Project Margin Calculator

Work out project margin instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Project Margin Calculator

Project margin is the fee less direct labour and expenses, and profit per hour worked shows whether the project was worth the team's time. Two projects at the same margin can differ enormously on that basis.

Formula

Project margin

Gross profit = fee - labour - expenses; profit per hour = gross profit / hours worked

Worked example

With the default values below, Project Margin Calculator returns Project Gross Profit of $1,500,000.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Project Feeminimum 0: 4,500,000
Direct Labour Costminimum 0: 2,400,000
Direct Expenses And Subcontractminimum 0: 600,000
Hours Workedaccepts 1–100,000: 1,600

Results

Project Gross Profit: $1,500,000.00
Project Gross Margin: 33.333%
Realised Rate Per Hour: $2,812.50
Profit Per Hour Worked: $937.50

Step by step

1Values used
2Project margin
3Project Gross Profit= 1,500,000.00
4Project Gross Margin= 33.333
5Realised Rate Per Hour= 2,812.50
6Profit Per Hour Worked= 937.50

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
Figures are estimates based on the inputs given. Marketing performance, platform fees and conversion behaviour vary by audience, channel and season. Use this as a planning guide, not a forecast.
This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Figures are estimates based on the inputs given. Marketing performance, platform fees and conversion behaviour vary by audience, channel and season. Use this as a planning guide, not a forecast.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why track profit per hour as well as margin?

Because margin ignores effort. A 40% margin earned over twice the planned hours is a poor outcome.

Should overhead be included?

For project decisions use gross margin; for portfolio decisions allocate overhead to get net contribution.