Effective date: January 1, 2025 · Last updated: September 22, 2026
1. Acceptance of Terms
These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User," "you," or "your") and RateCards Inc., a Delaware corporation ("RateCards," "we," "us," or "our"), governing your access to and use of the RateCards platform available at ratecards.app and related services (collectively, the "Service").
By creating an account, clicking "I Agree," or otherwise accessing or using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and Acceptable Use Policy, each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The Service is designed for use by independent contractors, freelancers, and other self-employed individuals, as well as companies, agencies, firms, and other legal entities that engage or employ independent contractors or freelancers, whether on a direct, staffing, or platform basis. As used in these Terms, "User" includes any such individual or entity accessing the Service.
If you are accepting these Terms on behalf of a company, agency, or other legal entity, you represent that you have the authority to bind that entity to these Terms. If you do not have such authority, or if you do not agree with these Terms, you must not access or use the Service.
You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Service. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet this requirement.
If you are a resident of the State of California, please review Section 13 carefully, as it contains an arbitration agreement and class action waiver. You have the right to opt out of the arbitration agreement as described in Section 13.4.
2. Description of Service
RateCards provides a software-as-a-service platform that enables freelancers, agencies, and businesses to create, manage, customize, and share professional rate cards — structured documents that communicate service offerings, pricing, and terms to prospective or existing clients.
The Service includes, without limitation:
- Rate card creation and editing tools
- Storage and organization of rate card content
- Shareable link generation for rate card distribution
- Account management and team collaboration features (where available on paid plans)
- Analytics and engagement tracking on shared rate cards
- Public profile pages and directory listings that help clients discover Users
- Bookings and payments between Buyers and Sellers, processed by Stripe through Stripe Connect
Payments. RateCards is not a payment processor, money transmitter, or party to any Transaction between Users. Bookings and payments made through the Service are processed by Stripe, Inc. through Stripe Connect. Stripe, not RateCards, processes and holds funds and pays out to Sellers. RateCards charges a Service Fee on Transactions made through the Service. These payments are governed by our Payments Terms, which are incorporated into these Terms by reference. Users may also transact with their clients outside the Service; RateCards bears no responsibility for any transaction that does not take place through the Service.
No endorsement. RateCards does not endorse, certify, vet, screen, or guarantee any User, or the services, pricing, qualifications, or credentials described in any rate card. Rate card content is created solely by Users, and RateCards makes no representation as to its accuracy or completeness. Any engagement of a User's services, and any agreement relating thereto, is solely between that User and their client; RateCards is not a party to, and bears no responsibility for, any such engagement or agreement. This paragraph applies to all persons who access rate card content, including recipients of Shareable Links who do not hold a RateCards account.
Relationship of the parties. Users of the Service are independent businesses acting on their own behalf. Nothing in these Terms, and nothing arising from any User's use of the Service, creates an employment, agency, partnership, joint venture, or franchise relationship between any User and RateCards. Users are not employees, agents, or representatives of RateCards, have no authority to bind RateCards, and are not entitled to any employee benefits from RateCards. RateCards does not supervise, direct, or control the performance of any User's services, does not set Users' prices, hours, or working conditions, and makes no determination as to the classification — as independent contractor, employee, or otherwise — of any relationship between a User and their client or any other third party. Each User and their client are solely responsible for determining the nature and classification of their own relationship and for complying with all laws applicable to it.
3. Account Registration
To access the Service, you must register for an account. When registering, you agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information and to keep this information up to date.
You are responsible for safeguarding your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You must notify RateCards immediately at legal@ratecards.app if you become aware of any unauthorized use of your account.
You may not:
- Create more than one personal account without our express written permission
- Use another person's account without authorization
- Share your account credentials with third parties
- Create an account if you have been previously suspended or terminated from the Service
RateCards reserves the right to refuse registration or cancel accounts at its discretion.
4. User Content & Ownership
4.1 Your Ownership
You retain full ownership of all content, data, rate cards, text, pricing information, branding, and other materials you create, upload, or input into the Service ("User Content"). These Terms do not transfer any intellectual property rights in your User Content to RateCards.
4.2 License to RateCards
By submitting User Content to the Service, you grant RateCards a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, host, display, transmit, and reproduce your User Content solely as necessary to provide and improve the Service and as described in Sections 4.3 and 4.5. This license does not permit RateCards to sell, license, or disclose your User Content to third parties except as set forth in our Privacy Policy.
4.3 Aggregate Data
RateCards may create anonymized, aggregated, and de-identified data derived from User Content, Transactions, and usage patterns ("Aggregate Data"). Aggregate Data will not identify you or your clients individually. For purposes of these Terms, "de-identified" means data that has been processed in accordance with the standards set forth under applicable law, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), such that it cannot reasonably be used to identify any individual or entity.
RateCards may use Aggregate Data to: (a) operate, improve, and develop the Service and new features, including pricing guidance and rate-benchmarking tools; and (b) publish statistics, benchmarks, market-rate reports, and similar insights (for example, the typical rate range for a trade in a metropolitan area) on RateCards channels and in press, research, and marketing materials. Any Aggregate Data that RateCards publishes will be derived from at least ten (10) distinct Users and will not identify you, your clients, or your individual rates.
RateCards will not sell, license, or transfer Aggregate Data sets to third parties for their commercial use. Publishing summary statistics and insights under clause (b) is not a sale, license, or transfer of Aggregate Data.
RateCards may use Aggregate Data to improve or train internal artificial intelligence or machine learning models. RateCards will not use identifiable User Content to train external AI or ML models offered by third parties without first giving you a clear opportunity to opt out. You may opt out of having data derived from your account used for any AI or ML model training at any time, using the AI training setting in your account settings or by contacting privacy@ratecards.app.
4.4 Your Representations
You represent and warrant that: (a) you own or have the necessary rights to all User Content; (b) your User Content does not infringe any third-party intellectual property, privacy, or other rights; and (c) your User Content complies with our Acceptable Use Policy.
4.5 Promotional Use of Public Content
Some User Content is public by design, such as your public profile page, directory listings, and rate cards you publish to your profile (collectively, "Public Content"). You grant RateCards a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to reproduce, display, and distribute your Public Content on channels that RateCards owns or operates, to promote the Service and help clients discover Users. Public Content includes your business name, trade, service area, profile image, and published rates. These channels include ratecards.app, RateCards social media accounts, RateCards email newsletters, and paid advertising for the Service. RateCards may resize, crop, or reformat Public Content for display. RateCards will not change its substance or pricing, and will not present it in a way that suggests you endorse RateCards.
You may opt out at any time using the "Feature my profile in RateCards marketing" setting in your account settings or by emailing privacy@ratecards.app. Within 30 days of your opt-out, RateCards will stop using your Public Content in new promotional materials and remove it from RateCards-controlled web pages and active advertisements. RateCards is not required to recall materials already distributed, such as sent emails. This license ends when you delete your account or make the content private, subject to the same 30-day wind-down.
Testimonials and case studies require your consent. RateCards will not publish quotes, reviews, testimonials, case studies, or other statements attributed to you by name without your separate, express consent, which may be given in writing, by email, or in-app. RateCards will also not use your name or likeness to suggest that you endorse RateCards without that consent. Any compensation or incentive connected with a testimonial will be disclosed as required by the FTC's Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
This Section does not apply to content you have not made public. That includes private rate cards, rate cards shared only through Shareable Links, client information, messages, and Transaction details.
5. Shareable Links
The Service allows you to generate publicly accessible links ("Shareable Links") to your rate cards for distribution to clients or other recipients. You acknowledge and agree that:
- Any person or entity who obtains a Shareable Link may access the content of that rate card without authentication
- You are solely responsible for determining what content is appropriate to share and to whom
- RateCards is not responsible for unauthorized access to Shareable Links once they have been generated and distributed by you
- You may disable or revoke Shareable Links at any time through your account settings
- You are responsible for keeping Shareable Links confidential and for taking reasonable steps to prevent their distribution to unintended recipients
RateCards may implement access controls and link expiration features on paid plans. You are responsible for configuring these features appropriately.
6. Acceptable Use
Your use of the Service is subject to our Acceptable Use Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. Violation of the Acceptable Use Policy may result in immediate suspension or termination of your account.
7. Subscription & Billing
7.1 Starter Plan — Free Trial
RateCards offers a Starter plan with a 6-month free trial for new users. No payment information is required during the trial period. After the 6-month trial, the Starter plan bills at $7/month (monthly) or $5/month ($60/year) on an annual basis. The Starter plan includes up to 15 rate cards, AI profile tools, and a 5.5% service fee on transactions.
7.2 Paid Plans — Solo & Business
RateCards offers two paid subscription tiers: Solo ($29/month or $24/month billed annually at $288/year) and Business ($149/month or $119/month billed annually at $1,428/year). Solo subscribers receive a 20% reduction on service fees (4.4%). Business subscribers receive a 30% reduction on service fees (3.85%). Paid plans include all Starter plan features plus additional tools as described on the pricing page. A minimum service fee of $1.00 per side applies to any transaction under $20.00 — $1.00 deducted from the seller's payout and $1.00 added to the buyer's total, $2.00 in aggregate.
7.3 Payment Processing
All billing for paid plans is processed through third-party payment processors. RateCards does not store your full credit card number, bank account details, or other sensitive payment credentials. Your use of payment processing is governed by the applicable processor's terms of service.
7.4 Price Changes
RateCards reserves the right to adjust, increase, or otherwise modify subscription pricing at its sole discretion as part of the ordinary course of business, including to reflect increased costs of service delivery, expanded features, or market conditions. The following notice and opt-out procedures apply:
7.4(a) Monthly Subscribers
For users billed on a monthly cycle, RateCards will provide no less than 30 days' written notice of any price increase, delivered by email to the address associated with your account and by in-app notification. The new price will take effect at your next billing cycle following the expiration of the notice period. You may cancel your subscription at any time before the new price takes effect by following the process in Section 8; if you do not cancel before the effective date, your continued use of the Service constitutes acceptance of the new pricing.
7.4(b) Annual Subscribers
For users billed on an annual cycle, RateCards will provide no less than 45 days' written notice of any price increase before your annual renewal date. The new pricing will apply at the start of your next annual renewal term, not mid-cycle. You may cancel your subscription at any time before your renewal date; if you do not cancel before renewal, your payment of the renewal invoice (or its automatic charge) constitutes acceptance of the new annual pricing.
7.4(c) Opt-Out Window
In all cases, the period between notice of a price change and the effective date of that change constitutes your opt-out window. To opt out, you must cancel your subscription before the effective date pursuant to Section 8. RateCards will not issue refunds or credits for billing periods already in progress at the time of cancellation.
7.4(d) Grandfathered Rates
RateCards may, at its discretion, offer grandfathered pricing to existing subscribers for a defined period. Any grandfathered rate commitment, if made, will be communicated in writing and will specify its expiration date, after which standard pricing will apply with the notice procedures described above.
7.4(e) Free Tier
RateCards reserves the right to modify, restrict, or discontinue the free tier at any time. Users on the free tier will receive at least 30 days' notice before any reduction in free tier features, during which time they may export their content or upgrade to a paid plan.
7.5 Taxes
You are responsible for all applicable taxes associated with your use of the Service, except for taxes based on RateCards' net income.
7.6 Service Levels
RateCards will use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain Service availability. RateCards does not guarantee any specific uptime percentage for any tier of the Service, including paid plans. Any Service Level Agreement (SLA) commitments, if separately offered in writing as part of an enterprise or custom order form, are governed solely by that order form and supersede this section. Scheduled maintenance windows will be communicated with reasonable advance notice where practicable.
8. Cancellation & Refunds
Please see our Refund & Cancellation Policy for full details. In summary: you may cancel your paid subscription at any time; access to paid features continues through the end of the current billing period; and we do not provide prorated refunds for partial billing periods except in limited circumstances described in that policy.
9. Intellectual Property
9.1 RateCards Ownership
The Service, including its software, user interface, design, branding, trademarks, logos, and documentation (excluding User Content), is owned by RateCards Inc. and protected by applicable intellectual property laws. Nothing in these Terms grants you any right, title, or interest in the Service beyond the limited license necessary to use it.
9.2 Feedback
If you provide RateCards with suggestions, ideas, or feedback about the Service ("Feedback"), you grant RateCards a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free license to use and incorporate such Feedback into the Service without any obligation to you. This license does not permit RateCards to publish your Feedback attributed to you by name, or to use it as a testimonial, without your consent under Section 4.5.
9.3 Restrictions
You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of the Service, nor may you reverse-engineer or attempt to extract the source code of the Service, unless permitted by applicable law.
9.4 Copyright Infringement Claims
If you believe any content on the Service infringes your copyright, notify us at copyright@ratecards.app, including the URL of the allegedly infringing content, identification of the copyrighted work, and your contact information. We will review and, where appropriate, remove or disable access to infringing content.
10. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability
10.1 Disclaimer of Warranties
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. RATECARDS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.
10.2 Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL RATECARDS, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, OR LOSS OF GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE.
RATECARDS' TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, WILL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL FEES PAID BY YOU TO RATECARDS IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM. FOR FREE-TIER USERS WHO HAVE PAID NO FEES, RATECARDS' LIABILITY SHALL NOT EXCEED TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS ($250.00). YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE FREE TIER IS PROVIDED WITHOUT CHARGE AND THAT THIS LIMITATION REFLECTS A FAIR AND REASONABLE ALLOCATION OF RISK GIVEN THE ABSENCE OF ANY FEES PAID.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, NOTHING IN THESE TERMS LIMITS RATECARDS' LIABILITY FOR (A) FRAUD OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT, (B) GROSS NEGLIGENCE, OR (C) ANY LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.
10.3 Essential Basis
The parties acknowledge that the limitations of liability in this Section reflect a reasonable allocation of risk and are an essential basis of the bargain between the parties. RateCards would not enter into these Terms without these limitations.
11. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless RateCards Inc. and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and successors from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or in any way connected with: (a) your access to or use of the Service; (b) your User Content; (c) your violation of these Terms; or (d) your violation of any rights of a third party.
12. Termination
12.1 By You
You may terminate your account at any time by following the account deletion process in your account settings or by contacting support@ratecards.app. Upon termination, your right to use the Service will immediately cease.
12.2 By RateCards
RateCards may suspend or terminate your access to the Service for violations of these Terms or our Acceptable Use Policy. Except in cases of material breach, illegal activity, repeated minor violations of these Terms or the Acceptable Use Policy, or conduct that poses an immediate risk to the security or integrity of the Service or other users, RateCards will provide at least 30 days' advance written notice before terminating a paid account, during which time you may export your User Content using the account export tools available in your account settings.
In cases of material breach or where immediate action is necessary to protect the Service or other users, RateCards may suspend access immediately and without prior notice, provided that RateCards will notify you of such suspension promptly thereafter. RateCards may also discontinue the Service entirely with at least 60 days' advance notice to paid users, during which time data export functionality will remain available.
12.3 Effect of Termination
Upon termination for any reason: (a) your license to use the Service terminates; (b) RateCards may delete your User Content in accordance with our data retention policies; and (c) Sections 4.1, 9, 10, 11, 13, and any other provisions that by their nature should survive, will survive termination.
13. Dispute Resolution
13.1 Informal Resolution
Before initiating any formal dispute proceeding, you agree to contact RateCards at legal@ratecards.app and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days.
13.2 Binding Arbitration
If informal resolution fails, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, except as stated otherwise herein. The arbitration will be conducted in Delaware, or via videoconference if you prefer.
If you are a resident of the State of California or another jurisdiction where this arbitration agreement is unenforceable under applicable consumer protection law, the mandatory arbitration provision in this Section 13.2 shall not apply to you, and disputes shall instead be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California. RateCards does not waive its right to enforce arbitration in jurisdictions where such agreements are enforceable.
13.3 Class Action Waiver
YOU AND RATECARDS EACH WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION, OR ANY OTHER REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. All disputes must be brought on an individual basis only. If a court of competent jurisdiction finds this class action waiver unenforceable as applied to a particular claim, then that claim shall be severed from arbitration and may proceed in court, but the class action waiver shall remain in full force and effect as to all other claims to the maximum extent permitted by law.
13.4 Opt-Out
You may opt out of the arbitration agreement within 30 days of first creating your RateCards account by sending written notice to legal@ratecards.app with the subject line "Arbitration Opt-Out." If you opt out, disputes will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Delaware.
13.5 Governing Law
These Terms and any disputes arising hereunder are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
13.6 Exceptions
Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement of intellectual property rights.
14. Changes to Terms
RateCards reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. For material changes — including those that reduce your rights or increase your obligations — we will provide at least 30 days' advance notice by email or by posting a prominent notice within the Service.
Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of any modification constitutes your acceptance of the modified Terms. If you do not agree to the modified Terms, you must stop using the Service and may close your account.
The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page reflects when these Terms were most recently revised.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, changes to subscription pricing are governed exclusively by Section 7.4, which specifies separate notice periods and opt-out procedures applicable to billing changes.
15. Data Security & Breach Notification
RateCards implements and maintains reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect User Content and personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However, no security measure is perfect or impenetrable, and RateCards cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will never defeat our security measures.
15.1 Breach Notification
In the event of a confirmed security breach that involves your personal information, RateCards will notify you in accordance with applicable law, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California Civil Code § 1798.82, and any other applicable state or federal breach notification statutes. Such notice will be provided by email to the address associated with your account, and/or by prominent notice within the Service, within the timeframes required by applicable law.
15.2 User Responsibilities
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials and for promptly notifying RateCards of any suspected unauthorized access to your account. You agree to use strong, unique passwords and to enable any multi-factor authentication features made available by RateCards.
15.3 Sensitive Data
You agree not to upload or store in the Service any data that is subject to heightened regulatory protection, including but not limited to Protected Health Information (PHI) under HIPAA, payment card data subject to PCI-DSS, or government-issued identification numbers, unless you have separately entered into a written agreement with RateCards that addresses such data.
16. Contact
For questions about these Terms, please contact us at:
RateCards Inc.
Legal Department
legal@ratecards.app
17. GDPR & Data Processing Addendum
17.1 Applicability
This Section applies to users who are established in the European Union or European Economic Area ("EU/EEA"), or who upload or process personal data relating to EU/EEA residents through the Service, to the extent that such processing is subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 ("GDPR").
17.2 Roles
For the purposes of GDPR, you (the User) act as the data controller in respect of any personal data you upload or process using the Service. RateCards acts as a data processor on your behalf, processing such data solely in accordance with your instructions as set out in these Terms and any applicable Data Processing Addendum.
17.3 Data Processing Addendum
Where required by GDPR Article 28, RateCards will enter into a Data Processing Addendum ("DPA") with you upon request. The DPA governs the subject matter, duration, nature, and purpose of processing, the type of personal data processed, and the categories of data subjects. To request a DPA, contact legal@ratecards.app. In the event of any conflict between the DPA and these Terms with respect to the processing of personal data subject to GDPR, the DPA shall prevail.
17.4 International Transfers
RateCards is based in the United States. If you are located in the EU/EEA, the transfer of your personal data to RateCards constitutes a transfer to a third country. RateCards relies on appropriate safeguards for such transfers, including Standard Contractual Clauses ("SCCs") as approved by the European Commission, which are incorporated into the DPA available upon request.
17.5 Your Rights
If you are located in the EU/EEA, you may have rights under GDPR including the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict processing of, or port your personal data. To exercise these rights, contact privacy@ratecards.app. RateCards will respond to verified requests within the timeframes required by applicable law.
17.6 EU Representative
RateCards is in the process of designating an EU representative as required by GDPR Article 27. Until such designation is confirmed, queries from EU/EEA residents may be directed to privacy@ratecards.app.