Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
This question is about list of skills.
Hard costs vs. Soft costs
The difference between hard costs and soft costs is that hard costs apply to any type of expenses that occur in direct relation to the physical building or creation of a project or product, while soft costs are indirect expenses that are intangible but are still related in some way to the creation of a project or product.
Hard costs are tangible expenses that relate to physical items. Some examples of hard costs include materials, equipment, and labor. Hard costs are also referred to as direct costs because they have a direct impact on the development and creation of a particular project, product, or the delivery of a specific service.
Soft costs are intangible and indirect expenses, and that makes them inherently harder to quantify. These expenses might or might not be directly tied to a project, product, or service. Some examples of soft costs include consulting fees, marketing campaigns, employee training, administrative services, insurance costs, and legal fees.
Key Takeaways:
| Hard costs | Soft costs |
|---|---|
| Hard costs are tangible expenses that relate to physical items. | Soft costs are intangible and indirect expenses, and that makes them inherently harder to quantify. |
| Some examples of hard costs include materials, equipment, and labor. | Some examples of soft costs include consulting fees, marketing campaigns, employee training, administrative services, insurance costs, and legal fees. |
| Hard costs typically occur at the start of a project and end once the project, product, or service is complete. | Soft costs often occur continually and do not have set timelines concerning a specific project, product, or service. They might be indefinite or temporary depending on what expense they apply to. |
| Hard cost estimations are easier to quantify because they relate to physical items that are often fixed in price. | Soft costs are intangible and indirect expenses, and that makes them inherently harder to quantify. |
Choose from 10+ customizable resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
