Contract review for freelancers
That 14-page client contract, read in 30 seconds.
For freelance designers, developers and small creative studios signing client MSAs and statements of work. Paste the contract you were just sent and see the clauses that cost you money — quoted exactly, explained plainly, with the wording to send back.
How it works
Paste the contract
The whole thing, or just the pages you were sent. It stays in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
We flag the clauses that cost you money
Twenty-three clause families across ownership, money, control and exit — plus the protections a contract should have and doesn't.
Copy the fix and send it back
Every finding comes with replacement wording you can paste into a reply. No redlining by hand.
What we check
23 clause families, in four groups — ownership, money, control and exit. Each one is a clause that quietly moves value from you to the client. We also flag the protections a contract should have and doesn’t.
Ownership
What you keep — and when.05IP / ownership
Who owns the work — and whether you hand it over before you're paid.
Work made for hire
They own the copyright by statute — not even an assignment you can undo.
Moral rights
You sign away credit, and the right to object when the work is altered.
Rejected concepts
They own the routes they turned down, and the files behind them.
Portfolio & credit
You can't show the work unless the client says yes. They can say no forever.
Money
What you get paid, and what you can lose.09Payment on approval
Paid when the client feels like it, not when you deliver.
Late payment
Net 60, no interest, no right to stop work.
Kill fee
What you're owed when the client walks mid-project. Usually nothing.
Liability cap
Unlimited exposure on a fixed fee. Sometimes one-sided.
Satisfaction refund
Deliver the work, still owe the money back because they weren't happy.
Originality warranty
You promise nothing infringes — including fonts and code you didn't write.
Insurance
A policy that insures the client, at your cost, before they pay you.
Set-off
They deduct from your invoice whatever they decide you owe them.
Fee-shifting
Chase an unpaid invoice, pay their lawyers as well as your own.
Control
Who decides, and who carries the risk.06Unlimited revisions
“Until the client is satisfied”, with no ceiling on rounds.
Scope creep
“Any other services reasonably required” — the margin eater.
Broad indemnity
You insure the client against everything, including their own mistakes.
Non-compete
A year locked out of your own market after one project.
Forced arbitration
A private arbitrator in their city, no jury, no class action.
Confidentiality
One-way, and it never expires — long after the project is over.
Exit
How you get out, and what it costs.03Auto-renewal
Renews itself unless you remember a narrow notice window.
Assignment
They can hand the contract — and you — to anyone. You can't.
Exit & refund
They leave free and you refund. The asymmetry is the clause.
This is a document-reading aid, not legal advice
Fineprint is a tool that reads text and applies a checklist. It is not a law firm and it is not your lawyer. Using it does not create a lawyer–client relationship, and nothing it outputs is a legal opinion. It can miss things — including things that matter a great deal in your situation. It is built to help you spot the usual traps before you sign, not to replace someone qualified who has read the whole deal. For anything big — equity, a five-figure contract, an unusual IP arrangement, anything with a client who has lawyers — get a lawyer.
Check your contract
Paste the text below. Nothing leaves your browser.
Tip: a full contract is usually 3,000–30,000 characters.
Your report will appear here.
Paste a contract above, or load the example to see what a report looks like — it’s a deliberately unfriendly design agreement, and it gets picked apart.