Cost benchmark
How much does it cost to patent an idea?
A provisional patent application costs $1,600 – $5,300 with an attorney. A full US utility patent from filing through grant typically totals $15,000 – $30,000. USPTO fees are the small part — as low as $400 for a micro entity — and attorney drafting is the rest.
These ranges come from patent attorney quotes collected across boutique and full-service IP firms, combined with the published USPTO fee schedule. Government fees change periodically — verify the current schedule before you budget to the dollar.
Estimate your patent budget
Pick a filing type, your USPTO entity status and who prepares it.
Filing type
Entity size
Who prepares it
Estimated budget range
$2,650 – $3,950
Includes $65 in USPTO micro entity fees. USPTO provisional filing fee (37 CFR 1.16(d)). Excludes prior-art searches, office actions and RCEs, issue and maintenance fees, and national-phase entries.
Legal costs make up 98% of the midpoint estimate ($3,300). Move the slider above to see how sensitive the total is to attorney fees.
Next stepThis is the standard first step. Confirm the idea isn't already claimed with a free patent search, then budget the utility filing 12 months out.
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Government fees from the USPTO fee schedule effective January 19, 2025 (last revised August 1, 2026).
Before you file
Find out if your idea is already patented. Our free prior art search takes a minute and it is the single cheapest way to avoid a five-figure filing on unpatentable ground.
Free prior art searchPatent cost by filing type
| Filing type | Attorney fees | USPTO fees | Typical total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provisional applicationLock a priority date and buy 12 months to validate demand. | $1,500 – $5,000 | $65 – $325 | $1,565 – $5,325 |
| Utility (non-provisional)The real patent. Filed within 12 months of the provisional. | $8,000 – $20,000 | $400 – $2,000 | $8,400 – $22,000 |
| Design patentProtects appearance only — useful for consumer hardware form factors. | $1,500 – $4,000 | $260 – $1,300 | $1,760 – $5,300 |
| PCT international filingKeeps foreign rights open for 30 months without picking countries. | $3,000 – $7,000 | $2,079 – $4,227 | $5,100 – $11,200 |
| Office actions / prosecutionExpect one to three rounds before allowance. | $2,000 – $10,000 | $0 – $1,500 | $2,000 – $11,500 |
| Issue & first maintenanceIssue fee at grant plus the 3.5-year maintenance fee. | $300 – $1,000 | $688 – $3,440 | $990 – $4,440 |
USPTO columns span micro-entity to large-entity rates. Attorney ranges assume US firms billing $300 – $600/hour.
USPTO fees by entity size
Small entities pay 60% less and micro entities 80% less than the standard rate. Claiming the right status is the easiest money a founder saves on filing.
| Fee | Micro entity | Small entity | Large entity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provisional filing | $65 | $130 | $325 |
| Utility filing + search + exam | $400 | $800 | $2,000 |
| Design filing + search + exam | $260 | $520 | $1,300 |
| Utility issue fee | $258 | $516 | $1,290 |
| Maintenance fee (3.5 yr) | $430 | $860 | $2,150 |
| RCE (1st request) | $300 | $600 | $1,500 |
USPTO fees as published in the official fee schedule effective January 19, 2025 (last revised August 1, 2026). Government fees change periodically — confirm current figures at uspto.gov before filing.
DIY versus a patent attorney
| File it yourself | With an attorney | |
|---|---|---|
| Provisional application | $65 – $725 | $1,565 – $5,325 |
| Utility application | $400 – $3,500 | $8,400 – $22,000 |
| Risk of unusable claims | High — narrow or unenforceable claims are common | Low |
| Time you spend | 40 – 100 hours | 5 – 15 hours |
| Realistic use case | Early provisional on a simple mechanical idea | Anything you intend to license, defend or raise on |
What drives the range
- Technology complexity and the number of independent claims
- Whether you commission a prior-art search and patentability opinion first
- Boutique firm versus large IP practice billing rates
- How many office actions the examiner issues before allowance
- How many countries you enter after a PCT filing
- Entity status — micro, small or large — applied to every government fee
A realistic budget timeline
- Month 0Prior-art search (free to $3,000) and a drafted provisional — $1,600 to $5,300.
- Months 1–12Validate demand. No further patent spend required.
- Month 12Utility filing — $8,400 to $22,000, or abandon with nothing further owed.
- Months 18–36Office actions — $2,000 to $12,000 across one to three rounds.
- At grantIssue fee, then maintenance fees at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years.
Common questions
How much does it cost to patent an idea?
In the US, a provisional application costs roughly $1,600 to $5,300 with an attorney, and a full utility patent typically totals $15,000 to $30,000 from filing through grant, including USPTO fees and one or two office actions. Filing a provisional yourself can cost as little as $65 in USPTO fees at micro-entity rates.
What is the cheapest way to protect an idea?
A self-prepared provisional application at micro-entity rates ($65) is the cheapest legal filing, but it only preserves a priority date for what you actually described. If the disclosure is thin, the later utility filing cannot claim it — which is why most founders spend $1,500 to $5,000 having a provisional drafted properly.
How much are USPTO fees versus attorney fees?
Government fees are the small part. A micro entity pays $400 in filing, search and examination fees for a utility application, while attorney drafting for the same application runs $8,000 to $20,000 depending on technical complexity and claim count.
Who qualifies as a micro or small entity?
Small entity status generally applies to businesses with fewer than 500 employees and gives a 60% fee reduction. Micro entity status adds income and prior-filing limits and gives an 80% reduction. Most pre-seed hardware startups qualify for at least small entity.
Should I do a patent search before filing?
Yes. A quick prior-art check costs nothing and regularly saves founders a five-figure filing on an idea that is already claimed. A formal attorney-run search and opinion costs $1,000 to $3,000.
How much does an international patent cost?
There is no single worldwide patent. A PCT filing costs roughly $5,100 to $11,200 and keeps options open for 30 months; each national phase entry afterwards adds roughly $4,000 to $12,000 per country including translation.
Budget the whole path to market
Patents are one line item. The free estimator applies benchmarks across development, prototyping, certification and manufacturing to your product.