When you first start out in the world of freelancing, it's always difficult to know how much to charge and what your hourly or day rates should be. Especially as you'll want to get it right first time and avoid over or under-charging.
You obviously don't want to charge too much and price yourself out of the market, but you don't want to undersell yourself either. Above all, remember that your skills are valuable, so it's important you get your rates right before talking to any potential new clients.
Here's Creative Boom's top tips on how much to charge for freelance work:
Do some research
Before you do anything else, do some research to see what other freelancers are charging for similar work in your area. If you've got more established freelance friends, ask them what their hourly rates are. Compare and come up with a rate you feel reflects your skills and experience, but make sure you're competitive.
In my experience, I've known web/graphic designers and illustrators to charge anything between £15-£55 per hour; web/software developers between £25-£80 and copywriters to charge from £20 to £50 per hour. But how long's a piece of string? Your hourly rate will be totally specific to the area you're based, your competition and the clients you work with.
Know your place
It's worth bearing in mind that agencies - which have lots of staff and expensive overheads - charge anything between £450 and £900 per day. As a freelancer, you won't be able to charge anything near this amount, not unless your skills are very niche. So do your research and then come up with a figure. You'll find that your rate changes over time anyway, once you've tested the water a few times.
Calculate your overheads
When considering how much to charge, it's worth taking into account all of your business costs. That's whether it's the rent for your office, insurance, travel, stationery or materials. You've got to cover your costs, so make sure your hourly rate is reasonable as well as realistic.
Consider lost time
You can't expect to charge 40 billable hours each week, particularly as there'll always be lost time taking care of other things like administration, invoicing and other day-to-day tasks. Make sure you account for all those non-billable hours when coming up with your rates.
Be flexible
When you first start talking to clients, you'll soon realise that one day/hourly rate won't suit everyone. But it's always best to charge high first and be prepared to me knocked down on price. Therefore, know your ultimate minimum hourly rate, i.e. the lowest you're prepared to go and stick to that. Go no lower because you have to remember that you've got overheads and business costs to cover plus you don't want to undervalue yourself. Remember, clients can always push you down on price - it doesn't work the other way round.
Budgets
When meeting a potential client for the first time, try and establish their budget before you reveal your own rates. That way, you can adapt your price accordingly or decide whether you're the right person for the job. If the client is expecting to pay a ridiculously low price for your time, it's a pretty good warning sign that you should run fast in the opposite direction. You're running a business, not a charity!
Be realistic
When costing up jobs, you have to consider your productivity and how much you'll realistically achieve in a set amount of time. It's always best to add on an extra day of your time as a contingency. That way, you won't lose any money on the job. Don't put yourself in a situation where you've not budgeted enough hours/days, you'll lose money and that's not where you want to be.
Fixed or hourly?
If in doubt over any project, explain to the client that you charge an hourly rate, based on the time it takes to complete the project - rather than guessing how long it will take initially and providing a fixed upfront fee. This is especially important for larger jobs, ones that could throw up all sorts of issues along the way.
Every project is different
Finally, don't get too worried about having a set hourly or day rate. It will inevitably vary from one project or client to another. Just stay aware of your competition and the economic climate as well as everything we've laid out in this article and you can't go wrong.
Got any top tips on how much to charge for freelance work? Please share them below.
