What Kill Fee Is Normal When a Client Cancels a Project?

A kill fee is the money you keep when a client cancels a project after you have started but before it is finished. It is the difference between a cancellation costing the client something and costing you everything.

If a client just cancelled and you are trying to work out what is fair to ask for, here is the benchmark.

How a kill fee usually scales

The fair amount depends on how much of the work is already done. Most well-written contracts tier it:

The logic is simple. You have turned down other work, blocked out time, and delivered thinking and drafts that the client now has. A kill fee pays for that, even though the project never reached the finish line.

Why you need it in writing

Without a kill-fee clause, a cancellation turns into a negotiation you are having from a weak position, after the fact, with someone who has already decided to walk away. With one, the number is settled in advance, when everyone is still friendly.

This is also why a deposit and a kill fee work together. If you took 50% up front, a mid-project cancellation may already be mostly covered. If you took nothing up front, the kill fee is the only thing standing between you and working for free. For the full picture on deposits and payment terms, see the freelancer's contract benchmark.

The clause that gets you paid

The trap (or simply missing): the contract says nothing about cancellation, so the default is that you are owed nothing beyond what you can prove you already delivered.

The fair version: "If Client cancels the project after commencement, Client shall pay a kill fee equal to 50% of the total project fee, or 100% if cancellation occurs after delivery of final work, in addition to any non-refundable deposit."

You can adjust the percentages, but the structure is what protects you: a named fee, tied to the stage of cancellation, on top of the deposit.

How to ask for it

If the contract you were sent has no kill fee, adding one is a completely normal request. A short line works: "I am glad to sign, I would just like to add a standard cancellation fee of 50% if the project is called off after we begin, since I will have reserved the time." Framed that way, it reads as professional, not confrontational, because it is.

None of this is legal advice, and enforceability varies by jurisdiction. But the range is well established, and asking for it is expected.