RIBA Stage Fee Calculator
Price the hours each stage needs, then check the total against the construction cost.
There is no fee scale for UK architects, so the only reliable fee is one built from the work. Enter the hours you expect each RIBA stage to take and a blended rate; the calculator gives a fee per stage, a stage split and the total as a percentage of construction cost.
The fee is the sum of priced stage hours plus expenses and a risk allowance. The percentage is a sanity check, not the method.
Calculator
Change any figure and the result updates. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere. Defaults are illustrative.
Rates and project
Hours by stage
Fee
- Stage 1 · 30 h
- £2,550
- Stage 2 · 80 h
- £6,800
- Stage 3 · 120 h
- £10,200
- Stage 4 · 220 h
- £18,700
- Stage 5 · 140 h
- £11,900
- Stage 6 · 20 h
- £1,700
- Expenses 3.0%
- £1,556
- Risk 5.0%
- £2,593
- Total hours
- 610 h
- Fee as % of construction cost
- 9.3%
Stage split follows your hours. Compare the percentage with similar past projects before quoting.
Results exclude VAT. Figures are rounded to the nearest pound or hour.
How it works
The calculator prices the work before it shows you a percentage.
Enter the hours you expect each RIBA stage to take and the blended hourly rate of the team that will do it. Each stage fee is hours multiplied by rate. Expenses and a risk allowance are added as percentages of the stage fees. If you enter a construction cost, the total is also shown as a percentage of it so you can compare with past projects.
Default hours are illustrative for a one-off new-build house. Replace them with actual hours from your own similar projects wherever you have them.
Reading the result
Three things to check before the number goes in a proposal.
- The split.Technical Design usually carries the largest share in practices that produce detailed information in-house. If a stage looks thin, the hours are probably optimistic.
- The percentage.Compare it with similar jobs. Smaller, more complex and heritage projects sit higher because design effort does not shrink with the build.
- The hours you would accept.A fee is a budget for hours. If you would not take the hours, do not take the fee. Change scope or basis rather than the rate.
For the full method, see how to calculate architects' fees in the UK and the fee proposal template.
Questions practices ask
Short answers to the questions behind this calculator.
Is there a standard fee scale for UK architects?
No. There is no mandatory scale. Practices set their own fees, usually a percentage of construction cost, a lump sum, a time charge or a combination, and should check them against the hours the job will need.
What blended rate should I use?
The weighted average charge-out rate of the people expected to work on the project. A stage led by a director with Part 2 support has a lower blended rate than one run at associate level. See the charge-out rate calculator.
How do architects split fees across RIBA stages?
By the hours each stage is expected to take, not a fixed template. In practices that write the specification and coordinate detailed design in-house, Stage 4 usually carries the largest share.
Does the fee include VAT?
No. The calculator shows fees excluding VAT. VAT-registered practices add VAT at the standard rate and should say so in the proposal.
Where Avoice fits
In Avoice, a deal is priced by stage, team and hours in the same way, using your own rates.
The price becomes the proposal fee, and when the deal is won it pre-fills the project's stages, fees and hours budget, so timesheets roll up against the fee you quoted. To see it on your own projects, book a demo.