How Much Does a Patent Cost?
Updated November 13, 2026
A patent can cost as little as about $65 or as much as $30,000 and up, depending entirely on how you file and who does the work. The government fees are small; the attorney work is where the money goes. This guide lays out the cheap self-filed route, what an attorney adds, and the maintenance fees that keep a patent alive, so you can decide on purpose. It's education, not legal advice.
The government fees are the small part
Micro entity: a USPTO fee discount status for very small filers (broadly, low income and few prior filings) that cuts government fees to the lowest tier. "Small entity" is the mid tier; "large entity" is full price.
The USPTO's own fees are modest, especially at micro-entity status. Here are the headline numbers (micro entity, filed electronically):
| Filing | Micro-entity USPTO fee |
|---|---|
| Provisional application | ~$65 |
| Utility: filing + search + examination | ~$400 |
| Utility through issue (adds the issue fee) | ~$658 |
| Design through issue (no maintenance) | ~$520 |
These are the fees you pay the government. They are not the main cost for most people, because drafting a strong application is skilled work.
The cheap route: a self-filed provisional
The least expensive path to protection is a provisional you file yourself in the USPTO Patent Center. It gives you a filing date and the right to say "patent pending," and you then have 12 months to file the full application. At micro-entity status the government fee is around $65. A provisional isn't examined and doesn't need formal claims, which is what makes it the forgiving do-it-yourself route. If money is tight, the USPTO Pro Bono Program and law-school clinics can prepare filings for people who qualify.
Drawings are a big part of what makes a filing expensive, and this is where modern AI tools change the math: you can start from your concept render, generate cleaner multi-angle drawings, and have them redrawn to the USPTO's formal conventions (black line art, uniform line weight, unclaimed parts in broken lines), which would otherwise cost hundreds of dollars per sheet from a draftsperson.
The attorney route: where the money goes
Hiring a patent attorney buys expertise that materially affects whether your patent is strong and enforceable, and it is the bulk of the cost. Typical market ranges:
| Service | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Provisional drafting | ~$1,500 to $6,000 |
| Utility drafting and filing | ~$5,000 to $15,000+ |
| Prior-art search | ~$300 to $4,000 |
| Each office-action response | ~$1,500 to $4,000 |
| Total attorney-assisted utility budget | ~$10,000 to $30,000+ |
Two or three rounds of office actions (the examiner's rejections and your responses) are normal, which is why the total climbs. A registered agent is often cheaper than an attorney for the drafting work. If you hire, treat it as a long relationship: a good practitioner becomes a partner you call with every new idea.
The ongoing cost: maintenance fees
A utility patent lasts up to 20 years from filing, but only if you pay maintenance fees at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years after grant. For a micro entity those total about $2,894 (around $14,470 undiscounted), and they rise over time, so a patent you stop valuing can simply be allowed to lapse. Design patents have no maintenance fees.
So, what should you budget?
If you're bootstrapping and want a filing date while you validate, budget around $65 to a few hundred dollars for a self-filed provisional. If the idea is valuable and defensible enough to justify real protection, budget $10,000 to $30,000 for an attorney-assisted utility patent over its prosecution. Decide which based on how much the protection is actually worth to the business. See whether a patent is worth it at all and how this fits your total product cost.
Working on your own product? The idea-to-shelf program is the step-by-step system behind these guides, from idea and prototype through manufacturing and launch.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a patent cost?
- It ranges enormously. A provisional you file yourself can cost as little as about $65 in USPTO fees at micro-entity status. A full utility patent through issue is roughly $658 in micro-entity government fees, but with an attorney the total commonly runs $10,000 to $30,000 or more once drafting and office actions are included. A design patent is cheaper and has no maintenance fees.
- What's the cheapest way to get patent protection?
- File a provisional yourself in the USPTO Patent Center. It gives you a filing date and 'patent pending' and costs about $65 at micro-entity status, buying 12 months to file the full application. The USPTO Pro Bono Program and law-school clinics can also prepare filings for people who qualify.
- How much does a patent attorney cost?
- Attorneys often bill a few hundred dollars an hour. Expect roughly $1,500 to $6,000 to draft a provisional, $5,000 to $15,000+ for a full utility application, and $1,500 to $4,000 for each office-action response. Two or three rounds of office actions are normal, so a full attorney-assisted utility budget is commonly $10,000 to $30,000 or more.
- Are there ongoing fees after a patent is granted?
- Yes, for utility patents. You pay three maintenance fees at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years after grant, totaling about $2,894 for a micro entity (around $14,470 undiscounted). Design patents have no maintenance fees.
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