Your quoted rate is what's printed on the proposal: "€120/h" or "€800/day" or "€18,000 fixed for the redesign." It's the first number every client sees and the only number most freelancers track carefully.
It's also, on average, the least accurate of the three freelance rates. Both the effective rate (money ÷ billable hours) and the real rate (take-home ÷ worked hours) sit measurably below it.
Why it matters
Quoting is a positioning decision, not a math decision. The number signals your level (junior vs senior vs principal), shapes which clients approach you, and anchors every negotiation that follows. Setting it too low limits your ceiling for years; setting it too high without portfolio support kills proposals quietly.
But the quoted rate alone tells you nothing about how the project will go. Two designers with the same €120/h quoted rate can finish the same brief with effective rates of €110/h and €68/h — depending on scope creep, kickoff drag, and how many revisions they fold in for free.
How Ensaria relates
The quoted rate (or fixed-price quoted amount) goes on a project when you create it. Ensaria then tracks every hour you work against it and surfaces your effective rate live, on the project page and in the top-bar money chip. You see the gap forming the moment it starts.
Related terms
- Effective rate — the truth after billable hours.
- Real rate — the truth after tax.
- Day rate — quoted-rate's cousin for project work.