What should be optional in a architecture proposal?

In this template: Construction drawings ($4,800.00 USD), Contractor bidding ($1,800.00 USD), Site visits during construction ($550.00 USD per visit). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.

Pricing guide for architects

How much to charge for architecture

Updated October 23, 2026. Example prices in US dollars from the architecture template.

Example starting total$11,000.00 USD

Short answer: Price architecture as one fixed line (concept and permit drawings at $6,200.00 USD) with a starting total of $11,000.00 USD, then 3 optional lines (construction drawings, contractor bidding, site visits during construction) the client can switch on, and a quantity the client sets within your limits. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.

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Below: the price lines from our architecture quote, what is fixed, what the client can switch on, and how to show it so the client accepts instead of haggling.

The example pricing

Line	Example price	How it is sold
Concept and permit drawingsMeasured drawings, two concepts, the permit application	$6,200.00 USD	Included
Construction drawingsDetailed drawings and specifications for pricing and building	$4,800.00 USD	Optional, on by default
Contractor biddingThree contractors priced and a contract set up	$1,800.00 USD	Optional, off by default
Site visits during constructionEvery two weeks over a typical build	$550.00 USD per visit	Optional, off by defaultClient picks 1 to 12

Starting total with the defaults on: $11,000.00 USD, before the client chooses among 3 optional lines, with 1 quantity the client sets within your limits. Example prices in US dollars; the template works in 16 currencies and every number is yours to change.

How to present it

Design is bought on trust, so the proposal has to show the work before it talks about money. Put the directions or a comparable project up front, then the price. A client who has already pictured the result argues less about the number.

Price the outcome, not the hours. "Three directions, one refined mark, every file" is a thing a client can want; "twelve hours" is a thing they can haggle over. Keep revisions explicit: two rounds included, a third by the round, priced.

Put the extras on the page as optional lines rather than in a follow-up email. Brand colours, business cards, an extra direction: when they sit next to the base price with a switch, a fair share of clients turn one on.

Questions people ask

How much should I charge for architecture?: Price architecture as one fixed line (concept and permit drawings at $6,200.00 USD) with a starting total of $11,000.00 USD, then 3 optional lines (construction drawings, contractor bidding, site visits during construction) the client can switch on, and a quantity the client sets within your limits. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.
What should be optional in a architecture proposal?: In this template: Construction drawings ($4,800.00 USD), Contractor bidding ($1,800.00 USD), Site visits during construction ($550.00 USD per visit). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.
How do I present architecture pricing so it gets accepted?: Design is bought on trust, so the proposal has to show the work before it talks about money. Put the directions or a comparable project up front, then the price. A client who has already pictured the result argues less about the number.

Why this structure gets accepted

One fixed line the client can say yes to. Concept and permit drawings is priced as a whole, so the conversation is about the result, not the hours.
Options on the page, not in follow-up emails. Construction drawings, Contractor bidding, Site visits during construction sit next to the base price with a switch. People choose what they can see.
The total moves as they choose. On a Quote and Sign page the client toggles lines and sets quantities, watches the total update, and signs with their name. What they chose becomes part of the signed record.

Put it in front of a client

Open this pricing as a real quote, change the words and numbers, and send the link. Your client reads it on a phone or laptop, picks the extras, and taps Accept. You both get the signed PDF.