Freelance deposits: how much, and how to ask

The short answer.

The working standard is 25% to 50% upfront. For small projects and new clients, 50% is normal and nobody serious blinks at it. For larger projects, a third upfront with the rest split across milestones is the common pattern. A deposit isn't you being difficult, it's the standard way both sides prove they're serious, and clients who refuse any deposit at all are telling you something worth hearing.

Why the deposit matters more than the rate.

Freelancers agonize over day rates and then start work on a handshake. The deposit is the mechanism that turns "we'd love to work with you" into a real project: it filters out the clients who were never going to pay, funds the period where you're working but nothing's billable yet, and changes the psychology of the whole engagement, because a client with money down treats the project as theirs. Getting paid late is the freelancer default, roughly 85% experience it, and the deposit is the single habit that moves the risk off you.

The numbers people actually use.

Under about a thousand euros: 50%, sometimes 100% for tiny fixed jobs, because the admin of chasing a small balance costs more than the balance. Mid-size projects: 30% to 50% upfront, remainder on delivery or split at a midpoint. Big engagements: a third to start, a third at an agreed milestone, a third on delivery. Retainers: the month paid upfront, always. New client you found on the internet: lean higher. Repeat client with clean payment history: lean lower, that trust is real and worth pricing in.

How to ask without the cringe.

The trick is that there is no trick: state it as process, not as a request. Deposits feel awkward only when they arrive as a question. Three copy-paste versions:

1. 1

   In the proposal

   "To lock in the start date, I take a 50% deposit, with the remainder due on delivery. I'll send payment details once you confirm."

2. 2

   For a bigger project

   "Billing is in three parts: a third to begin, a third when we sign off the concept, a third on delivery. This keeps things predictable on both sides."

3. 3

   When they say yes

   "Great. My payment details are on my page, the password is bloom. Once the deposit lands I'll block the dates."

Notice the last one. The moment of sharing details is where deposits usually get awkward, the bare IBAN in a chat bubble. Keeping your details behind a password on your Pay-Me makes the ask read like a business process, and the client pays you directly with no fee taken out of it.

When the client pushes back.

Some pushback is legitimate: big companies have procurement rules and net-30 terms, and established agencies often can't do 50% upfront. Fine, negotiate the split, a smaller deposit or a signed PO carries similar weight there. The pushback that matters is the vibe kind: "we don't do deposits", "you'll be paid when it's done", "don't you trust us". Reverse it: they're asking you to extend credit to a stranger while calling your standard process distrust. The freelancers with horror stories about unpaid work almost all skipped the deposit against their gut. The clients who respect the deposit are the ones who respect the invoice.

Questions