Cost-plus pricing
You total up your costs — time, tools, subcontractors — and add a fixed margin.
Best for: Work with real pass-through costs, like production or print.
Avoid when: Your costs are low but the result is worth a great deal — you'll leave money on the table.
How it works
Add up everything the job costs you to deliver, then apply a markup. It's the most defensible model when a client asks you to justify a number, and the easiest to get wrong if you forget to count your own time honestly.
What it looks like
£1,800 of your time plus £700 of photography and licensing, at a 40% margin, is a £3,500 quote.
Example project
A product shoot and landing page bundle
The job needs a studio day at £850, a photographer at £600, retouching at £400, and 25 hours of your own time at £1,875. Costs total £3,725. At a 40% margin you quote £5,200, with the third-party costs invoiced upfront so you're never funding someone else's day rate.
Where it wins
- Hard to lose money on a job you've costed properly.
- Transparent and easy to defend line by line.
- Handles third-party costs cleanly.
Where it hurts
- Ignores what the outcome is worth to the client.
- Rewards you for being expensive, not for being good.
- Invites clients to pick at individual costs.
Cost-plus pricing: frequently asked questions
What margin should I add with cost-plus pricing?
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30 to 50% is common for service work, and higher where you carry risk or hold specialist skill. Whatever you choose, cost your own time at a realistic rate first — the most frequent mistake is treating your labour as free.
What costs should I include in a quote?
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Your time at a proper rate, subcontractors, software and licences, stock or production costs, travel, and a share of your overheads. Add contingency for revisions. Anything you leave out comes straight off your margin.
Should I show clients a cost breakdown?
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Only if it helps you. Itemised costs invite line-by-line negotiation on the cheapest items. Grouping costs into meaningful phases usually keeps the conversation on the work rather than on the price of stock photography.
When is cost-plus pricing a bad idea?
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When your costs are low and the outcome is valuable. Cost-plus caps your fee at what the job costs you to deliver, which means efficient, experienced people systematically undercharge with it.
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