Blended rate
also known as blended hourly rate
A single average hourly rate across a mixed team (junior to senior), used to simplify pricing and quoting.
For example, rather than quoting a client $150/hour for a senior strategist and $70/hour for a junior designer, an agency might quote one blended rate of $110/hour for the whole team. The client gets a simpler number, and the agency still covers its mix of seniorities.
Why it matters to your firm: a blended rate makes quoting faster and proposals easier to read, while smoothing out who actually does the work. Set it carefully - from your real team mix and utilisation - and it protects margin; set it too low and every project quietly loses money.
Set it from your real team mix and target utilisation; set it too low and even busy, fully-booked projects still lose money.
Blended rate = total billable cost (or target revenue) ÷ total billable hours
Weight by each role's hours: Σ(rate × hours) ÷ Σ hours.
Blended rate calculator
Plug in your numbers - it updates as you type.
Prefer its own page? Open the blended rate calculator