Agency charge rate calculator
Enter your hours, your cost per hour and your target margin. See the fee that covers them and your effective hourly rate.
A charge rate that ignores hours tends to look fine until the account takes more time than planned. Enter the hours an account takes, what an hour of your team costs and the margin you want, and the calculator gives the fee that covers them, plus your effective hourly rate at the fee you charge now. If that rate is below your cost per hour, the account is losing money before any other cost. Use your own tracked hours rather than estimates. For fee structures, see the agency pricing models guide.
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Cofoundr takes over the routine checking, so the same team can look after more accounts.
How it works
- Hours per account = routine hours + strategy and client hours.
- Cost to serve = hours per account x cost per team hour. Margin = fee minus cost to serve.
- Accounts the team can carry = available hours / hours per account.
- The what-if reduces routine hours by the percentage you enter, and recomputes margin and capacity.
- Cost to serve also includes any other direct costs you enter. Fee needed for your target margin = cost to serve / (1 - target margin). Effective hourly rate = fee / hours per account.
How to use the result
The default numbers are placeholders based on the 4-account scenario behind Cofoundr's time calculator, about 23.5 routine hours per account a month. Replace them with your own, measured over two weeks, for a real answer.
Common questions
How do I set a charge rate for a client?
Start from the hours the account really takes and your cost per hour, add other direct costs, then raise the fee until it gives the margin you want. Check the result against what the client's results are worth.
Where do my hours come from?
Track time per account for two weeks in three buckets: routine checking and diagnosing, reporting, and strategy and client contact.
Is a high margin always good?
Not if quality suffers. Protect strategy time for each client, since that is what retains them.
Does this include tools and other costs?
Yes, if you enter them. Put tools, freelancers and creative costs for the account in other direct costs. Leave it at 0 to count only the cost of team hours.
What is effective hourly rate?
The fee divided by the hours the account takes. If it is below your cost per team hour, the account loses money before any other cost.
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Where the time goes for an agency running 4 Meta ad accounts
Scenario: 15 minutes of checking and 30 minutes of diagnosing per account per day over 22 working days, plus 2 reports per account at 3.5 hours each. Your numbers may differ.