Patent Filing Cost Estimator

This estimator helps you build a realistic budget for patent filing by combining your own fee schedule with simple probability inputs. You can use it for a provisional-only filing, a full utility (non-provisional) application, or a path where you file a provisional first and a utility later. Because government fees and attorney rates change, the calculator relies on the actual numbers you enter rather than hard‑coded fee tables.

What this patent cost estimator does

The form above groups patent costs into three buckets:

• Upfront costs – government filing fees, attorney drafting, and drawings.
• Prosecution costs – expected office action responses during examination.
• Issue and maintenance costs – fees you pay only if the patent is granted, including the issue fee and lifetime maintenance fees.

The tool uses your cost inputs and a few probability assumptions to estimate an expected total cost over the life of the application. It is designed for education and budgeting, not as a quote or legal advice.

How the calculation works (in plain language)

At a high level, the estimator does the following:

1. Adds your upfront costs: government filing fees + drafting/attorney preparation + drawings.
2. Estimates prosecution costs by multiplying the number of anticipated office action rounds by the cost per round and by the probability that you will receive office actions.
3. Estimates issue and maintenance costs by multiplying the issue fee and total maintenance budget by the probability that your application is granted.
4. Sums these three pieces to get an expected total lifecycle budget.

In more formal terms, if we use percentages as probabilities on a 0–1 scale, the structure looks like this:

Where, for example, the expected office action cost can be expressed as:

where p is the probability of receiving office action(s), n is the expected number of rounds, and c is the cost per response round. You do not need to do these calculations yourself—the estimator applies them behind the scenes based on your inputs.

Using the tool for provisional vs utility applications

The same form can be adapted for different strategies:

• Provisional only: Enter the filing fee and any attorney drafting and drawing costs associated with preparing and filing the provisional. Set the office action and issue/maintenance sections to zero, because a provisional application is not examined and does not incur issue or maintenance fees.
• Utility (non-provisional) only: Include the full utility filing fee, drafting/attorney preparation for a complete application, expected drawing costs, and realistic inputs for office action probability, number of rounds, and response costs. Add estimated issue and maintenance fees based on your entity size.
• Provisional then utility: You can either run two separate scenarios (one provisional, one utility) and add them, or combine them into a single run by including both sets of upfront costs: provisional preparation/filing plus later utility drafting and filing.

Field-by-field guidance

Upfront costs

• Government filing fees (total) ($) – Sum of official filing fees you expect to pay to the patent office (e.g., basic filing, search, examination fees for a utility; filing fee for a provisional). Fees vary by entity size (micro, small, large) and jurisdiction, so use the latest schedule from the relevant patent office.
• Drafting + attorney preparation ($) – Professional time to draft the application, including claims, specification, and any revisions. For a provisional, this may be lower if you use a shorter or less formal filing; for a utility application, it is usually one of the largest cost components.
• Drawings/illustrations ($) – Cost to prepare formal patent drawings that meet office requirements. Not every invention needs extensive drawings, but complex mechanical or electrical inventions may require several sheets.

Prosecution scenario

• Probability of office action(s) (%) – Your estimate of the chance that the examiner issues at least one office action (a written rejection or objection). Many utility applications receive one or more office actions, so values between 60–90% are common for planning, but you should adjust this based on your technology area and advisor input.
• Expected number of rounds – How many office action–response cycles you expect, on average, if office actions occur. Some applications are allowed after a single response; others may take multiple rounds or require a Request for Continued Examination (RCE).
• Cost per response round ($) – Professional time and any additional fees to analyze an office action, consult with you, and file a response. This can vary widely depending on complexity and billing rates.

Issue and maintenance (optional)

• Probability of grant (%) – The chance that your application will ultimately be allowed. This is inherently uncertain; you may base it on comparable cases in your field or guidance from your attorney or agent.
• Issue fee ($) – Official fee due when the application is allowed and you choose to have the patent issued.
• Total maintenance fees budget (lifecycle, $) – Sum of all maintenance or renewal fees you expect to pay over the life of the patent (for example, 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 year maintenance fees in the US). If you do not want to include maintenance in your estimate, leave this at 0.

Provisional vs utility cost comparison

Typical cost patterns differ between provisional and utility applications. The table below illustrates common tendencies, not fixed prices:

Interpreting the results

When you click the calculate or download button, the total reflects your expected lifetime cost for the scenario you modeled, in whatever currency you used for the inputs. If you include maintenance and a non-zero grant probability, the result incorporates those future payments on a probability-weighted basis. If you leave maintenance at 0, the estimate focuses on upfront and prosecution costs.

You can run multiple scenarios to explore best‑case and worst‑case outcomes. For example, you might:

• Reduce the office action probability and rounds to see a more optimistic scenario.
• Increase them to understand a conservative budget.
• Compare a provisional‑only path with a direct‑to‑utility filing by changing which cost components you include.

Worked example

Imagine a small entity planning a US utility filing with the following assumptions (all amounts in USD):

• Government filing fees: 1,000
• Drafting + attorney preparation: 8,000
• Drawings: 1,200
• Probability of office action(s): 80%
• Expected number of rounds: 2
• Cost per response round: 2,000
• Probability of grant: 70%
• Issue fee: 1,000
• Total maintenance fees budget: 6,000

Upfront costs would be 1,000 + 8,000 + 1,200 = 10,200. Expected prosecution cost would be 0.8 × 2 × 2,000 = 3,200. Expected issue and maintenance cost would be 0.7 × (1,000 + 6,000) = 4,900. Together, the expected lifecycle budget would be about 18,300. Your own numbers will differ, but this shows how the pieces fit together.

Assumptions and limitations

• The tool assumes all amounts are in a single currency (commonly USD) and a single jurisdiction (for example, the USPTO). International and PCT filings are not modeled unless you manually include their costs.
• Fee schedules and professional rates change over time. You are responsible for entering up‑to‑date values from the relevant patent office and your own advisors.
• Probabilities of office actions and grant are user‑supplied estimates. Actual outcomes may be very different from your assumptions.
• The estimator uses simple expected value calculations and does not account for the time value of money, discounts, taxes, surcharges, or currency fluctuations.
• Results are approximate and for planning and educational purposes only. They are not a quote, not a guarantee of any outcome, and not a substitute for individualized legal advice.

Nothing on this page creates an attorney–client relationship or constitutes legal advice. For decisions about whether and how to file a patent, you should consult a registered patent attorney or agent who can evaluate your specific situation.

Patents Are a Process, Not a Single Fee

People often talk about “getting a patent” as if it were a one‑step purchase. In reality, a patent is the result of a multi‑stage legal and technical process. You draft an application, file it, respond to examiner rejections, possibly amend claims, and eventually (if allowed) pay an issue fee. Then, if you want to keep the patent in force, you pay maintenance fees over the life of the patent. Each stage can add cost, and the uncertainty is why many founders and inventors under‑budget.

A good cost estimate has to separate what is certain from what is probabilistic:

• Mostly certain: filing fees, drafting fees, drawings, and the issue fee if the patent is granted.
• Probabilistic: office actions, responses, interviews, requests for continued examination (RCE), and appeals.
• Lifecycle: maintenance fees at set times after grant.

This estimator models the expected cost by combining a baseline with an “expected prosecution budget” driven by the probability of office actions and the expected number of rounds. Because government fees vary by country, entity size (micro/small/large), and change over time, this calculator does not hard‑code a specific fee schedule. You enter current fees based on your jurisdiction (e.g., USPTO fee table) and your filing strategy, and the calculator does the math accurately.

Provisional vs Non‑Provisional (Utility) Applications

A provisional application is a lower‑formality filing that can establish an early priority date and gives you 12 months to file a non‑provisional application claiming priority to it. It is not examined and cannot become a patent by itself. A utility (non‑provisional) application is examined and can mature into a patent.

Many startups use a provisional to “buy time” while refining the invention or testing the market. The tradeoff is that you pay for two filings (provisional plus utility) and you must ensure the provisional disclosure is complete enough to support later claims. Costs differ primarily in drafting complexity and government fees.

Cost Model and Formulas

Let:

• G = government filing fees (for your chosen application type)
• D = drafting and attorney preparation cost
• R = drawings/illustrations cost
• p = probability of at least one office action
• n = expected number of office action rounds (if they occur)
• C = average cost per office action response
• I = issue fee (if granted)
• m = probability of grant (planning assumption)

Upfront filing cost is simply G + D + R. Expected prosecution cost is modeled as p × n × C. Expected issue cost is m × I. Total expected cost to allowance is:

Maintenance fees, if applicable, are added as a lifecycle budget after grant.

Worked Example

An inventor files a U.S. utility application. Government fees (filing + search + examination) for their entity size total $900 (illustrative). Drafting and attorney prep is quoted at $9,500. Drawings cost $450. They assume an 85% chance of at least one office action, with an expected 2 rounds at $1,600 per round. Issue fee is $600, and they assume a 70% chance of grant.

Upfront: $900 + $9,500 + $450 = $10,850.

Expected prosecution: 0.85 × 2 × $1,600 = $2,720.

Expected issue: 0.70 × $600 = $420.

Expected cost to allowance: $10,850 + $2,720 + $420 = $13,990.

That number is not a guarantee, but it is a far more realistic budget than “it costs $900 to file.”

Comparison Table: Common Cost Drivers

Limitations and Assumptions

This estimator is a budgeting tool, not legal advice. It assumes:

• You enter current government fees for your jurisdiction and entity size.
• Office action probability and counts are scenario inputs; real outcomes vary by art unit and claim scope.
• Grant probability is a planning input, not a prediction.
• Post‑grant enforcement and litigation costs are not included.

Use the output to plan cash needs and to compare strategies (provisional-first vs direct utility, higher drafting investment vs lower initial cost). For important inventions, get a written quote from a qualified patent attorney and confirm government fees from the official fee schedule.