A problem that every beginner in freelance encounters is how to price his/ her work. In this article we will layout some pricing strategies used by most freelancers :
The first method is :
Hourly pricing :
Most freelancers at the beginning of their career start out with hourly pricing, where they charge an hourly rate for the time spent working.
You can check out freelancer sites like Upwork or freelancers in order to identify or get an idea of what most designers are charging.
Although this method works totally fine in the beginning, it’s not a method that we would recommend in the long run, and here is why :
As you advance in your freelance career, you will naturally get better at what you’re doing, which means that what takes an hour to be done now will probably take you less time as you become more experienced. and it doesn’t make any sense to be paid less as you grow in experience.
So obviously equating the number of hours that you’re working and the dollar amount of the value of the project doesn’t make any sense.
On the contrary, you should be charging higher rates since you can do the work asked much faster and efficiently.
So what you should learn from this is that :
“Time is not money.” — Ran Segall ( Founder of Prospero)
The second method is :
Project-based pricing :
A freelancer who charges based on the project takes into consideration these metrics :
- The value you are delivering to the client
- The complexity of the project
- The amount of work the project requires
While this method seems great, but the question is: As a beginner how do I determine how much to charge? 🤷🏻♀️
How do you estimate the price of your project :
1- Ask an experienced professional :
You definitely should ask someone who does freelancing in the same field as yours, they will give you a much realistic range of prices.
While you can’t guarantee that they would reveal their pricing method, you have nothing to lose if you ask.
2- Check out Freelance websites :
Visit popular freelance platforms like Upwork or Fiverr, and see what freelancers are charging for the same type of services as yours.
Now that you have an idea how much other people charge for their work, you should always include in your pricing :
- Taxes or any other expenses related to the project.
- A margin for negotiation.
- The pricing of any additional reviews or changes.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that: it’s totally okay to feel a bit lost in the beginning. You will learn along the way how to price your work based on the value that you are delivering.
