Scope creep cost calculator for freelancers
Enter your rate and how many small "can you also..." favours you do per project. The calculator shows what they cost you in a year, and what to put on a change order for the next one. It is plain arithmetic: nothing you type leaves your browser.
Unpaid work per year: - hours
Value at your rate: -
Suggested price for one request: -
How the numbers are worked out
- Unpaid hours per year = requests per project x (hours each + overhead minutes / 60) x projects per year.
- Value = those hours x your hourly rate. It is what the same time would have billed.
- Suggested price for one request = (hours each + overhead / 60) x your rate. Round it up to a number you are comfortable stating.
The defaults (3 requests, 1.5 hours) are placeholders, not survey results. Use your own last three projects. If you do not know, count the "also" emails in one finished project.
Why the small ones add up
Each favour looks too small to mention, so nobody prices it. Guides on freelance scope creep, such as Grey's article and Wethos's guide, recommend the same fix: write each out-of-scope request down with a price and a time impact, and get written approval before you start.
Three ways to answer "can you also..."
- Price it. "Yes, that is outside what we agreed. It would be [fee] and add [days] days. Reply to approve and I will start."
- Trade it. "We can fit that in if we drop [item] from the current scope."
- Park it. "Good idea. I will note it for the next phase."
Pick one every time, even for small things. If you choose to do a favour free, say so in writing, so it is recorded as a favour and not as the new normal.
Turn the answer into a record
When you price a request, you need something the client can say yes to. Use the free change order template to write the text, or the Change Order Desk to send an approval link and keep a timestamped record. It is free for 3 change orders. This page is a planning aid, not financial or legal advice.