PeoplePerHour uses a three-tier commission: 20% on your first earnings with each client, dropping to 7.5%, then 3.5% as you build history. This calculator shows your exact net earnings for any contract amount.
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Current fee structure (2026): 20% on first £250/$250/€250 per client → 7.5% on £250–£5,000 → 3.5% above £5,000. Fees are charged to the freelancer only. Thresholds reset per client, not platform-wide. Source: PeoplePerHour Help Centre, verified June 2026.
CurrencyTier thresholds are shown in your selected currency. PeoplePerHour operates globally in GBP, USD, and EUR.
£
£
PPH's cut
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— effective rate
⭐ Your net earnings
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— take-home
Contract value
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Tier 1 fee (20%)
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Tier 2 fee (7.5%)
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Where this contract sits in your client tiers
02505,000
20%
First 250 per client
7.5%
250 – 5,000 per client
3.5%
Above 5,000 per client
Formula: Fee = (min(amount_in_tier1, 250) × 20%) + (amount_in_tier2 × 7.5%) + (amount_in_tier3 × 3.5%) — where tier1/2/3 depend on prior billing with this specific client.
Know what you want to take home from a PeoplePerHour project? Enter your target and prior billing — we'll calculate exactly what to quote the client so you end up with the right amount after PPH's cut.
£
£
⭐ Quote this amount
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Bid or invoice this figure
PPH will take
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Your take-home
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You quote
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Effective rate
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How this works: Because the fee is tiered, we solve for the contract amount iteratively — the effective rate depends on where you are in each tier, which changes as the amount changes. The calculator solves this exactly, not as a simple percentage.
PeoplePerHour's fee tiers reset per client — not across your entire platform earnings. Every new client starts at 20%. Building repeat relationships is where you maximise take-home on PPH.
Lifetime earnings with client
Fee rate
Max fee in this tier
Cumulative fee cap
First £250 / $250 / €250 Tier 1
20%
£50 / $50 / €50
£50 / $50 / €50
£250 – £5,000 / $250 – $5,000
7.5%
£356.25 / $356.25
£406.25 / $406.25
Above £5,000 / $5,000
3.5%
No cap
Unlimited
Effective rate at different contract sizes (new client)
Contract size
Total PPH fee
Effective rate
Your take-home
How PPH compares at different contract sizes
All comparisons assume a new client (zero prior billing). Upwork assumes 10% variable rate (most common reported rate). Freelancer.com assumes 10% flat rate.
Contract
PeoplePerHour
Fiverr (flat 20%)
Upwork (~10%)
Freelancer.com (10%)
Key insight: PPH is most competitive for ongoing client relationships. Once you cross £5,000 total with a client, the 3.5% rate beats Upwork's typical 10% and destroys Fiverr's 20%. For one-off small projects with new clients, Upwork's variable fee (if you get 0–5%) is typically cheaper.
How PeoplePerHour's fee structure works
PeoplePerHour uses a tiered commission that decreases as you earn more from each specific client. Unlike Upwork's platform-wide billing history (which was scrapped in May 2025) or Fiverr's flat 20%, PPH ties the tiers to the individual client relationship.
This means the per-client threshold resets every time you work with someone new — a new client always starts you in the 20% tier, regardless of how long you've been on PeoplePerHour or how much you've earned overall. The strategic implication: PPH rewards you for building long-term client relationships, not just high transaction volume.
The critical detail: thresholds are per-client, not platform-wide
Many freelancers misunderstand this. Your total PPH earnings don't determine your fee rate — your earnings with each individual client do. If you have 10 clients who've each paid you £200 (£2,000 total), you're still in the 20% tier with all of them. Compare this to the old Upwork model where all billing with a client counted cumulatively — PPH's model is less favourable for freelancers who work with many different clients but very favourable for those who build deep, ongoing relationships.
What changed — November 2021 update
PeoplePerHour reduced the first-tier threshold from £500 to £250 in November 2021. This means freelancers now reach the cheaper 7.5% tier sooner — after just £250 with a client instead of £500. For regular clients, this was a meaningful improvement. There have been no fee structure changes since then as of June 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does PeoplePerHour take in 2026?
PeoplePerHour charges a tiered service fee: 20% on your first £250/$250 with each client, 7.5% on the next £250–£5,000, and 3.5% above £5,000. The fee is charged to the freelancer only — clients aren't charged a separate percentage. The exact amount depends on where you are in the tier with that specific client.
Do the PPH tiers reset per project or per client?
Per client. The tiers track cumulative lifetime billing with each individual buyer on the platform. If you've already earned £1,000 from a client, your next contract with them starts entirely in the 7.5% tier. If it's a new client, you start at 20% regardless of your overall PPH history.
Does PeoplePerHour charge clients a fee?
PeoplePerHour does not charge clients a separate percentage service fee on top of the contract value. The commission comes entirely from the freelancer's side. Clients do pay for Connects to contact freelancers (Connects are PPH's contact credit system), but there's no additional percentage taken from what the client pays.
Is PeoplePerHour cheaper than Fiverr and Upwork?
It depends on the situation. For new clients on small contracts, PPH's 20% matches Fiverr. As you build history with a client, PPH drops to 7.5% and then 3.5% — significantly cheaper than Fiverr's permanent 20%. Compared to Upwork's current 0–15% variable rate, PPH can be cheaper or more expensive depending on what Upwork rate you're assigned. For clients you bill £5,000+ over time, PPH at 3.5% beats almost everything.
How do I calculate my PeoplePerHour fee for a specific contract?
Enter your contract amount and your prior lifetime earnings with that client in the Fee Calculator tab above. The calculator handles the tier logic — it correctly allocates portions of your contract across each tier based on where your cumulative billing sits, then shows you your exact fee and take-home.
Other Platform Fee Calculators
Calculate your take-home on any platform — all fees verified from official sources.