Price Increase Calculator
Three small jobs in one place: apply a percentage rise to a price, find the percentage between an old and a new price, and find the new price that keeps your margin when your costs go up. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Raising prices without losing the margin
When a supplier, a software subscription or your own cost of living goes up, the question is what to do to the price. Keeping your margin percentage constant means the price must rise by the same percentage as your total cost: if every cost you have goes up 10%, the price goes up 10%. The catch is that a headline increase rarely applies to all of your costs. If materials are 40% of what a job costs you and materials rise 25%, your total cost rises only 10%, and that, not 25%, is the price increase that keeps your margin. The third mode above takes your old and new total cost per unit or hour and your old price, and gives the price that keeps the margin, so you neither over-recover nor under-recover.
How to present an increase to clients
Many service businesses raise prices once a year, and an increase is far easier to accept when it is announced in advance, applies from a fixed date and comes with a one-line reason. Give at least 30 days' notice, put the new rate in writing, and apply it to new quotes first. For long-standing clients on old rates, a two-step increase over six months is often easier to accept than one large jump. The hourly rate calculator shows what your rate should be from your costs and income goal, which is the strongest justification you can have.
Percentage between two prices
The second mode answers "how much did this go up?" Divide the difference by the old price, not the new one: from 80 to 100 is a 25% increase, even though 20 is 20% of 100. The same mistake in reverse makes decreases look smaller than they are. From 100 to 80 is a 20% decrease.
Frequently asked questions
Should I raise prices for existing clients too?
Usually yes, on the next renewal or contract, with notice. Grandfathering old rates indefinitely means your best clients become your least profitable.
What if the cost increase is temporary?
Consider a surcharge line on the invoice for the affected period rather than a permanent price change; it is easier to remove later.
Does the margin mode work for hourly work?
Yes. Use your cost per hour (what an hour costs you to deliver) and your hourly price.
Is my data stored?
No. Everything runs in your browser.