Is This Normal? The Freelancer's Contract Benchmark

Most contract advice tells you what a fair contract should contain. That is useful when you are writing your own. It is not much help at the moment that actually matters: a client has just emailed you a contract, and you need to know whether the terms in front of you are normal, or whether you are about to sign something worse than you should.

So here is the benchmark. Every number below is a typical range, not a law. Contracts vary by country, industry, and how much leverage each side has. But if a term is far outside these ranges, that is your signal to push back before you sign.

The benchmark, term by term

Why each one matters

The deposit is your proof they are serious. A client who will not put anything down before you start is asking you to carry all of the risk. A quarter to half up front is standard, and structures like 50/50 or thirds (a third to start, a third at the midpoint, a third on delivery) are common and fair. More in how much deposit to take up front.

Payment terms decide your cash flow, not theirs. Net-30 is the freelance standard. Net-60 and Net-90 exist to help large companies hold onto their money longer, and they push the risk onto you. You can accept a longer term, but it is fair to price it in or ask for a bigger deposit. See Net 30 vs Net 60.

A late fee is not aggressive, it is normal. Around 1.5% per month (roughly 18% a year) is the common figure. Without one, there is no reason for a slow-paying client to prioritize your invoice. In the UK, statutory interest on late commercial payments runs at the Bank of England base rate plus 8%, which is another fair anchor. See what late fee you can charge.

Unlimited revisions is the most expensive two words in freelancing. Two to three rounds is standard. "Unlimited" has no finish line, and it is how a fixed fee quietly turns into an hourly rate you never agreed to. More in how many revisions are normal.

A kill fee pays you for work that gets cancelled. If a client can walk away and owe you nothing, every hour you have already put in is at risk. Twenty-five to fifty percent is the usual ask, often tiered by how far the project has gone. We go deeper in what kill fee is normal when a client cancels.

A liability cap keeps a small job from becoming a huge risk. The fair standard is to cap your liability at the fees you were actually paid. "Any and all claims" with no cap means a $2,000 project could expose you to far more than $2,000. Ask for the cap, and carve out the client's own negligence. See is uncapped liability normal.

One clause worth a whole article

If you do any kind of creative or content work, watch for how the contract handles AI. "You grant Client the right to use the work in all media" was not written with model training in mind, but some clients now read it that way. It is worth understanding before you sign: see can a brand use my content to train AI.

A note on where you are

None of this is legal advice, and the specifics genuinely differ by jurisdiction. A non-compete that is unenforceable in California may hold in the UK if it is reasonable. Statutory late-payment interest differs across the US, UK, and EU. Use these ranges to know when something looks off, then get advice on anything that carries real money or real risk.