Content Production Budget Calculator

What is this content production budget calculator?

This calculator adds writing, editing, artwork, and shared project costs into an editorial production budget. It is designed for articles with comparable scope, so teams can see how volume and review effort affect spending.

How to use the calculator

Enter planned articles and typical writing and editing hours per article. Include research and fact-checking in the appropriate time inputs. Add the corresponding rates, artwork costs, and project expenses that are not already counted per article.

Check the input assumptions

Review the help text beneath each field before calculating. Enter amounts in US dollars where shown and use consistent units. Change one assumption at a time to understand which inputs affect your result.

Formula and worked example

Example calculation

Each article needs four writing hours at $50, one editing hour at $60, and $40 artwork: $300 per article. Twelve articles cost $3,600 before shared expenses. Adding $300 brings the budget to $3,900, or $325 per article.

These numbers illustrate the calculation; they are not recommended rates or industry benchmarks.

How to interpret your result

Use the breakdown to discuss scope and review requirements. Cutting editing time lowers this budget mechanically but does not establish that the resulting content will be accurate, useful, or ready to publish.

What the estimate leaves out

The tool does not forecast rankings, leads, or return on investment. Interview coordination, specialist review, revisions, promotion, and software must be included explicitly when relevant. Example rates are not market recommendations.

Frequently asked questions