PATENT CALCULATOR

How much does a patent cost?

Estimated fees based on data from 2,000+ patent attorneys across the US.

Estimates from 2,000+ U.S. patent attorneys.

Patent typeStart here
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Estimated Cost
Attorney fees$4,990
USPTO government fees$60
Total$5,050
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Understanding Patent Costs

What Goes Into the Cost of a Patent?

Patent costs break down into two parts: what you pay the attorney and what you pay the government. The attorney fee makes up over 90% of fees. Their fee covers drafting the patent application, writing claims that define what your invention protects, and formal submission to the USPTO. It often also includes drafting of technical drawings that illustrate your invention.

The government fees (USPTO filing fees) are fixed and published. They depend on your entity size. Individual inventors and small companies pay significantly less than large corporations.

Provisional vs. Non-Provisional: Which Should You File?

A provisional patent application (PPA) is a placeholder. It secures your filing date and gives you "patent pending" status for 12 months. During that time, you can manufacture, test, and refine your product. When you are ready, you convert it to a full non-provisional application.

A non-provisional patent application (NPA) is the real thing. It goes into the USPTO examination queue and eventually gets reviewed by an examiner. If approved, you get a patent.

The conventional wisdom: file a provisional first if your product is still in development. Go straight to non-provisional if your product is finalized and ready for market. Filing a provisional buys you time, but it also means you will eventually pay for both the provisional and the conversion to non-provisional.

Why Costs Vary by Invention Type

A simple mechanical product costs less to patent than a complex software system. The reason is straightforward: more complex inventions require more pages of description, more technical drawings, and more carefully drafted claims. A patent attorney billing flat fee will price accordingly.

Software and AI patents also face additional hurdles. The USPTO has stricter eligibility requirements for software under Section 101, which means the attorney needs to draft claims carefully to avoid rejection on abstract-idea grounds. This takes more skill and more time.

Entity Size and USPTO Fees

The USPTO offers steep discounts for small filers. Micro entities (individual inventors earning under $230K with no more than 4 prior patent filings) pay 75% less than large companies. Small entities (under 500 employees) pay 50% less. These discounts apply to every USPTO fee: filing, search, examination, and issuance.

How to Reduce Your Patent Costs

  • File provisional first. A well-drafted provisional costs less than a non-provisional and gives you a year to decide if the full patent is worth pursuing.
  • Check your entity status. Many individual inventors qualify for micro entity rates and do not realize it. The savings are substantial.
  • Get multiple quotes. Attorney fees vary significantly. Our directory lists 2,552 patent professionals across all 50 states.
  • Ask about flat fees. Flat fee arrangements are more predictable than hourly billing. You know the total cost upfront.

Why Flat Fees Are Better for Inventors

Some patent attorneys still bill by the hour. One major problem with hourly billing is that it creates an incentive to add time to the work. Another problem is the uncertainty it creates as inventors are left with an estimate from their attorney, but the final price often ends up at the high end or higher than the estimate.

Flat fee arrangements align the attorney's incentive with yours: get the work done well, at an agreed price. You know the cost before you start. Made Patents is pushing for price transparency across the patent industry. We believe every inventor deserves to know what they will pay before they hire an attorney.

If a firm insists on hourly billing and refuses to quote a flat fee, treat that as a signal. The best firms in our directory publish their prices openly. We give those firms a transparency badge in our listings because they are doing what the rest of the industry should have been doing all along.

What Happens After You File

For a provisional application, no action from the USPTO is taken. You are 'patent pending' for 12 months. The clock is ticking for you to convert to a non-provisional before the provisional expires. You've essentially bought yourself 1 year to manufacture your product while maintaining protection, in theory, as long as you eventually apply and are granted a non-provisional patent for your invention.

For a non-provisional application, the USPTO assigns an examiner. Under normal processing, the first office action (the examiner's initial review) comes about 18-24 months after filing. If you pay for Track One prioritized examination, which we believe is worth the $900 fee for micro inventors if you can afford it, that timeline shrinks to 6-12 months.

Most applications receive at least one office action requiring a response. Each response costs $1,000-$6,000 in attorney fees depending on complexity. Budget for 1-3 office action responses in your total patent cost.

Detailed Cost Guides by Patent Type