I think a big problem any design/developer/freelancer has, especially when starting out, is trying to figure out how much to charge. Its like the $100,000 dollar question. So, what I would like to see in this weeks discussion is a simple rundown of how much you charge for a few of your service and how you got that amount.
I think this post will be a great learning tool for new designers, but could also help some of the more experienced designers out there.
If you guys don’t mind, please post as much information as you feel like about your prices.
16 Responses to “Discussion: What are your rates?”
I charge a flat £30 an hour rate. This covers everything from Flash and front end website design/coding to print and branding exercises.
Charging a flat hourly rate and showing your clients a breakdown of where the hours are going is a great way for them to visualise the time and effort that goes into a creative design. For example, If I were to quote a brochure website I’d break the creative process down in stages. 2-3 hours client meeting 2 hours initial concept, 4-5 hours initial design, 4 hours to code etc. Break down a quote like this and sit down with your client, walk them through the process and be open about the time involved. Don’t under quote and don’t sell yourself short.
For new websites, I try to guesstimate based on $50 per hour. I am thinking of bumping this up to $65-$75 since I have built-up my internal toolbase and can do stuff a lot quicker.
I try to break sites into $2400-$3000 increments. This keeps the milestone small, pushes scope-creep the next phase, and keeps the project rolling. This works really well at helping to embrace scope creep without being buried in un-invoicable hours.
I usually start with phase 1- a basic yet beautiful custom design site. Usually around $2800-3200.
Then we move to phase 2. Which is making their CMS easier for them and adding ajaxy goodness, and whatever scope-creep tried to get in on phase 1. I try to base this on $50 per hour as well.
I always get 50% up front and 50% before launch (at least try on the before launch part).
Chuck
For general freelance work my rate will vary from £25-£50 per hr, and what this generally comes down to is how much of a pain the the ass I think the client is going to be to work with. The bigger pain in the ass they are the higher the rate.
But once I have decided on a rate for a client I always charge them that same rate no matter what I do. An hr of my time is worth the same to me weather I’m clipping images or doing ninja CSS.
@Chuck I tend to charge what you do and break things down like you do.
The only thing I do different is offer a variety of payment plans.
They work like so….
Based on a $3,000 site
Full Upfront Payment = $2800
50% up front and 50% upon completion = $3000
Monthly payments of $250 = $3,250
@Danny,
Do you sell the notes to a bank or do you just ride out the payments?
@Chuck
I usually just use Paypal subscriptions or bill them monthly manually.
Obviously this can be a bit sketch if you dont have a trust worthy client. But i forgot to mention that even on the monthly payments I still charge a 50% deposit. This usually keep s people from flacking out.
And, if I think the client is sketch I wont even offer them the monthly plan. If they are out of the country I dont offer the monthly plan either.
I used to charge $55/hr and then got a job at an agency and didn’t worry about it. I left the agency and bumped my rate up to $75/hr on the recommendation of the Creative Director. It’s always nice when your former boss says you’re worth more than you think you are. I find this is pretty much true across the board especially when you remember you have to figure approx. 35% goes right to taxes.
$30,00/hour is a good start.
I’m really new to the business. Just started my first blog
but i have allready done some homepages. just static, nothing exciting. i used to charge 20€/hr so the homepages mostly cost around 600€ which is about 930$. now i’m trying to improve my skills and hope to get better
I usually charge $45 per hour.
The problem comes in when I try to judge how long a project will take. The revisions are what get me.
For my company (which is essentially 2 man freelance) our rates depend on the work they want done.
=For Front end work (the design itself and the xhtml/css/jscript coding) we usually charge US$60/hr
=For integration into an existing CMS (like Expression engine) we charge the licensing fee if there is one plus a US$400 set up fee
=For custom RIA and CMS development we generally charge US$100/hr, US$120/hr for flash intensive work
We offer other services as well, such as web hosting, site optimization and business identity services and the rate for those largely depends on the scope and detail of the project, although we tend to aim for at least $50/hr
Payments:
=50% Upfront, 50% pre-launch: standard
=100% Upfront: 5% discount
=Artists (music or visual): 15% Discount
=Previous “good standing” clients can get 25% upfront and 6 or 12 month payment plans: but will cost 10% more total.
When its all said and done we pay out about 35% to taxes and 5% for monthly upkeep.
I’m a full-time webdev doing freelance on the side, but I charge £30 an hour, and I’ve had no complaints - in fact, I’ve been told it’s a massive bargain. I’m considering charging more.
I charge $50/hour and require 50% up front and 50% on launch. I am also a full time developer that does freelance on the side. Keep in mind, I also do computer repair and systems management and charge the same $50/hour.
I feel that the time spent on freelance is worth at least that, since I’m missing out on being with the family while I’m working on this stuff.
Wow, maybe I should be outsourcing to you guys. I charge $250 an hour for PHP programming (I mostly do Joomla, ExpressionEngine and Wordpress ).
I outsource my graphic design to a friend who charges $50 an hour.
I build all my templates so they are reusable (in all CMSs) and I’ve automated pretty much everything using shell scripts so all I have to do is enter a domainname, template, and logo file.
I can get most websites built in under 10 hours.
I’ve been in web development for 11 years.
Danny, I haven’t seen your rates published.
Hey guys, i’m just about to graduate from university and i was wondering what i should “charge” clients when freelancing?
Thanks, Brett