Free quote generator.

Quote, estimate or invoice?

The three get used interchangeably and they aren't the same thing. A quote is a fixed price for defined work: if the client accepts it as written, that's what they pay. An estimate is your best guess at a price that may move as the work becomes clearer. An invoice is a request for money after the fact.

The word matters most when the number turns out to be wrong. A client who accepted a quote is entitled to be annoyed at a higher bill; a client who accepted an estimate was told up front that it might move. Use the word you actually mean, and say which it is on the document. This tool builds either — the layout is identical, so change the wording in the scope notes to suit.

What a quote should contain

A quote is a small sales document, and the parts that make it convincing are the parts freelancers most often leave out:

• A quote number and an issue date. They make it referenceable, and they signal that you do this regularly.
• Itemised work. One line saying "Website — $6,000" invites haggling over the total. Five lines showing what the $6,000 buys moves the conversation to scope, which is where you want it.
• What's excluded. The revisions, the extra pages, the hosting — the things a client assumes are included until they aren't.
• A validity date. See below; it's the single most useful line on the page.
• Payment terms. Deposit, milestones, and when the balance falls due — agreed at quote time, not discovered at invoice time.
• A way to say yes. An acceptance block, or one clear sentence telling them exactly what to do next.

Always put a validity date on it

A quote without an expiry is an open offer for the rest of time. Thirty days is the usual answer, and it does three quiet jobs: it protects you when your costs or your availability change, it stops a client accepting in six months at last year's price, and it gives a stalled conversation a natural reason to come back to life — "that quote runs out on Friday, do you want me to extend it?" is a follow-up that doesn't feel like chasing.

Ask for a deposit

For project work, a deposit is the difference between a client who has decided and a client who is thinking about it. It also funds the start of the work, which matters more than it sounds when you're the one carrying the cash flow. A common split is 50% to book the work and 50% on delivery; for longer projects, tie payments to milestones so you're never more than a few weeks of work out of pocket.

Price the quote properly first

A quote is only as good as the number in it. If you're pricing from a rate you set years ago — or from what feels askable — work it out properly with the freelance rate calculator, which starts from what you need to take home and tells you what an hour of your time has to earn. Then estimate the hours honestly and add for the risk that the scope is looser than it looks.

When they say yes

An accepted quote becomes an invoice. Keep the line items identical — the client already agreed to them, and changing the wording invites a fresh read of a settled decision. Our free invoice generator builds the matching document, and the two use the same layout, so the invoice looks like the quote the client already approved.