How to figure out how much to charge for freelance work
Transitioning from a full-time salary to a freelance rate is difficult because standard pricing formulas do not account for unbilled time spent on marketing, chasing payments, and managing tax bureaucracy. This leaves new freelancers guessing their rates and feeling guilty on days with only a few billable hours.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Looking up posts about figuring out rates
- 2Asking clients for their budget
- 3Multiplying former employee salary targets by two or three times
- 4Doubling or significantly increasing hourly rates to account for nonbillable time
- 5Tracking all time for a month to gain awareness of actual work distribution
- 6Transitioning from hourly billing to flat rates, retainers, or value-based pricing
- 7Assuming lower weekly billable hours when calculating annual income needs
- 8Charging 2-3x the equivalent employee wage cost
- 9Calculating a base minimum annual income and multiplying it by a daily rate factor
- 10Using 'The Squeal Point' method by testing rates on a small group of clients
- 11Aiming for a specific contract rejection or close rate percentage to gauge optimal pricing
- 12Pursuing repeat clients to avoid frequent rate negotiations
- 13Staying silent and undercharging out of fear of losing clients
- 14Silently raising prices or springing increases on clients last minute
- 15Second-guessing increases and attempting to reduce them before they take effect
- 16Charging a greater base pay or fixed retainer for monthly reviews that accounts for extra cleanup
- 17Charging an hourly rate for reviewing books and tutoring
- 18Screen recording the cleanup process and charging for access to captures
- 19Recommending external Excel and bookkeeping courses
- 20Pricing based on what the market will bear
- 21Tracking gross margin separately from owner pay and overhead
- 22Pricing from labor hours, materials, disposal, equipment, insurance, and a cushion for rework
- 23Upping prices gradually after reaching review benchmarks
- 24Raising prices by 10-20% for each closed deal until it stops working
- 25Waiting it out and changing prices once a year due to inflation
- 26Calculating a rough hourly pay based on yearly salary and estimated extra hours
- 27Checking what athletic coaches or other academic clubs are paid and making a similar offer
- 28Laying out a timeline of required hours for the school to determine the stipend rate
- 29guessing an hourly or flat rate based on estimated hours
- 30asking peers on forums for pricing advice
- 31Calling local shops to check their labor rates and charging a fraction of that
- 32Using flat rate manuals to estimate job duration
- 33Improving photography lighting and angles
- 34Refining product descriptions and marketing copy
- 35Adding detailed measurements to listings
- 36Adjusting shipping costs or baking them into the item price
- 37Adding up all annual expenses and dividing by total estimated annual labor hours to find a basic rate
- 38politely decline the work
- 39treat the service as charity
- 40charge a discounted friendship rate
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I was charging rates that I set when I had zero experience and was desperate for any client I could get.”source ↗
“For 3 years I hadn't given myself a raise in 3 years, I was effectively making about $14/hour.”source ↗
“I was terrified.”source ↗
“To be honest, I'm still pretty new to the whole freelancing thing so I don't really know how much I should be charging.”source ↗
“I've worked as a full-time employee for most of my career so I do have a target salary in mind. I just don't know how that translates to a freelance rate.”source ↗
“I struggle with this too. Freelancers have to deal with much more marketing/sales stuff.”source ↗
“On top of that, tax bureaucracy as a freelancer is a ton of work compared to a regular employee.”source ↗
“How do people actually set the next number without it just being a guess.”source ↗
“the scariest part wasn't the actual price increase. It was the 3 months of waiting between sending the email and the new rates kicking in. I kept second-guessing myself every day.”source ↗
“I don’t know how I can compete with those prices without taking a loss.”source ↗
“I spent over $200 on the dress and materials not counting my labor cost, I just want to know if I’m being fair with my prices?”source ↗
“I’m torn between “My free time and expertise is worth something” AND “It’s a friend, the goal is NOT to make ‘Top dollar.’””source ↗
“I’m thinking $850 for S-Corp prep... So $1,400 total? It’s low and I know it’s low, but I think starting at $2,000 when she initially threw out $700 is going to be a bit of a shock to her system.”source ↗
“Please tell me too! I have been going though this feeling my whole life”source ↗
“I raise my rate for new clients every couple years, no problem, but I struggle and wait a long time to raise it for current clients.”source ↗
“And then monthly I was going to charge a range of 700-1100 for basic bookkeeping. But she wants to do the bookkeeping and have me check it. That would be a lot more work than doing it myself. I know I need to charge more for having her do it and me review it, but I'm not sure how to do that.”source ↗
“And for the cleanup I'm thinking I'll charge my base rate plus hourly for any teaching I'd do.”source ↗
“i was charging like 800 for full sites because i was scared nobody would pay more and the clients i had were absolute nightmares.”source ↗
“Took me a while to stop feeling guilty on days where I only had 3-4 billable hours even though I was handling invoices, chasing payments, updating my portfolio, etc.”source ↗
“Pricing yourself never stops feeling bad, for some reason.”source ↗
“Thanks that is a good idea. Do you know how I would set up a sample company? I haven't done that before. And may I ask what framework you use for pricing? I'm still struggling with under aluei g myself I think”source ↗
“Hey guys, i have a lady asking me to replace her front cv axle. How much would you charge for the job?”source ↗
“When we're starting out, we were just on Fiverr. So at that point, when we reached benchmarks (20 review, 50, 200) we upped the price a slight bit.”source ↗
“We had the same thing with our last price raise. We lost approximately 50% sales on that specific platform.”source ↗
“40-hour week as billable hours? lol, I think I billed like 10 hours last week and spent the rest arguing with suppliers.”source ↗
“I’m trying to make sure I’m pricing this appropriately and not undercharging.”source ↗
“Another concern is that she wants me to use only her supplied Norwex products/cloths, so I’m worried heavier buildup, especially in the showers, may take longer or not come completely clean with what she provides.”source ↗
“Just open my Landscaping in Hardscape company I’m just trying to figure out what’s the most reasonable margin you expect from a job”source ↗
“I have been asked what I would like for compensation by admin. I’m unsure of how to answer that question.”source ↗
“To be honest I would do it for no extra money but I know I shouldn’t. What kind of compensation do I ask for?”source ↗
“I don’t even know what to ask for, I am still a newish teacher.”source ↗