Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Pitch cost per won client
$3,818
Annual pitch spend
$33,600
Clients won per year
8.8
Pitch cost as % of first-year value
8.0%
First-year revenue won
$422,400
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Got your number — what next?
Pick one, it takes 20 secondsHow to use this
- 1Enter proposals per year.
- 2Enter hours per proposal (hrs).
- 3Enter loaded cost per hour ($/hr).
- 4Enter win rate (%).
- 5Enter average first-year contract value ($).
- 6Read your pitch cost per won client on the right — it updates as you type.
- 7Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Every proposal has a cost — hours of scoping, writing, design, and presentation — and only some of them convert. This calculator multiplies proposals written by hours each and your loaded cost per hour to get total annual pitch spend, then divides by wins to get cost per acquired client. Comparing that to average deal value gives you a pitch-efficiency ratio: pitch cost as a percentage of first-year revenue. Agencies with a 20% win rate and heavy custom proposals often spend 8-15% of first-year contract value just to win it, which is why qualification discipline and templated proposals produce more profit than more pitching does.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Proposals per year: 40
- Hours per proposal: 12 hrs
- Loaded cost per hour: 70 $/hr
- Win rate: 22 %
- Average first-year contract value: 48000 $
Results
- Pitch cost per won client: $3,818.18
- Annual pitch spend: $33,600.00
- Clients won per year: 8.8
- Pitch cost as % of first-year value: 8.0%
- First-year revenue won: $422,400.00
What each field means
Inputs
- Proposals per year
- The proposals per year used in the calculation. Starts at 40 so you have a working example on load.
- Hours per proposal (hrs)
- The hours per proposal used in the calculation, measured in hrs. Starts at 12 hrs so you have a working example on load.
- Loaded cost per hour ($/hr)
- The loaded cost per hour used in the calculation, measured in $/hr. Starts at 70 $/hr so you have a working example on load.
- Win rate (%)
- The win rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 22 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–100 %.
- Average first-year contract value ($)
- The average first-year contract value used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 48000 $ so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Pitch cost per won client
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Annual pitch spend
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Clients won per year
- Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Pitch cost as % of first-year value
- Returned as a percentage. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- First-year revenue won
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
What's a healthy pitch cost as a share of contract value?
Under 5% is efficient, 5-10% is normal for mid-market services, and above 15% usually means you're pitching unqualified opportunities or over-producing proposals — spec creative for a $30k project is a classic example.
How do I lower it without pitching less?
Two levers beat everything else: qualify harder so you write fewer doomed proposals, and templatize so each one takes six hours instead of sixteen. Raising win rate from 20% to 30% cuts cost per win by a third with no change in effort per proposal.
Should I include design and exec time in the hours?
Yes, at their own loaded cost. A principal's two hours on a pitch often costs more than the writer's eight, and excluding it is why agencies underestimate pitch spend by half.
Does free spec work belong here?
It does, and it's usually the line that shocks people. Price spec work at loaded cost, add it to hours per proposal, and see whether the accounts you win that way still look good after the acquisition cost.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
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Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Proposal Cost Per Win Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/proposal-win-rate-cost
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/proposal-win-rate-cost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Proposal Cost Per Win Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Proposal Cost Per Win Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/proposal-win-rate-cost) (2026).