
2 Time Invested
3 Direct Project Costs
4Tax Rate
SE tax (~15%) + federal (~12-24%) + state. Use our SE tax calculator to get your exact rate.
Your Effective Hourly Rate
after all costs & taxes
About the Project Profit Calculator
Knowing whether a project was profitable is more complex than subtracting expenses from the invoice total. You also need to account for the hours you spent — including the unbilled admin hours that most freelancers forget — and any subcontractors or tools you brought in. Our project profit calculator gives you gross profit, net profit, effective hourly rate, and profit margin so you can price future similar projects correctly.
How to use it
- Enter the project revenue (invoice total or agreed project fee).
- Enter direct costs: subcontractors, software licenses, materials, expenses.
- Enter total hours worked (billable + non-billable time on this project).
- See your effective hourly rate, gross margin, and net margin.
Formula & methodology
Gross profit = Revenue − Direct costs. Net profit = Gross profit − (Your hourly rate × Total hours). Effective hourly rate = Net profit ÷ Total hours. Margin % = Net profit / Revenue × 100.
Common use cases
- Reviewing whether a fixed-price project met profitability targets
- Comparing effective hourly rate across different project types
- Identifying scope creep that eroded expected margins
- Setting minimum project fees for the next engagement
- Deciding whether to work with a client again based on true profitability
Frequently asked questions
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