What is a quote and estimate?
A quote — or quotation, or estimate — is the price you propose to a client before starting work. Instead of wrestling with spreadsheets or word processor templates, you type in who you are, who you are quoting and what the job involves, and the tool handles the arithmetic, the formatting and the layout.
A good quote does three jobs at once: it gives your client a clear number to decide on, it protects you by stating exactly what is and isn't included, and it makes your business look established and professional. This free online quote generator is built for all three, with live totals that update as you type and a print-ready document that looks right whether your client is across the street or across the world.
How to create a quote
- Add your business details. Enter your business name, contact details, address and country. Add a tax or registration ID and your logo if you have one.
- Add your client's details. Enter who you are quoting, with their address, country and tax ID if applicable.
- Set quote details and currency. Add a quote number, issue date, valid-until date and PO/reference, and choose from 35 currencies.
- Add line items. Add one line per product or service with quantity, unit price and an optional discount. Reorder or remove items any time.
- Configure tax and discounts. Enable VAT, GST, sales tax or a custom tax, choose tax-inclusive or exclusive pricing, and add a quote-level discount.
- Preview, download or print. Pick a Classic, Modern or Minimal template, check the live preview, then download a PDF or print the quote — no account needed.
Every quote you create gets its own number, in its own series — independent from invoice numbers. When you press New quote, the generator automatically increments your previous quote number, so your records stay sequential without any manual bookkeeping.
How quote totals are calculated
All calculations are deterministic and run entirely in your browser. Each line item is computed as quantity × unit price, minus any line discount. Those line amounts add up to the subtotal. An optional quote-level discount — either a percentage or a fixed amount — is then subtracted, and tax is applied to the discounted amount to produce the total estimate.
For example, two consulting sessions at $150 each give a line total of $300. A 10% quote discount reduces the taxable amount to $270, and 20% VAT on top brings the total estimate to $324.00. If you switch to tax-inclusive pricing instead, the same figures mean $270 already contains the tax — the tool shows $45.00 of VAT within it. Either way, you can see every intermediate figure on screen before you download.
How taxes work on quotes
Different countries tax differently, so this tool stays flexible instead of hardcoding one system. Enable the tax option, name it to match your situation — VAT in the United Kingdom and European Union, GST in Australia and India, GST/HST/PST in Canada, or Sales Tax in the United States — and set the percentage you charge. You can mark your prices as tax-exclusive (tax added on top of your rates) or tax-inclusive (tax already built into your rates), and override the rate on individual line items when some items are taxed differently.
Tax requirements vary by country and business. Please verify applicable tax rules with a qualified professional. If you quote Indian customers under GST specifically, KaroDesk also offers a dedicated GST invoice generator with CGST/SGST/IGST splits.
How to create an international quote
Quoting a client abroad works exactly like quoting locally, with two extra decisions. First, pick the currency your client expects to see — the generator supports 35 currencies including USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD, INR, SGD, AED, SAR, JPY, CNY, CHF, SEK, NOK, DKK, ZAR, BRL and MXN, each formatted with its correct symbol and number style. Second, make sure both addresses include the country and postal or ZIP code, and add your tax registration number (VAT number, ABN, EIN and similar) in the tax ID field so your client’s team can process the quote without follow-up questions.
The tool does not convert currencies — you choose the quote currency and enter prices in that currency, which keeps you in full control of the numbers you propose.
Who can use this quote generator?
The generator is deliberately general-purpose so it fits almost any business that needs to price work before starting it:
- Freelancers quoting design, writing, development or creative projects before they begin.
- Consultants proposing retainers, workshops and advisory engagements with clear scope and price.
- Agencies sending itemised quotes for campaigns, sprints and deliverables.
- Small businesses and trades that need a quick, correct quote without accounting software.
- Service providers such as tutors, cleaners, photographers and repair professionals.
- Online businesses proposing pricing to international customers in their own currency.
Quote vs invoice
A quote is what you send before work starts, proposing a price the client can accept or decline. An invoice is what you send after — or as — work is delivered, requesting payment for what was actually supplied. A quote has a valid-until date, because the price it offers shouldn't stand forever; an invoice has a due date, because payment is now expected by a specific point.
Once your client accepts a quote, use Convert to Invoice above to carry every shared detail — business, client, line items, currency, discount and tax — straight into the invoice generator, with a fresh invoice number and today's date. Nothing is retyped, and nothing leaves your browser in the process. See our guide on quote vs invoice for the full comparison.