Grant Writer Cost Calculator

Estimate the cost of hiring a grant writer (hourly, flat fee, or retainer) and calculate ROI based on expected win rates and award amounts.

Inputs

Pricing Model (1-3)

Hourly Rate ($)

Hours per Proposal

Flat Fee per Proposal ($)

Monthly Retainer ($)

Retainer Months

Proposals per Year

Avg. Request Amount ($)

Expected Win Rate (%)

Tab to move between fields

Results

Annual Writer Cost

$30,600.00

≈ 15 gaming PCs

Cost per Proposal

$5,100.00

≈ 5 smartphones

Expected Annual Revenue$112,500.00

Net Return$81,900.00

ROI (%)267.6%

Expected Wins1.5

Cost per Dollar Raised0.27

Break-Even Win Rate (%)6.8%

Expected Value per Proposal$18,750.00

How to Use This Calculator

Enter the Grant Writer's Hourly Rate and expected Hours Per Application.
Enter the Success Rate percentage and average Grant Size for your portfolio.
Enter the Number of Applications to submit in the year.
Review Cost Per Application and Total Annual Grant Writing Investment.
Check Cost Per Dollar Raised to evaluate the efficiency of your grant writing program.

What each input means

Pricing Model (1-3): 1 = hourly, 2 = per-project flat fee, 3 = monthly retainer.
Hourly Rate ($): Grant writer's hourly rate (used if pricing model = 1). Typical: $50-$150.
Hours per Proposal: Estimated hours per proposal (used if pricing model = 1).
Flat Fee per Proposal ($): Fixed price per proposal (used if pricing model = 2). Typical: $2K-$15K.
Monthly Retainer ($): Monthly retainer fee (used if pricing model = 3). Typical: $2K-$8K.
Retainer Months: Number of months the retainer covers.
Proposals per Year: Number of grant proposals submitted annually.
Avg. Request Amount ($): Average dollar amount requested per proposal.
Expected Win Rate (%): Percentage of proposals expected to be funded. Industry avg ~20-30%.

What each result means

Annual Writer Cost: Total cost of the grant writer for the year.
Cost per Proposal: Average cost per proposal submission.
Expected Annual Revenue: Expected grant revenue based on submissions and win rate.
Net Return: Expected revenue minus writer cost.
ROI (%): Return on investment for grant writing services.
Expected Wins: Expected number of successful proposals per year.
Cost per Dollar Raised: Writer cost divided by expected revenue. Below $0.20 is excellent.
Break-Even Win Rate (%): Minimum win rate needed for the writer to pay for themselves.
Expected Value per Proposal: Statistical expected revenue per proposal submitted.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Pricing Model (1-3) = 1, Hourly Rate ($) = 85, Hours per Proposal = 60, Flat Fee per Proposal ($) = 5000 = 9 input(s) provided
Calculate Annual Writer Cost
Annual Writer Cost
30600 = $30,600
Calculate Cost per Proposal
Cost per Proposal
5100 = $5,100
Calculate Expected Annual Revenue
Expected Annual Revenue = expectedWins * avgRequestAmount
112500 = $112,500
Calculate Net Return
Net Return = expectedAnnualRevenue - annualWriterCost
81900 = $81,900

Engine last updated July 26, 2026.

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