Interior designer fees IndiaDesign practice India
Interior Designer Fees in India: Per Square Foot, Percentage or Lump Sum?
For practising designers: per sq ft, percentage and lump-sum fees worked through on one flat, how scope creep hits each, GST on design fees and stage-linked payments.
Published on 10/16/20269 min read
About the numbers below: the worked example is illustrative. Its hours, ₹1,000 studio hour, ₹250 per sq ft and 12.5 per cent show how each model behaves; they are not market rates or benchmarks. GST, the law and the Bureau of Indian Standards schedule come from the official sources cited.
There is no single right way to charge for interior design in India. Per square foot is easiest to sell, a percentage of project cost tracks the size of the job, and a lump sum gives the client certainty. Each quietly moves risk between you and the client. What matters more is whether the fee covers the hours the project takes, and whether your proposal says where the scope ends.
This guide is for practising designers and architects. For the homeowner's view, our guide to architect and interior designer fees covers it, and our room-by-room interior cost guide covers execution budgets.
Start from your hours, not from a rate you heard
Every fee model expresses one number: what the project costs your studio to deliver, plus a margin. Work that out first.
The illustrative project: a 3BHK flat with 1,400 sq ft of carpet area, a full fit-out with kitchen, wardrobes, ceilings, lighting and some loose furniture, and an execution budget of ₹28 lakh. That is ₹2,000 per sq ft, inside the mid band in our room-by-room guide.
Estimated studio hours for design and site supervision:
- Brief, site measurement and survey: 16 hours
- Concept and furniture layout: 40 hours
- Design development and 3D views: 64 hours
- Working drawings, specifications and BOQ: 80 hours
- Site visits: 16 visits of 3 hours, so 48 hours
- Vendor coordination, approvals and snag list: 32 hours
That is 280 hours. Your hourly cost is your monthly studio cost (salaries including your own, rent, software, travel) divided by the hours your team actually bills, which is fewer than the hours it works. Assume that comes to ₹1,000 an hour. The project then costs ₹2.8 lakh to deliver, and a 25 per cent margin takes the fee to ₹3.5 lakh.
Expressed in the three models, the same ₹3.5 lakh is:
| Model | How it is quoted | Fee on day one |
|---|---|---|
| Lump sum | ₹3.5 lakh for a defined scope | ₹3.5 lakh |
| Per sq ft | ₹250 per sq ft of carpet area | ₹3.5 lakh |
| Percentage | 12.5% of the cost of works | ₹3.5 lakh |
On signing day all three are identical. They diverge when the project changes, and interiors always change.
What happens when the project moves
The client upgrades. Halfway through design, the client moves to stone, veneer and imported hardware, and the budget rises to ₹40 lakh. Detailing and sourcing take you to about 320 hours, a cost of ₹3.2 lakh. The lump sum and per sq ft fees stay at ₹3.5 lakh. The percentage fee rises to ₹5 lakh. Good for you, but the client may wonder whose benefit the marble was for.
The client cuts back. After the concept is approved, the client drops the loose furniture and one bedroom, and the budget falls to ₹20 lakh. Most of the design work is already done, so your hours only fall to about 260, a cost of ₹2.6 lakh. The percentage fee falls to ₹2.5 lakh: you are now paid less than the project costs you. The other two models hold at ₹3.5 lakh.
Scope creep with no cap. The budget does not change, but the kitchen goes through three extra rounds of revisions and contractor delays add ten site visits. Hours climb to 360, a cost of ₹3.6 lakh. Every model now loses money, because none is linked to hours. Only the proposal can fix this.
When each model protects you, and when it hurts
Per square foot
Protects you when the scope is a whole home, because a client cannot shrink the fee by spending less on materials. It is also the format clients expect.
Hurts you when the area and the work do not match. A 2,400 sq ft flat does not take 70 per cent more design time than a 1,400 sq ft one with the same kitchen. A kitchen-and-wardrobes-only job priced on the whole flat looks overpriced to the client. And the rate is meaningless unless you name the area: carpet, built-up and super built-up area can differ widely for the same flat, as our carpet area explainer shows. Always write "per sq ft of carpet area" and state which rooms are in scope.
Percentage of project cost
Protects you on large projects that grow, and on projects where the budget is genuinely unknown at the start.
Hurts you when the budget falls after the design is done, and it hands the client a reason to doubt your specifications. It also needs a definition of "project cost": does it include loose furniture the client buys directly, appliances, civil work, GST? If you use it, borrow the public-sector safeguard. The Bureau of Indian Standards, empanelling firms for interior works in 2014, applied the Council of Architecture scale at 7.5 per cent of the estimated or the actual cost of works, "whichever is lower", halved for repetitive interior work on the same site (BIS expression of interest). Capping at the estimate removes any suspicion that you profit from overspending. The 7.5 per cent is a 2014 government reference, not a market rate.
Lump sum
Protects you from budget swings in both directions and is the easiest fee for a client to approve. It also lets you price on value rather than area: a small, intricate home may deserve more than a large, simple one.
Hurts you most when the scope is loose: every extra request comes out of your margin.
Hourly and consultation fees
Hourly billing rarely suits the main fee for a home, because clients cannot budget for it. It suits everything outside the main fee. Charge a fixed consultation fee for a site visit and advice, an hourly rate for work after the approved revisions, and a per-visit fee for site visits beyond the agreed number. Put these rates in the proposal, so an extra request becomes a quote, not an argument.
For architects who also do interiors
If you are registered with the Council of Architecture, the Architects (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 1989 require you, in private practice, to inform the client of the Council's conditions of engagement and scale of charges and agree that these form the basis of the appointment. They also bar you from preparing designs in competition with other architects for a client without payment or for a reduced fee (COA, Professional Conduct Regulations). So no free concepts in a pitch against other architects. The Indian Institute of Interior Designers' public code of conduct covers competence, confidentiality and advertising and does not set fees.
Presenting the fee so it holds
Whichever model you choose, the proposal protects you. Put these in writing before work starts:
- Scope by stage. Brief, concept, design development, working drawings and BOQ, execution support, handover. Name the deliverables at each.
- Rooms and area in scope, with the area measure.
- Revisions. For example, two rounds per stage. After a stage is approved, changes are billed at your hourly rate.
- Site visits. A number of scheduled visits within the city, a fee for extra visits, and outstation travel at actuals. The BIS schedule above, for instance, paid boarding and lodging of ₹4,000 a day and train fare for visits more than 100 km away.
- Exclusions. Structural, MEP and lighting consultants, renders beyond an agreed number, shopping trips for loose furniture, and authority or society approvals.
- GST, stated separately. See below.
- Payment stages, termination and validity. What is payable if the client stops after the concept, and how long the quote holds.
Our client-facing guide to contract clauses to read carefully shows how your terms will be read.
GST on design fees
Interior design is classified under service code 998391, "specialty design services including interior design" (GST Council, scheme of classification of services). It falls under heading 9983, other professional, technical and business services, which attracts 9 per cent central tax (Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate), as amended) plus the matching state tax: 18 per cent in all. The September 2025 rate changes touched only petroleum-related services under 9983 (PIB, 56th GST Council). On the ₹3.5 lakh example, GST adds ₹63,000, so the client pays ₹4.13 lakh.
If your studio also executes the fit-out, supplying materials and labour, that is usually a composite works contract, also at 18 per cent (GST Council, works contract services). Keep the design fee as its own line either way.
Registration is required once aggregate turnover in a financial year exceeds ₹20 lakh, or ₹10 lakh in special category states (CGST Act, section 22). Below that, do not add GST to your invoice: an unregistered person may not collect it (section 32). Your CA should confirm how this applies to your studio.
Payment milestones
Link each payment to a deliverable, not a date, and keep the money ahead of your hours: if the client stops after the concept, you should already be paid for it.
The BIS schedule is public: 30 per cent on final design, 50 per cent by working drawings and contractor appointment, then 60, 75 and 100 per cent as the work reaches 40 per cent, 70 per cent and completion with as-built drawings. It has no advance at signing; on private work, ask for one. In the illustrative schedule, 70 per cent is paid by the time the drawings are issued, because that is where about 200 of the 280 hours sit.
Frequently asked questions
How much should an interior designer charge per sq ft in India?
Work it out: hours times your hourly cost, plus a margin, divided by the carpet area in scope. Our illustrative case gives ₹250; your costs will differ. We found no official fee scale for interior designers.
Is a percentage fee better than per sq ft?
It pays more when budgets grow and less when they shrink. If you use it, define project cost and cap it at the estimate.
Do interior designers charge GST on their fee?
Yes, once registered: 18 per cent. Registration is compulsory above ₹20 lakh turnover a year (₹10 lakh in special category states); unregistered designers must not charge it.
How do I stop scope creep on a lump-sum fee?
Cap revisions and site visits in the proposal, price anything beyond them, and quote in writing before doing extra work.
Should I give a free design concept to win a client?
It gives away your most valuable stage. Registered architects pitching against other architects are barred from it by the COA conduct regulations.
Your work sells your fee better than any rate card. Put your interior projects on MOA, free, and see how other interior designers on MOA present theirs.
Sources
- Bureau of Indian Standards: Expression of interest for empanelment of architectural firms for interior works (2014), scale of charges and schedule of payment (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- Council of Architecture: Architects (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 1989 (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- Indian Institute of Interior Designers: Code of Conduct (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- GST Council: Scheme of classification of services (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- GST Council: Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate), as amended (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- PIB: Recommendations of the 56th meeting of the GST Council, 3 Sep 2025 (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- GST Council: Works contract services (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- CBIC: CGST Act 2017, section 22, persons liable for registration (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- CBIC: CGST Act 2017, section 32, prohibition of unauthorised collection of tax (accessed 16 Oct 2026)